As the wind blows across the surface, thousands of spiders, insects, seeds and other debris are deposited. Most of these do not survive. Some, such as the carabid beetle, are quite successful. The coarse pumice provides cover. The steady rain of seeds and insects provides food for scavenging beetles.
Spiders float into the area on silken threads.
Once wolf spiders arrived on the pyroclastic flows they found shelter in the pumice. They preyed on other insects which were also blown in. These spiders do not survive the winter. Their populations are renewed each spring by young spiders that balloon in from surrounding areas. Wolf spiders and insects such as the Carabid beetle are helping to pave the way for the forest that will eventually return to the valley north of the crater.