In 2014, 60 boxes (artificial habitats) were deployed in different city parks and green areas near cities. The boxes were equally divided between the cities of Lund, Göteborg (Gothenburg), Linköping, Motala, Örebro and Uppsala, with ten boxes in each city.

The boxes were designed to resemble conditions of the microclimate inside hollow oak trees. Each box was filled with 400 litres of leaves from the surrounding area and 400 litres of wood chips from deciduous trees, which were not older than a year. The contents were then soaked with 25 litres of water to benefit the decomposition. The bottom of the box was covered with tarpaulin to keep moister in the box, this was also to assist the decaying process.

To collect invertebrates (e.g. beetles and pseudoscorpions) from the boxes, pitfall-traps were used. The traps were filled to 80 % with preservation fluid. To include different types of microclimate, two pitfall traps were placed in each box. One was placed in the most humid area and the other was placed in the driest area. The pitfall-traps were first deployed in April 2019. Collection and exchange of traps took place every four weeks, during May, June, July and August