Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada

Home , Diplolepis polita, Laphria affinis, Laphria index, Melacoryphus, Rosa arkansana

Vol. 39(1) Summer 2020

The Newsletter of the BSC is published twice a year by the Biological Survey of Canada, an incorporated not-for-profit In this issue group devoted to promoting biodiversity science in Canada. From the editor’s desk...... 2 Membership...... 3 President’s Report...... 4 Feature Articles: The Waterton Lakes National Park Insect Collec- BSC Facebook & Twitter...... 5 tion: A Tale of Romance and Drama Contributing to the BSC David Langor...... 22 Newsletter...... 5 Reminder: 2020 AGM...... 6 First records of Climaciella Request for specimens: brunnea (Neuroptera: Carabidae from across Canada; Mantispidae) in Saskatch- Kevin Floate...... 6 ewan Mel Hart and Victoria Student Corner A. Kjoss...... 26 1. Daily Life of a Student Bee Researcher, Emily Hanuschuk..7 2. Martens in the Museum, Christopher M. Stinson...... 10 Student Corner Updates Daily Life of a Student Bee Researcher 1. Survey of Terrestrial Arthro Emily Hanuschuk...... 7 pods of Waterton Lakes National Park, David Langor.....14 Martens in the Museum 2. IISD Artist-in-Residence Christopher M. Stinson...... 10 program, Sean Landsman.....18 Feature Articles 1. The Waterton Lakes Nation Project Update al Park Insect Collection: A Survey of Terrestrial Arthropods of Waterton Tale of Romance and Drama, Lakes National Park David Langor...... 21 Dave Langor...... 14 2. First records of Climaciella brunnea (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) in Saskatchewan History Corner: Mel Hart & Victoria A. Kjoss....25 Two grassland entomologists stay connected over a span of 62 years Tales from the Field Joe Shorthouse...... 29 Peeping Robert, Robert Wrigley...... 27 History Corner Tales from the Field: Two grassland entomologists stay Peeping Robert connected over a span of 62 years, Joe Shorthouse ...... 29 Robert Wrigley...... 27

Canadian Journal of Request for specimens: Carabidae from across Ar thropod Identification: Canada 2019 papers ...... 45 from Kevin Floate, Agriculture and Agrifood BSC publications available Canada ...... 6 on the Website ...... 47 Notices ...... 48 2019 papers in the Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification...... 45

Visit our Website | Previous issues http://biologicalsurvey.ca http://biologicalsurvey.ca/pages/read/newsletter-past-issues

From the Editor’s desk Donna Giberson The Waterton National Park motto, ‘where the mountains meet the prairies’, seems very pertinent to this issue of the Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada, with two articles directly relating to Waterton Park itself, plus articles on prairie grasslands and BC mountains. Taxonomically, the focus ranges from bees and rose gall wasps through mantidflies, beetles, and general insect collecting, right through to examining mammal museum specimens to sort out some thorny biodiversity issues. I’m excited to note that we have two student articles this issue, thanks to the efforts of our Student Liaison, Emily Hanuschuk, and new Newsletter Assistant Editor, Dan Peach! Our new feature, Tales from the Field, includes a story on collecting tiger beetles on the west coast and other articles highlight BSC history, a new species record for Saskatchewan, and a har- rowing tale of rescuing an important collection from a raging wildfire. This is definitely a diverse issue! This newsletter would not be possible without the contributions from our readers, and I urge you to read these and consider submitting an update or article on your own work. This issue also benefitted from a thorough copy-editing from one of our contributors, Victoria A. Kjoss, who picked up a number of typos and inconsistencies that have crept in to this and other issues without our noticing, and for that I’m very grateful!

Please also consider getting involved with the BSC, whether it be standing for one of the positions on the board, or engaging with on-going projects, or, as shown below, helping out with the website or other outreach activities!

