PEET - Austral Staphylinidae

Methods | Collecting Methods for Staphylinidae and other Staphylinoidea | Direct Collection Methods: Beating Vegetation

This is not a generally effective method for collecting staphylinids, but some do occur on live or dead foliage (e.g. Neophonus, some Omaliini in New Zealand, some Pinophilini, Paederini, Staphylininae and Steninae), and others, like particular members of the subfamilies Omaliinae, Aleocharinae and scattered others occur in flowers and thus can be efficiently collected by beating them. Many other families of beetles can be collected using this method, though, particularly from open bushy areas when the sun is shining. We use a simple design for our beating sheet: a square cloth sheet with pockets at the corners, supported by two cross-poles (sectional tent poles); more sophisticated designs of beating sheets are available commercially and are probably better suited to extensive use. The beating sheet is held beneath the vegetation to be beaten and a stick is used to forcefully strike the main woody branches. Insects present on the leaves and branches are dislodged and fall onto the beating sheet where they can be picked up individually, most easily with a pooter.

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