First Annual Mcbride Spring Foray

First Annual McBride Spring Foray

April 3-5, 2009. Kisatchie National Forest, Kisatchie District, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana

By Louisiana State Arthropod Museum

John T. McBride Sr. and Elizabeth S. McBride, parents of John T. McBride, Jr., were honored for their long time love and support of the natural habitats of Louisiana. John Jr. donated funds to support the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum (LSAM) in a collecting foray with the stipulation that it be held in Louisiana. Funds were to be used for entomology students and LSAM staff to collect and record insect species encountered during a 3-5 day collecting trip. LSAM is grateful for this donation and we are happy to present this account of the expedition and a preliminary report of the findings.

There were eleven participants, including: Professor and LSAM Director, Chris Carlton; LSAM Curator, Victoria Bayless; graduate students Mike Ferro, Matt Gimmel, Srinivas Lanka, Pan Lou, Jong-Seok Park, Noah Reid, Sung-Ryong Kang; and undergraduate students Owen Jones and Erick Rietschier.

The Foray began with an early departure from Baton Rouge on Friday April 3rd. A scouting visit to the area in March helped us to determine that we would use the Kisatchie Bayou Campground as our headquarters. We set up tents at 5 campsites along the (at the time) briskly flowing Kisatchie Bayou. The weather was cool the first evening (below 60 degrees) but by Saturday night the temperature had increased into the upper 60’s, making blacklighting quite successful. We enjoyed a nice campfire with stories of past entomological adventures while eating hot dogs grilled on the fire.

The Caroline Dormon Trail winds through the campground and around Kisatchie Bayou. This habitat includes sandy banks of the bayou where we caught tiger beetles, sphecid wasps, and Omophron carabids. The dogwoods and hawthorns were still blooming and the warm sunny days were perfect for catching flower visiting insects.

Collecting activities included ultraviolet (blacklight) and mercury vapor light, pitfall traps, sweeping, kick aquatic nets, FIT’s (Flight Intercept Traps), sifting, and general hand collecting from logs, flowering plants and trees, and overturned rocks (yes indeed there really are rocks in Louisiana!). Many vials and jars were filled with specimens and returned to the lab for processing.

Sixteen orders and 120 total families of insects were collected and have been identified to date. Leading the list are 47 families of beetles, 14 Hemiptera families, and 13 Hymenoptera families. This expedition has greatly improved our understanding of the insects known from this part of Louisiana. The checklist appears below. Checklist of the families collected during the First Annual McBride Spring Foray

Coleoptera: Ptiliidae Veliidae Neuroptera: Aderidae Scarabaeidae Chrysopidae Anobiidae Scirtidae Hymenoptera: Coniopterygidae Anthicidae Silphidae Apidae Corydalidae Bostrichidae Silvanidae Braconidae Hemerobiidae Buprestidae Staphylinidae Chalcididae Cantharidae Tenebrionidae Diapriidae Odonata: Carabidae Trogidae Formicidae Aeschnidae Cerambycidae Trogossitidae Halictidae Calopterygidae Chrysomelidae Ichneumonidae Coenagrionidae Ciidae Diptera: Megachilidae Gomphidae Clambidae Acroceridae … Mutilidae Libellulidae Coccinellidae (seen only) Pompilidae Petaluridae Corylophidae Asilidae Scoliidae Cryptophagidae Bibionidae Tiphiidae Orthoptera: Curculionidae Chironomidae Vespidae Acrididae Dermestidae Culicidae Rhaphidophoridae Dytiscidae Drosophilidae Isoptera: Tetrigidae Elateridae Phoridae Rhinotermitidae Tettigoniidae Elmidae Tipulidae Endomychidae Lepidoptera: Plecoptera: Erotylidae Ephemeroptera: Arctiidae Perlidae Gyrinidae Caenidae Geometridae Histeridae Baetidae Lasiocampidae Psocoptera Hydrophilidae Lycaenidae Laemophloeidae Hemiptera: Noctuidae Trichoptera: Lampyridae Aradidae Nymphalidae Hydropsychidae Latridiidae Cercopidae Papilionidae Hydroptilidae Leiodidae Cicadellidae Pieridae Leptoceridae Limnichidae Corixidae Saturniidae Philopotamidae Lycidae Cydnidae Sphingidae Phryganeidae Melandryidae Delphacidae Yponomeutidae

Meloidae Gelastocoridae Monotomidae Zoraptera: Margarodidae Mecoptera: Mordellidae Zorotypidae: Membracidae Panorpidae Mycetophagidae Zorotypus hubbardi Pentatomidae Nitidulidae Caudell Reduviidae Microcoryphia: Passalidae Rhopalidae Phalacridae Machilidae Scutelleridae Photos from the Trip

Last minute packing

Spur of the Caroline Dormon Trail at our campsite

Dr. Carlton’s Camper: “Roughin’ It”

Swapping stories around the campfire the first night

Breakfast!

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)

Dr. Carlton showing how to use a beat sheet

A paper wasp (Polistes annularis (L.)) attacked by a Cordyceps fungus.

Eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum (F.))

A momma spider, Lycosidae, guarding her egg sac

Mr. Park cooling off on a hot day

An amazing Buttermilk Racer (Coluber constrictor anthicus)

Aquatic Collecting: The sample is put in a white pan and specimens are collected as they wiggle around.

Victoria taking a long cool walk to get an aquatic sample

Matt grilling the hotdogs for dinner

Dr. Carlton pointing out an interesting bug on the black light sheet

Erick collecting a small insect with an aspirator

A pawpaw sphinx moth (Dolba hylaeus (Drury)) that came to our sheet

A Luna Moth (Actias luna (L.)) with one broken tail landed on the ground near the black light.

It’s easier when they come to you! A Luna Moth decided to land on Mr. Park’s back.

A June beetle (Phyllophaga sp.)

A hairstreak caterpillar, Lycaenidae

Wild Pink Azalea (Rhododendron canescens)

Two trees that tied themselves in a knot!

Dr. Carlton showing students how to take a litter sample

Lunch time! If you look closely you’ll see a leaf litter sifter on the table! table!

A flight intercept trap (FIT): Bugs that fly into the screen fall into the trays at the bottom and get stuck in preservative.

The Grey Petaltail Dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi (Hagen in Selys)) This species is rarely collected in Louisiana.