Fort Drum and its diversity of ecosystems, particularly early-successional habitats like grasslands, provide substantial habitat for pollinators and an opportunity to examine the effects of substantial habitat disturbance from training activities. Very little is known about the insects of Fort Drum and pollinators in particular. We are conducting a survey of insect pollinators at Fort Drum to guide natural resource management. The survey is based on the overlapping Empire State Native Pollinator Survey, which provides statewide context for the commonness and rarity of detected species. Focal taxa include bumble bees, mining bees, leafcutter bees, oil bees, saproxylic hover flies, bee flies, flower long-horned beetles, hairy flower scarabs, flower moths, and sphinx moths. We are surveying 120-150 sites around the Installation, with samples allocated among the Installation’s five ecozones (for an “extensive survey”) and in two target habitats expected to contain unusual pollinator faunas—successional northern sandplains grassland and northern peatland.
Dec. 10, 2020 | Updated Feb. 2, 2021, 1:03 p.m.