During the early night hours of Friday, September 19, we had our third collecting trip for this Fall period to the always interesting and productive Coon Bluff Campground, located along the Salt River of the Tonto National Forest. In addition to abundant and diverse moths, we collected a number of antlion species (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) and large to minute beetles flying to the mercury and ultraviolet lights. Recent rains (10 days prior) must have flooded the usually loose and powdery soil which this year appeared solid and compacted. Not many darkling beetles were present, and scarabs were also less frequent than in previous years.
The proper way to record the locality information is “USA: AZ: Maricopa Co.; Tonto NF, Coon Bluff; 33.547349, -111.644989; general coll. & at Hg/UV lights; leg. N. Franz [replace with your name], IX-19-2014″. Photos of the trip are posted here.
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