Aquatic insect populations in transplanted and natural populations of the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, on Prince Edward Island, Canada

In early July 1991, 234 pitcher plants (Sarracenia pulpurea) were transplanted from a Prince Edward Island bog being mined for peat into three bogs that varied with respect to previous pitcher plant abundance. One bog had a thriving natural pitcher plant population prior to transplant, while the other two had fewer than three pitcher plants. Between mid-June and late August 1993, abundances of the pitcher plant inquilines Wyeomyia smithii (Diptera: Culicidae), Metriocnemus knabi (Diptera: Chironomidae) and an unidentified sarcophagid fly (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) from transplant bogs were compared with remaining populations in die source bog and with other natural populations. Of the three inquilines, W. smithii was the most severely affected by transplant; it was extremely rare or absent in transplanted pitchers, although it was found in all other bogs investigated on Prince Edward Island. Metriocnemus knabi larvae were common in ail bogs investigated, except for those transplant bogs where pitcher plants were rare prior to transplant. Sarcophagid larvae were found in all of the bogs sampled, and were apparently unaffected by transplant. Desiccation during the transplant process, as well as the time of the transplant, may play a role in the success of recolonization of the pitcher plants after transplanting.