ARTHROPOD DIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH OLD AND SECONDARY GROWTH EASTERN HEMLOCK (TSUGA CANADENSIS) IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Prior to the introduction of the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand, into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), the diversity and seasonal abundance of arthropods (insects and spiders) associated with two old growth and two secondary growth stands of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière, were assessed. A total of 8,071 insects and 191 spiders was sampled, and both groups were found to be more abundant in secondary growth than in old growth hemlock stands. Insect samples were dominated by the orders Diptera and Lepidoptera, accounting for over 75% of all insect specimens. Spider collections were dominated by three species (Pirata montanus Emerton, Wadotes tennesseensis Gertsch, and W. hybridus Emerton) that accounted for over 50% of all spider specimens. Shannon-Weiner diversity and evenness values for insect families and spider species did not differ greatly by hemlock stand type. Seasonal abundance of insect families in light traps was found to be highest in the summer while the abundance of insect families in pitfall traps varied little throughout the study.