As a control, a third area was raked to remove the litter. Soil microarthropods were counted about 2 weeks after the burns and again about 7 months after the burns. Lussenhop concluded that the unburned area was less productive in vegetation and roots, therefore soil microarthropods decreased in specific numbers. Aulax larvae in stems of Silphium and Lactuca , Eurosta and Lepidoptera larvae in goldenrod stems were killed. Ants increased in numbers, and earthworms came to the surface earlier but then decreased with decreasing soil moisture the first month after the burn.
Gall insects suffer high mortalities from fire.
Lepidopteran larvae were very abundant on the plants. Sage sparrows spent less time foraging after the burn. The author attributed this decrease primarily to greater arthropod abundance. Greater numbers of arthropods occurred on the burned plots than on unburned areas during July of the year after the fire. This increase consisted largely of larvae.