Other Groups Collected from Leaves and Stems

Spiders (Order Araneae)

Two hundred fifty-eight spiders were collected from the leaves and stems of V. globulare, but over half of these (141 out of 258) were immature. Spiders are known predators, and V. globulare shrubs provide habitat for both hunting spiders and orb-weavers that prey on the other arthropods found on and around the plant.

Other Misc. Arthropods

Two hundred fifty Collembola were collected from the V. globulare leaves and stems. Of those, 98% were Sminthuridae, the globular springtails. Because this group is so widespread and common on a diversity of vegetation (Triplehorn and Johnson 2005) and were observed on other understory plants at the V. globulare study sites, it is unlikely that they have a specialized association with this particular plant.

A variety of other miscellaneous arthropods were collected from the leaves and stems of V. globulare plants. However, due to the low numbers collected and known biological information, none of these appear to have a biological association with the plant.

huckleberry plant

Vaccinium globulare plants near the top of Pioneer Falls, Madison Co., Montana. Photo: A. C. Dolan