If you haven’t yet looked up our website or checked out the BSC on Facebook, consider doing so, and send us your comments; of course, if there are any little bumps in navigating the site, we’d like to hear about them. The new site will continue to have links to biodiversity resources of the BSC, and our publications, and will be easier to keep up to date. Check it out, at http://biologicalsurvey.ca/

Questions? Please contact us at [email protected] D.Giberson Tiger beetles on Blooming Point Beach, PEI.

The Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada is published twice a year (summer and winter) by the Biological Survey of Canada, an incorporated not-for-profit group devoted to promoting biodiversity science in Canada, particularly with respect to the Arthropoda. Send submissions to: Dr. Donna Giberson ([email protected]) Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island 550 University Ave., Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3

Masthead image: Tricoloured Bumblebee, Bombus ternarius photographed on lupins in PEI in 2010, D.Giberson Volume 39(1) Summer 2020 [click here to return to front page] Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada 3

Biological Survey of Canada: Documenting Canada’s Biodiversity

The Biological Survey of Canada (BSC) has been collecting, collating, analyzing and disseminating information about Canada’s biological diversity since 1977. The BSC is a Canadian non-profit, charitable organization consisting of biodiversity scientists across Canada, and in other countries, who have an interest in Canadian biota. The BSC prides itself in identifying and filling biodiversity information needs using a bottom-up organiza- tional structure, whereby front-line workers identify the needs and work to address them. The BSC has successfully demonstrated its capacity to advance national level biodiversity science and knowledge concerning terrestrial arthropods, which account for >60% of Canadian species, and is now reaching out to the broader biological community to bring together those who are experts with other taxa and who share a common vision and goal of making biodiversity information more accessible.

Are you a member of the BSC? You may be on the mailing list to receive BSC newsletters, but may not be a member! To become a member, send a request for membership to the BSC Secretary (see below). Remember to request membership before the AGM so you are eligible to vote. If you don’t hear from us within a couple of weeks, please contact us again, to be sure your request has been received.

To Join the BSC: Send an email to Donna Giberson, Secretary, BSC. [email protected]

- In the subject line, write “BSC Membership” - in the body of the message, give your full name and contact information, and a valid email address. Remember to update the BSC if you change email addresses. Please also provide some information on your background and biodiversity interests.

Check out the BSC website! http://biologicalsurvey.ca/

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President’s update Biological Survey of Canada/ Commission biologique du Canada Greg Pohl Natural Resources Canada, Northern Forestry Centre Edmonton, AB

Greetings from my home office in Edmonton, AB, where days and weeks slide by with the eery sameness of a “new normal”. I won’t dwell on our collective coronavirus situation any more than necessary here; I hope this newsletter finds you and your loved ones well. Over the past year, the new board of the BSC has rolled up our collective sleeves and gotten to work on things, including a revamp and rejuvenation of the society website (http://biologicalsurvey.ca/) and a revival of the “Biota of Canada” editorial committee. This newsletter reports several BSC initiatives and other research new and old by our members across Canada. From species presence data such as Mel Hart and Victoria Kjoss’ new mantispid record for SK, to Christopher Stinson’s research clarifying the division between related marten species, to Emily Hanuschuk’s update on bee ecology research, it’s exciting to see what BSC members are learning about the species that share the Canadian landscape with us. My thanks go out to Donna Giberson and Dan Peach for putting this issue together. I hope you enjoy it as we head into a most unusual “sessile summer”. As Sean Landsman notes in his update on the IISD Artists in Residence program, “Life is what happens after you make plans.” And so, most of us are getting on with life as we rethink our summer plans. The BSC had been planning for a summer 2020 bioblitz, and a fall 2020 symposium on high-alpine insects at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of Canada. Un- fortunately, those have both been derailed due to the pandemic. I thank the people who have been organising those events, particularly Dave Langor, who had taken the lead on both of them; hopefully they will still take place in some form in the future. On an individual level, I hope that many of you are able to find a means to channel your biologists’ inclinations, and “make lemonade” with this large shipment of lemons that has arrived in our lives. We may not be able to get to distant field sites, or to confer- ences to meet with colleagues, or even into our labs and workplaces, but opportunities abound to document Canada’s diversity close to home. Last newsletter, I touched on the promise and challenge of socially-mediated citizen science, and I continue to contem- plate the pros and cons of traditional “gathering of dead things” as biodiversity data, versus the photo-based, crowd-sourced citizen science approach. This spring, I’ve begun my own small citizen science experiment. I set up an iNaturalist “project” that encom- passes my neighborhood and an adjacent wooded ravine in my hometown. All iNaturalist observations posted by anyone from within the project boundaries will be automatically collated, and I set a personal goal of contributing an average of one species per day over the summer. So far, I’m on track, and collectively we’ve surpassed 100 species. Although the vast majority of iNaturalist submissions are photos of living organisms in nature, the app can accommodate specimen photos as well. Some of my observations will be photos of collected specimens and dissections of the less conspicuous microfauna. We’ll see how that goes, as I attempt a hybrid of collecting and live observation for this project. I’m genuinely excited to get out there for a bit each day to see what new things I can find. It’s a welcome distraction from the news. On that note, I’ll end this report with a challenge to you to make the most of this enforced “sessile summer”, and see what biological information you can gather, in places close to home that you might normally travel past without much thought on your way to more distant locales. Happy hunting!

