D3354: The insects of Bull Run: A comprehensive entomological species review of a Northern Virginia biodiversity hotspot, the Bull Run Mountains

The Bull Run Mountains is the first series of mountain ridges southwest outside of Washington D.C. and lies within a rapidly developing Northern Virginia. Over 2,500 acres of it were dedicated as a State-designated Natural Area Preserve in 2002, as it was recognized as a local biodiversity hotspot, containing ten distinct plant communities and a number of unique or threatened species. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation owns and manages the Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve (BRMNAP), in addition to retaining conservation easements on approximately 7,000 acres of surrounding privately-held land. This makes this area a stable and regionally important biodiversity hub protecting a critical core-and-corridor for native insect species that could be otherwise impacted by the ongoing surrounding human development. Historically serving as a living laboratory for the study and monitoring of insect species through a variety of private and governmental research efforts, this project seeks to consolidate and quantify the scientific value that the Bull Run Mountains provide to our current entomological understanding. A complete comprehensive species list will be compiled from scientific literature, government publications, museum data, and research-grade iNaturalist observations with the hopes that it will build upon the utility of the Bull Run Mountains as a scientific hotspot and identify gaps in our understanding to encourage and focus future entomological inquiry.