Laws prohibit collection of animals and plants in many local, state and national parks without a permit. Always request permission from authorities in these potentially regulated areas before collecting.

The biggest threat to endangered species is habitat destruction. This can occur naturally such as by wild fires, or result from human activities such as urbanization, agriculture or “parcelization” of land whereby large parcels of land are subdivided for various land use types. Over-collection of insects and their relatives also can deplete local populations, although for most widely-distributed species this has little effect as a possible cause for extinction. Collectors are, however, encouraged to be conservative and not remove more specimens than needed for study.

For a listings of threatened and endangered species of arthropods of Texas, see Appendix B and C in A Field Guide to Common Texas Insects (Drees and Jackman 1998).

Links and references:

Wildlife Diversity Program
Texas Parks and Wildlife
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, Texas 78744
www.tpwd.state.tx.us

Native Prairies Association of Texas
P. O. Box 210
Georgetown, TX 78627
www.texasprairie.org

U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service (for Texas)
Assistant Regional Director for Law Enforcement, Region 2
P. O. Box 329
Albuquerque, NM 87103
505/248-7889 (see brochure, “Facts About Federal Wildlife Laws”, March 1999)

Texas Parks and Wildlife
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744
(800) 792-1112
(512) 389-4800
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us