A mark-recapture exercise using Malaise traps was conducted in Brasenose Wood, Oxfordshire between 7 August and 9 September 1994 to evaluate the use of fluorescent powders and continuous live marking as a method of determining mobility patterns of woodland insects. The study demonstrated that for the marked specimens the method could detect differences between the movements of insects initially marked in woodland, woodland edge and field locations. It may thus be a method which is suitable for the determination of edge effects and identification of minimal core size in studies of woodland fragmentation. To improve recapture rates it was suggested that the number of marking traps was increased. This would only have a marginal effect on field work intensity and initial sorting of field collected insects. The method may also be of use in determining long distance movements of insects between habitat patches.
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