Ground Arthropods in Azorean Maize and Pasture Fields, Summer 2022

The IPM-Popillia Project dataset delivers an inventory of ground arthropods collected in the Azores. A total of 18,559 specimens were collected from 360 pitfall traps across 20 fields on São Miguel and São Jorge islands in August and September 2022. The data was produced by M. B. Teixeira of Universidade dos Açores as part of a European project on integrated pest management for the Japanese beetle.

Use Cases

• Analyzing predator-prey community composition in agroecosystems based on the recorded 18 predator, 15 plant feeder, and 5 omnivore species.
• Studying the spatial distribution of arthropods across different island habitats based on sampling from São Miguel and São Jorge.
• Modeling potential biological control agents for Popillia japonica based on the inventory of 40 morphospecies.
• Comparing arthropod biodiversity between maize and pasture land uses based on the sampling of ten fields each.

Strengths

• Contains 18,559 specimen records with taxonomic detail down to species level for 38 taxa.
• Sampling design is clearly described, involving 360 pitfall traps over seven consecutive days.
• Provides ecological functional group classifications (predator, plant feeder, omnivore) for identified species.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific analytical tasks.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

M. B. Teixeira, Universidade dos Açores, via the IPM-Popillia European project.

Collection Method

Field sampling using pitfall traps installed for seven consecutive days.

Time Range

August and September 2022

Geography

Maize and pasture fields on São Miguel and São Jorge Islands, Azores, Portugal.