ABSTRACT Many ecological studies of tropical insects are based on small sample sizes or lack
sampling scheme rigor, which prevents testing ecological hypotheses and comparing samples from
different sites and times. Here we present the results of quantitative trapping of bark and ambrosia
beetles over 2 yr at two localities in northern Thailand separated by 5 km, 1,100 m in altitude, and in
different forest types. Beetles were collected using a spatially and temporally standardized sampling
scheme, followed by a quantitative analysis of community composition and its responses to environmental
variables and trapping techniques. In total, 118 species were collected, but the species
accumulation curves show little sign of leveling off. Based on slightly different species accumulation
rates, the more humid site has a little higher species richness. Species composition was signiÞcantly
different between the sites, which was not a result of undersampling of rare species. diversity at each
site contributes to the regional diversity more than the turnover of species between the sites (
diversity). Mean annual temperature and humidity have larger effects on the community species
composition than seasonal ßuctuations of temperature and humidity at each siteÑbeetles do choose
their environment but are aseasonal. The site with greater humidity supported signiÞcantly more
species living in a symbiosis with fungi (ambrosia beetles), whereas the drier and more disturbed site
hosted a greater number of circumtropical colonizer species. Each of the different types of trap had
a bias for certain taxonomic groups. The results show that even modest samples, if properly structured
and analyzed, can answer many ecological questions and can serve in biodiversity comparisons on
broad scales.