In the summer of 2008, the two of us (Canadian Forest Service), and Kevin Robertson (Newfoundland Department of Environment and Conservation), undertook an arthropod survey trip to Labrador, funded jointly by the Canadian Forest Service and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). The purpose of the trip was to collect in poorly sampled areas of Labrador to gather specimens and data to contribute to a long-standing survey of NL. The original plan was for us to join a team of biologists stationed at Konrad Lake, on the edge of the tree line approximately 50 km west of Nain on the northern Atlantic Coast.
We arrived in Happy Valley/Goose Bay on July 28th with all of our gear. The first insect we saw was a dead Tragosoma depsarium (Linnaeus) (Cerambycidae) under the lights of a gas station, a new record for Labrador and a good start to our collecting. We set out the next morning to the nearby float plane base, for the 300 km flight to Konrad Lake. However, the weather was so bad at our destination that the plane would not take off. We set out to do some local collecting, but had to remain near Goose Bay in case conditions changed and the plane had a window of suitable weather. This pattern was repeated for the next several days – check in at the float plane base, find out that the weather was still terrible, do some local collecting (the weather was generally nice in the Goose Bay area), check back regularly with the float plane base until mid-afternoon until the pilot pulled the plug on any chance of a flight that day, and then travel a little further afield for additional collecting.
In spite of these problems, we managed to do a considerable amount of collecting in the Goose Bay area. One of us (Dave Langor) was collecting primarily aquatic and terrestrial beetles, but collected many other insects in his sweeps (especially Hymenoptera and Hemiptera). The other (Greg Pohl) was concentrating on Lepidoptera when the weather was good, and beetles when conditions were unsuitable for flying insects. Kevin Robertson helped out with all groups, but was particularly interested in dragonflies and damselflies. Most of our collecting was done by hand, but we deployed pitfall traps for the duration of our trip, and set out light traps on several evenings. During our time in the Goose Bay area, we managed to collect along every road within two hours of town. We collected some bogs, river margins, and lakeshores along the Northwest River Road, and sandy habitats, streams, and ponds on the Churchill River along the Trans-Labrador Highway. However, the site that turned out to be the most productive for moths was a restaurant (Maxwell’s Sports Bar) in Happy Valley, which was located near some nice forest and river-edge habitat. The green, wood-clapboard building had several massive mercury vapour lights installed on the sides which attracted many moths. Every morning and every evening, we made several circuits of the building, picking insects off the walls. Over the course of seven days we collected an estimated 70-80 species of moths. Spruce budworm moths (Choristoneura fumiferana [Clemens]) (Tortricidae) were particularly abundant. Our activities raised a few eyebrows and prompted several enquiries. The restaurant manager came out to see what we were up to, but had no objections to our activities. He told us that in 2007, spruce budworm moths were very abundant and gained access to the interior of the building under the door. The air was so full of scales that breathing was difficult, and it was necessary to shovel several bucketfuls of moths up before they could open for business.
Our plans to fly to Konrad Lake were cancelled on August 2nd. Of course we were disappointed, but at least we were no longer tied to the vicinity of the float plane base. We immediately set out on a three day road trip to Churchill Falls. On the way there, we collected many sandy sites, rivers, and pond margins on the Trans-Labrador Highway. In the Churchill Falls area, we collected at the falls (or at least what remains of it) and at several sites on the Ossokmanuan Reservoir. A side trip to the scenic Muskrat Falls on the Churchill River was a highlight of the trip back to Goose Bay. Once back in Goose Bay, we did a day trip along the new section of the Trans-Labrador Highway that runs from Goose Bay, through the mealy Mountains, to Cartwright. Although the road was not yet officially open, we were able to drive approximately 50 km, making what are likely the first insect collections in several localities.
Most of our material has been pinned, but awaits labeling and identification. We had identified a series of extremely tiny moths that we were curious about. They were collected on Kalmia, and they were so small (approximately 3 mm wingspan) that it took some time to even notice them in the sweep net. They turned out to be Coptodisca kalmiella Dietz (Heliozelidae), previously known in Canada only from Ontario and Quebec, and a new record of this family for NL. The remaining insect species await further work this winter. If there are colleagues who would be interested in seeing material from our trip, please contact Greg Pohl (gpohl@nrcan.gc.ca) or David Langor (dlangor@nrcan.gc.ca). Dave also has on loan the entire insect collection from Memorial University of Newfoundland, which also has other material from Labrador and much from the island of Newfoundland. All this is also available for loan.
Dave is already working on another trip to Labrador next year. There may be opportunities for others to join him. If you have interest in being part of an expedition, please let him know.