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| You can find insects, spiders, and other multi-legged creatures (arthropods)
anywhere in the world. So it is no surprise that there are thousands of
species of arthropods in Joshua Tree National Park. They range in size
from the four-inch-long tarantula (Aphonopelma iodium) and the green
darner (Anax junius)—with its four-inch wingspread—to
tiny gnats and mites. Joshua Tree’s arthropods include the beautiful
salmon-colored fairy shrimp (Branchinecta), the five-inch giant
desert scorpion (Hadrurus
arizonensis), and more than 75 species of butterflies. There are even
more kinds of moths than butterflies. The yucca moth (Tegeticula paradoxa) is
responsible for pollinating the Joshua trees after which the park is named. |
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| All arthropods feature a hardened outer shell of exoskeleton, a segmented
body, and jointed appendages. The activities of these small animals are
most profoundly affected by their immediate environment: all the variations
of temperature, moisture, space, and food that delimit their homes. These
places are referred to as microhabitats. Some microhabitats are decidedly
different from the surrounding environment. Take for example the soft-bodied,
moisture-loving larva of the cactus fly (Copestylum mexicana) living in
the very humid, warm environment of rotting cactus stems while surrounded
by searing desert heat and single-digit relative humidity. |
| Several species of ants are found on the desert. Their varied adaptations
are true wonders of nature. The harvester ants (Pogonomymex and Veromessor) busy themselves collecting seeds, which they store in underground granaries
to use during the dry months. The honeypot ants (Myrmecocystus) have an
exceptionally weird habit. Some members of the colony swallow so much honey
that their abdomens get too large for them to move. They become, in effect,
storage jars, providing food for the rest of the colony. |
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http://www.nps.gov/jotr/nature/animals/arthropods/arthropods.html
last modified: 11/13/03
web editor: Sandra kaye |
