Mecopteran (Mecoptera: Bittacidae, Meropeidae, Panorpidae) Flight Periods, Sex Ratios, and Habitat Frequencies in a United States Mid-Atlantic Freshwater Tidal Marsh, Low Forest, and Their Ecotone.

The article presents a study which investigates the flight periods, sex ratios and habitat frequencies of mecopteran species in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic floodplain forest, freshwater tidal marsh, and their ecotone. Six Malaise traps was operated in Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve (DMWP) in Fairfax County, Virginia from April 1998 until December 1999 and has acquired 104 mecopterans in five species. Two traps were place in each of the three main Preserve habitats which include the low forest, freshwater tidal marsh and the ecotone between them. The results showed that mecopterans were more abundant in the forest rather than in the ecotone and marsh, and they have a female-biased sex ratio.