A Faunal Study of the Mecoptera (Insecta) of Rocky Branch Nature Preserve, Clark County, Illinois

The Mecoptera (Insecta) of the Rocky Branch Nature Preserve located near Clarksville, Clark County, Illinois are described. Specimens were collected by diurnal netting, Malaise traps, pitfall traps, and flight traps. Specimens from Rocky Branch in the collections of Eastern Illinois University, the Illinois Natural History Survey at Champaign-Urbana, and Hastings College, Nebraska, were also examined. A total of 805 specimens from Rocky Branch were collected and/or examined. Nine species representing three families were identified: three Panorpidae (Panorpa speciosa, P. helena and P. banksi); five Bittacidae (Hylobittacus apicalis, Bittacus strigosus, B. stigmaterus, B. pilicornis and B. punctiger); and one Meropeidae (Merope tuber). Sex ratios of some species in collections showed significantly more females, possibly due to behavioral difference between sexes and/or higher male mortality. A wide variation in patterns of wing maculations within P. helena and P. speciosa was also observed