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BSC on Facebook and Twitter Join the Conversation!

The BSC is active on Facebook (www.facebook.com/biolsurvey1can) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/BiolSurCan). We regularly share news about new biodiversity research in Canada and updates from the BSC. Like and Follow the Biological Survey of Canada! If you have content you would like to share with the BSC please email [email protected]

BSC Student Corner

Students and Early Career Researchers - Do you have a Biodiversity Project you’d like to have highlighted in the BSC Newsletter? Contact the BSC Student Rep (Em- ily Hanuschuk, [email protected]) or the Newsletter Assistant Editor (Dan Peach, [email protected]) to inquire about contributing. Articles can be on preliminary data, experiences/adventures in the field, or any other as- pect of your work or study. We welcome notes on sampling methods or interesting habitats as well, and illustrations are encouraged.

Examples of other student articles can be found on pp.27-35 in Vol 29(2) (http://biologicalsurvey.ca/newsletter/bscfall2010.pdf), pp.41-49 in Vol 30(2) (http://biologicalsurvey.ca/newsletter/bscwinter2011.pdf), and pp.7-19 in Vol 34(1) (http://biologicalsurvey.ca/newsletter/bscsummer2015.pdf).

Contributing to the BSC Newsletter

Do you have an article about a topic relating to Canada’s Biodiversity that you would like to submit to the Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada? We welcome topics on all aspects (and all species) relating to Canada’s biodiversity. Topics are up to the authors, but examples of appropriate articles include interesting finds, habitats, or collecting trips, results or reports from Bioblitzes, information about local natural history museums, and so on.

To submit a manuscript, please contact the editor ([email protected]) for instructions. The Newsletter is published twice per year (Summer and Winter), and deadlines for articles are Mid-May for the summer issue and Mid-December for the Winter issue.

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2020 AGM

The Annual General Meeting will be held on June 17, 2020 (0900h Pacific Time) via video conference. Instructions for joining the AGM and supporting documents have been sent out in advance of the meeting to the members.

Please plan to join if you can.

Request for Specimens

If anyone has by-catch of carabid beetles or pinned specimens of carabids cluttering their cupboards, please contact Kevin Floate ([email protected]). Any and all specimens of carabids from different geographic locations are of interest. We are trying to expand the holdings of carabid beetles in collections housed at different Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centres in Alberta and Saskatchewan. These collections mainly have common species from agro-ecosystems from the southern prairies; e.g., species of Agonum, Amara, Bemidion, Harpalus, Pterostichus. We need a much greater diversity of taxa to aid in identification purposes.

