June 1- June 30 was the second month of arthropod collection from my backyard pool. As in May, nearly all arthropods species >5 mm were collected, but very few observations were recorded for arthropods <2 mm. During June, I collected and recorded observations for 144 arthropods, with an average of 4.8 observations per day, and a low of 0 and a high of 13 observations in a day. While there was still many arthropods in the pool throughout June, compared to May there were fewer large arthropods (>5mm). Since photographing the small specimens takes longer, this probably contributed to having fewer observations in June compared to May. Dead arthropods accounted for about 35% of my observations in June, not too different from the 40% of May. Winged adult insects made up 92% of the arthropods photographed. I added 15 new species to my iNaturalist life list from swimming pool observations in June, including 4 Coleoptera, 4 Hemiptera, 3 Hymenoptera, 2 Diptera and 2 spiders. To date (May and June), iNaturalist indicates I have 387 observations and 92 species from arthropods collected in my swimming pool. I have not estimated total morphospecies for May and June combined, or compared species occurrence between months. That is a project on my back burner, after (hopefully) more of my observations are identified.

Hemiptera was once again the most abundant order (38% of observations) with an estimated 24 morphospecies (25 observations currently identified to genus, 9 further identified to species). Heteroptera comprised that majority of Hemiptera observed (41 of 54 observations). Plant bugs (Miridae) contributed less this month, with about 10% of the total Heteroptera, compared to 30% in May. Seed bugs and allies were the most common Heteroptera, with about ½ the total. A couple species of Rhyparochromidae were particularly common. The Mediterranean Seed Bug, Xanthochilus saturnius, was a noticeable and frequent addition this month. I like the bold gold and black pattern (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/48409018).

Hymenoptera was second most abundant (23%) with 20 morphospecies (8 observations identified to genus, 5 species). Ants made up half of all Hymenoptera that were photographed in June, with at least 4 different species. The number of ants I photographed was only a small percentage of the ants fished out of the pool. The majority of the ants I saw were alates (90%).

Coleoptera was close behind Hymenoptera with 20% of all observations in June being beetles. I estimate 21 different species, with current identifications from 11 families, with 16 observations identified to genus, and 8 identified to species. The abundance of scarabs observed in the pool was significantly decreased from what I observed in May, when I would often scoop out a couple dozen scarabs in the morning, but only photograph a couple of them. This month I photographed the majority of scarabs I scooped from the pool. Mt favorite day of pool observation this month was Saturday June 13, when I came home from a morning walk to find 3 magnificent scarabs in the pool, a ten-lined June beetle, a masked chafer, and one beautiful scarab I haven’t identified yet (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49531527), this was my favorite beetle for June.

Diptera comprised 10% of all observations (15 observations) with an estimated 8 different species. Currently 5 observations are identified to genus, and 1 to species. My favorite fly was a small fly with a very reflective silvery abdomen (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/48390249). I would love to have that one identified.

Other groups present were spiders comprising 3% of observations with 3 morphospecies (3 genus, 1 species). Thysanoptera had 3 observations (2%). Lepidoptera 1.4% (2 observations), Collembola 1 observation (0.7%), mites 0.7%, Orthoptera 0.7%, and Neuroptera 0.7%.

June 1, 2020
The pool has now been set up for one month (May 1 to May 31, 2020). This is an above-ground 10 foot diameter pool. Arthropods were primarily sampled with a small fish tank net, and transferred to blotter paper for photography. Arthropods that were still alive were allowed to recover and leave. About 40% of photographed arthropods were dead. The overall proportion of dead arthropods removed from the pool was likely much higher, especially for small, softer-bodied arthropods.

During May, I recorded 243 arthropod observations, representing 14 different Arthropod Orders and 49 families to date. No other animals were found in the pool. There was definitely some sampling bias toward larger arthropods (> 5 mm), and while not every individual in this size class was photographed, it is not likely that any visually distinct species were skipped (as determined by my unaided eye). Very few Arthropods under 2 mm were photographed, this is about the limit of my photography equipment. Diptera were proportionally under-sampled, both due to small size, and poor quality specimens that were easily damaged between being scooped out of the pool with a net and transferred to blotter paper for photography. Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) were also proportionally under-sampled because they tended to recover quickly and jump away. The majority of arthropods collected were adult winged insects (90%). I photographed an average of 8 observations a day, with a high of 14 and a low of 0 (2 days). I cannot even begin to estimate what proportion I observed out of the total arthropods that landed in the pool.

Hemiptera was most abundant (31% of observations) with an estimated 28 morphospecies (8 currently identified to genus, 4 further identified to species). Heteroptera comprised that majority of Hemiptera observed (56 of 76 observations), and Miridae (plant bugs) made up about 1/3 of all Heteroptera.

Coleoptera was second most abundant (26% of observations) with 28 morphospecies (13 currently identified to genus, 6 species). Scarabs were easily the most abundant beetles I collected. Especially during the first couple weeks of May, during the morning hours 2-4 dozen scarabs would get stuck in the pool.

Hymenoptera was third most abundant (21%) with 20 morphospecies (8 identified to genus, 3 species) bees (Anthophila) made up the majority of Hymenoptera. Apis mellifera was less common than various Halictidae.

Other groups present were Diptera comprising 8% of observations with 12 morphospecies (1 genus, 0 species). Spiders had 10 observations (4%). Collembola 2.5%, Thysanoptera 2.1%, mites 1.2%, Orthoptera 0.8% (2 obserations), Neuroptera 0.8%, Embiidina 0.8%, Lepidoptera 0.4% (1 observation), Dermaptera 0.4%, termites 0.4%.

Overall I estimate 108 morphospecies, with 18% currently identified to species. Currently, iNaturalist lists this project with 20 identified species, and 70 unique taxa. I added 28 new species/unique taxa to my life list from this project during May 2020. New species include 10 coleoptera, 7 Hemiptera, 6 Hymneoptera, and one each for Collembola, Diptera, Neuroptera, Thysanoptera, and spiders. My favorite new taxa was a crabronid wasp, Dryudella, with its dramatic coloring and huge eyes https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46514112. My daughter's least favorite pool visitors were the scarabs.
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