The Insects and Other Inhabitants of Shelf Fungi in the Southern Blue Ridge Region of Western North Carolina. I. Introduction, Description of the Habitat, and the Host Fungi1

Berlese-funnel techniques extracted thousands of animals (largely arthropods) from 8 genera and more than 35 species of fungi (mostly Basidiomycetes of the families Polyporaceae, Thelephoraceae, and Boletaceae) collected in Macon, Transylvania, and Jackson Counties, N. C; Rabun Co., Ga.; and Oconee Co., S. C. Most of the collections were made in the gorge areas along the Blue Ridge Escarpment—cool, protected situations with high rainfall and a virtual rainforest aspect which shelter numerous relict species. For comparative purposes, other collections were made outside the gorge areas. One reason for making these collections was to compare the fungus-inhabiting fauna of the Blue Ridge with that of the Chicago area (already published), which has a very different climate. In this introductory paper, the species of host fungi are listed, and complete data are given for 120 collections.