Inventory of the Lepidoptera Larvae and Their Parasitoids from the Tropical Dry, Rain, and Cloud Forests of Costa Rica

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9705072 Janzen This project is a 3-year portion of an ongoing biodiversity inventory of the caterpillars of all species of butterflies and moths in the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica, and the relationships these caterpillars have with their host-plants and their parasitoids (flies, wasps, roundworms, fungi, gut microbes). The habitats from which the caterpillars and other organisms will be collected include the tropical dry forest, rain forest, and cloud forest. The immediate goal of the study is to make basic information on the ecological (predator/prey, food-source, life history, etc.) relationships of these organisms available for studies in systematics, ecology, behavior, and physiology, and for use in conservation, education, biodiversity prospecting, ecotourism, environmental monitoring, and pest management. The long-term goal of the project is to establish this biological system as a "known universe" to encourage the non-destructive sustainable use of a complex tropical wildland by all sectors of society. The results of the study will be placed on the WWW for direct user access. This project represents international cooperation among the Costa Rican National Biodiversity Institute (INBio), the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG), other funding sources tapped by the PI, and the NSF. Costa Rican nationals will participate in the activities of the project, which will result in training that will contribute to the administrative, scientific, and commercial potential of future INBio projects.