Kevin Floate Lethbridge Research and Development Centre Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge

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Student Corner The Daily Life of a Student Bee Researcher (and Why Bee-Collecting is Important) Emily Hanuschuk MSc. student, Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB. [email protected]

This winter started out just like the last. I had tons of bees to process – more than 13 000, although I didn’t know it at the time. The samples filled over half of a standing freezer, each little baggy holding countless specimens in alcohol. Luckily, my assistant, Jade Tanner, had agreed to help with the processing. Jade gave each bee a tiny bee blow-out – much like at a salon – using a hairdryer and paintbrush to carefully fluff their hair. I’ve done this task thousands of times, and I still thoroughly enjoy the cathartic rhythm of pinning and fluffing the bees, reanimating them to look alive again. Dry, pin, fluff, repeat. Processing all of the samples in the freezer takes several months. We caught the bees the previous summer at 32 sites across Manitoba. Our sampling days followed a standard pattern: pile our equipment in to the vehicle, drive 1-2 hours outside of the city, find the site. Slather on sunscreen. Lace up steel-toed hiking boots. Put on wide-brimmed hat, and secure tightly under chin. Don net. Passersby generally stare at us. Some stop to ask questions, which we’re glad to answer. I love every chance I get to talk about my research, and about bees in general. Our main method of catching bees is simple, and standard for the field; we set out dozens of pan traps along the side of a road and fill them with soapy water (following Leong and Thorp 1999) (Fig. 1). The bees are attracted to the colour of the cups and will try to land on them, thinking they are a giant, sweet flower. We also catch bees in nets while they are sipping nectar and collecting pollen at real flowers, because we antw to know more about which flowers they are visiting (Fig. 2). Emily Hanuschuk Emily Hanuschuk

Fig 1. Coloured pan traps filled with soapy Fig 2. Jade Tanner net-collecting bees in 2019. water are excellent tools for collecting many Nets are an essential tool for both researchers bee species. and hobbyists.

Fortunately for my project, but unfortunately for the bees, we need them to be dead before we can properly identify them. Trying to see the density of punctures on the un- derside of the abdomen, for example, would be terribly hard with a living, squirming bee

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that can sting you (if it is a female). We also need to keep each bee for verification of its identification, in case there is some debate about its species, it is accidently misidentified, or if we need a DNA sample down the line. All scenarios have happened. As Jade is busy pinning and reviving the natural appearance of our bees, I spend my winter days cataloguing, sorting, and identifying them. The best part is the identification, where I can see the bees up-close and get to know each species personally. This task requires a microscope, since most of the bees are less than a centimeter long. I have dozens of family, genus and species keys at my disposal, plus the interactive keys found at discoverlife.org (Ascher and Pickering 2020). For some bees, though, there are no keys available. My best shot when this happens is to read a species description, and possibly compare it to an already identified specimen – if I’m lucky enough to have one. At the University of Manitoba, where I study, we have one of the only remaining depart- ments entirely dedicated to insect research in Canada as well as access to the Wallis Roughley Museum of Entomology, with > 57,000 bee records, which is an indispensable tool for identifying bees correctly.

Best laid plans can go awry At the end of winter, I typically select new sites to visit for the upcoming field season. But this year is different. The field season is likely cancelled because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that we won’t be collecting bees for the project. It’s a disappointment because collecting bees is one of my favourite things to do, and I love being outside with the sun. Not all is lost though; you’ll still find me outside this summer with a net in one hand and a collecting tube in the other, collecting bees on my own time. This is because there are still gaps in our knowledge of bee diversity for the province that need to be filled. For instance, there are still questions about how many bee species are in Manitoba (Fig 3). The Bees of Canada website at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum suggests that we have 257 (Royal Saskatchewan Museum 2020), but current counts from our lab are much higher. My research supervisor even recently found a new species in the province that has never before been described – the Gibbs’ smiley face cuckoo bee, Epeolus gibbsi Onuferko (Onuferko 2018). Our lab has also re-discovered Epeoloides pilosulus (Cres- son), a species that had not been seen in the province for almost a century (Gibbs et al. in press). What other species remain out there to be discovered, or re-discovered, is a mystery – until someone ventures out to collect them. Any collecting trip, no matter how small, can contribute. Emily Hanuschuk Emily Hanuschuk Emily Hanuschuk

Fig 3. Manitoba has hundreds of bee species, and more are being found every year. Here are three of them.

