Preliminary Survey of the Terrestrial Isopods (Isopoda), Millipedes (Diplopoda), Harvestmen (Opiliones), and Spiders (Araneae) of Toft Point Natural Area, Door County, Wisconsin
Toft Point Natural Area is a National Natural Landmark owned and managed by the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay and located on the Lake Michigan shore of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula. With twelve biotic communities on 700 acres, Toft Point contains considerable biological diversity. We conducted a preliminary survey of the arachnids (spiders and harvestmen, excluding mites and pseudoscorpions), millipedes (diplopods), and terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscoidea).
Sampling occurred on three dates in 2001 using leaf litter collection with Berlese extraction and a timed collection by hand that incorporated a variety of techniques. Specimens from a 1992 survey and assorted collecting events were also used to compile a species list. The list includes five isopods, four millipedes, six harvestmen, and 113 spiders, including 16 new state records (two millipedes and 14 spiders) and 90 new Door County records. Litter collection and sampling in wetland habitats were both especially productive