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Hi all,

As I have been planning my work on this survey several questions arose. I haven’t found answers for these specific questions. Is it possible for someone to shed some light on this, please?

1- Is bird predation a problem while using pan traps?
2- Do pan traps work in sandy ground? I'm asking this because I imagine that when there is much wind a lot of sand might get in the trap.
3- Will it be needed for the pan traps to be stuck to the ground or could they just be left on it? 10 meters apart from each other?
4- What I'm thinking of doing is set the traps in the early morning and then collect the insects in the afternoon, is that the right way to proceed? What is the minimum amount of time that the traps should be open each day?
5- The pan traps will be filled with a bit of salt and detergent. I know that the detergent must be unscented but is there any detergent that is more appropriate?
6- Should each pan trap be numbered?
7- As I mentioned above, I'll be dealing alone with many groups, each with many taxa involved. With your experience, do you believe I can deal with so many groups all by myself or should I limit myself to just some groups (dipterans or hymenopterans).
8- Which taxonomic level is more relevant? Obviously the species would be ideal, but many times it will be hard to identify.
9- I was told that one butterfly counting method is counting individual butterflies with an estimate of their relative density. I understand the basic principles but how is it really done, what are the necessary steps to be preformed? Do you have any literature on this?