(1) We document the invertebrate fauna collected from 24 oak canopies in east and west Norway as a contribution to the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre’s ‘The Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative’. (2) A snap-shot inventory of the canopies was recorded by means of emitting a mist of natural pyrethrum into the canopies at night using a petrol-driven fogger and collecting the specimens in butterfly nets spread on the ground under the canopy. (3) Almost the entire catch of more than 6800 specimens was identified to 722 species. Out of 92 species new to the Norwegian fauna, 21 were new to science and, additionally, 15 were new to the Nordic fauna. Diptera alone constituted nearly half of the species represented, with 61 new records (18 new species). Additionally, 24 Hymenoptera (one new species), six oribatid mites (two new species) and one Thysanoptera were new to the Norwegian fauna. (4) Our study emphasizes the importance of the oak tree as a habitat both for a specific fauna and occasional visitors, and it demonstrates that the canopy fogging technique is an efficient way to find the ‘hidden fauna’ of Norwegian forests. The low number of red listed species found reflects how poor the Norwegian insect fauna is still studied. Moreover, the implication of the IUCN red list criteria for newly described or newly observed species is discussed.

The literature on how plants respond to grazing and other disturbance factors have advanced greatly in recent decades, but studies of invertebrates are comparably few. We here quantify the effects of 3 levels of sheep grazing on selected invertebrates in an alpine ecosystem in Norway. We tested the hypothesis that invertebrates are more sensitive to grazing than plants (responding mainly at high density), and that primary consumers (herbivorous beetles) are more sensitive than predatory species (beetles and spiders). We captured 1218 specimens belonging to 44 beetle species and 6672 specimens belonging to 66 species of spiders. The community was dominated by few species: 5 beetle and 3 spider species made up 53.0% and 37.4% of the catch, respectively. At the local (plot) scale, most negative responses were only recorded at high sheep density, and invertebrates were thus not more responsive than the plant community. Two dominant herbivorous beetles responded to grazing while 3 dominant species of predatory beetles did not (one marginally). Spider species richness and frequency of occurrence of 2 dominant species were negatively affected by sheep grazing, suggesting variation between different taxonomic groups of predators. Further functional details than simple classification like herbivorous, predatory and litter-dwelling invertebrates seem to be required before a framework to predict responses to disturbance are robust.

1792) was discovered in the collections at Natural History museum in Oslo. These specimens where sampled around a century ago and represent the fi rst and last records of their species from Norway. A brief discussion of the beetle's ecology attempts to shed light on the possibility of a present existence of these two species in the country.