Trapping liquids may bias the results of beetle diversity assessment

Abstract

Several different techniques and methods are used to capture and study beetles (Coleoptera). One option is the use of window traps with various trapping liquids. However, these liquids used in comparative studies may have a biasing effect on the results. The effectiveness of the frequently used liquid baits, involving beer, wine, vinegar, and water as the reference liquid, was compared in this study. Twenty-four traps were assigned to two habitat categories (sunny and shady) and four kinds of bait: beer, wine, vinegar, and water. During the study from June to July 2021, a total of 29,944 invertebrates were captured; of these, 3,931 individuals belonged to Coleoptera. A total of 3,825 beetles were identified, belonging to 120 species and 36 families. The most abundant family was Nitidulidae, with 3,297 adults (86% of the total). The number of arthropods differed only in the trapping liquid, and the captures were similar between beer and wine and between vinegar and water. The trapping liquid had a more significant effect on beetle abundance and species richness. In contrast, exposure had a significant effect only on the number of beetle species and a higher ratio of beetles was found in the shade. Beer and wine were very attractive and collected similar beetle communities. However, the diversity (Shannon’s index) was low due to the high abundance of several species. Traps with vinegar and water collected a similar composition and species richness. After removing sap beetles (Nitidulidae) from all traps, a significant difference was still recorded between trapping liquids in the number of individuals and species, and their communities were much more similar. Thus, at high abundances of sap beetles, it is possible to exclude them from analyses and obtain more accurate data when assessing environmental variables. The results showed that the type of trapping liquids used can have substantial effects on abundance and species composition captured beetles in traps especially for beer and wine. The beer and wine in traps can significantly influence the subsequent biodiversity assessment. We recommend the use of trapping liquids without the baiting effect to correctly assess the effect of environmental variables on beetle richness and abundance.