The spatial distribution and zonation of canopy-associated arthropods of Acacia koa
and Metrosideros tree communities along an altitudinal transect on the SE flank of Mauna Loa and
Kilauea volcanoes, Hawaii I was determined by insecticidal fogging ofthe canopy with pyrethrum.
Eight sites were samples on the Mauna Loa Transect. Transect zones were determined on the
basis of arthropod distribution. The influence of ecological factors, plant community structure
and climate are interpreted according to distribution patterns. The distribution of arthropod
groups coincided quite closely with vascular plant communities of the transect, as defined by other
studies. The composition, spatial distribution, and environmental relationships of arthropod canopy-communities along the Mauna Loa Transect are compared with the situation pertaining along
other lower elevational transects to sea level in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as well as other
ecosystems, in order to further characterize the arthropod canopy-community. Host specificity,
vegetation structure, competition between ecological homologs, and climate appear to have the
most important influence on population density and spatial distribution patterns of the arthropod
taxa studied.