Abstract:

It is important to quantitatively assess the relationship between insect diversity and the environment by laying long-term sample plots at a global scale. Consequently, the SITE100 International Science Project was proposed. The project plans to select 100 large sites around the world and use three types of data collection methods, namely, flight interception trap (FIT), Malaise trap (MT), and pitfall trap (PT). The global insect diversity pattern is explored from three dimensions: species diversity, morphological diversity and genetic diversity. Huaping, Guangxi was selected as one of the 100 sites to explore the origin of global insect diversity and its relationship with the environment through long-term monitoring and cross-regional large-scale comparison. In this study, the data set of beetles collected from the Huaping site during 2020 growing season lasted 7 months (2020.05.09-2020.11.23), covering 10 sites. Each site contained one FIT, one MT and 10 PT. All sites were visited once a week on average. A total of 8,914 beetles were collected during the study period. 563 morphological species from 57 families were identified. The data set consists of four parts. The first part is the original photos of all beetle specimens obtained from all traps at various collection points, with a total of 644 photos. After compression, the file name is Photo-1.zip. The second part is the photos of beetles grouped by morphological species. After compression, the file name is Photo-2.zip. The third part is the statistics of each beetle specimen: the collection method, and the longitude, latitude, and altitude of its sampling point. The file name for this data set is data-1.zip. The fourth part is detailed identification information of the morphological species of each specimen. The file name is data-2.zip. In addition to joint analysis with the results from other SITE100 sites, this data set can also be used to analyze and compare the distribution and morphological differences of beetle taxa in different habitats. The images of some taxa can provide data support for subsequent geometric morphometrics or morphological studies. This dataset is the first quantitative assessment of beetle diversity in Huaping, and is of great significance in enriching biodiversity background data in China and understanding the origin of insect fauna in southern China.

Key words: morphological diversity, passive collecting, flight interception trap, Malaise trap, pitfall trap