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Why bee collecting is important Collecting bees is important not only because it gives us a greater understanding of diversity, but it also allows us to monitor population health and range-shifts over time. An example of this is Bombus affinisCresson, which has drastically declined in abundance and is now considered Critically Endangered (Hatfield et al. 2015). tA the same time that habitat is lost, agriculture intensifies, and landscapes change, the global impacts of climate change are also becoming evident. For example, climatologists predict lower summer rainfall and more extreme precipitation events for the Prairies by the end of the century than we currently experience, if we don’t change our habits (Bush and Lemmen 2019). This spells trouble for bees, many of whom rely on dependable bloom periods. The only way we can monitor our bees during these changes is to go forth and collect, and then use the data to inform decisions surrounding land-use and sustainable development (for the many ways bees contribute to sustainable development, see Patel et al. 2020). Bee collecting is both a great way to spend time outdoors, and to learn about these lovely creatures that we depend on. I’m nearing the end of my project now, but this is a hobby I will keep for my entire life. The more I learn about bees and interact with them, the greater my appreciation grows. This summer is a great time to start bee collecting if you’ve never tried it. And if you aren’t sure what to do with all of the insects you collect, fear not; the Wallis Roughley museum accepts donations.

References Ascher, J.S., and Pickering, J. 2019. DiscoverLife bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenop- tera: Apoidea: Anthophila). Draft-51. Available from https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q. [accessed 12 May 2020] Bush, E., and Lemmen, D.S. 2019. Canada’s changing climate report. Government of Canada, Ot- tawa, ON. 444. p. Gibbs, J., Hanuschuk, E.J., and Shukla-Bergen, S. In press. Rediscovery of the rare bee Epeoloides pilosulus in Manitoba (Hymenoptera: Apidae). J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. Accepted 9 June 2020. Hatfield, R., Jepsen, S., Thorp, R., Richardson, L., Colla, S., Foltz Jordan, S., and Evans, E. 2015. Bombus affinis. IUCN Red List Threat. Species 2015 e.T44937399A46440196,. Available from https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T44937399A46440196.en. [accessed 12 May 2020] Leong, J.M., and Thorp, R.W. 1999. Colour-coded sampling: the pan trap colour preferences of oli- golectic and nonoligolectic bees associated with a vernal pool plant. Ecol. Entomol., 24: 329–335. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2311.1999.00196.x. Onuferko, T.M. 2018. A revision of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Epeolus Latreille for Nearctic species, north of Mexico (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Zookeys, 755: 1–185. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.755.23939. Patel, V., Pauli, N., Biggs, E., Barbour, L., and Boruff, B. 2020. Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development. Ambio. doi: 10.1007/s13280-020-01333-9. Royal Saskatchewan Museum. 2020. Bees of Canada website: A Royal Saskatchewan Museum Initia- tive. http://beesofcanada.com/home. [accessed 12 May 2020]

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Martens in the Museum Christopher M. Stinson MSc Student, Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia

I’m a bit of an oddball in the graduate student world, having begun my MSc about 15 months after my fortieth birthday. Leading up to my dive back into student life have been 13 years as Curatorial Assistant of Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC. Throughout this tenure, my interest all things biodiverse has never waned. Mesocarni- vores have held a singular place in my interests, and I have been fascinated in mustelids since I first saw them as I was growing up in rural

Northwestern Ontario. Over the years of support- Dan Peach ing research projects through the museum, I be- The author, demonstrating how to keep came interested in doing research myself, based the blackflies of the Yukon well fed. on the large numbers of specimens for which I am caretaker. I finally found a supervisor that would take on this mature student in Dr. Cole Burton, from the Faculty of Forestry, and began a masters in the fall of 2019. Collecting, systematics and taxonomy are what initially brought me into the museum life and continues to fascinate. Questions on how organisms are related to each other and the fine points used to differentiate them would preoccupy my entire life if I let it – and perhaps I have. My first task was to decide on a specific question that I could research; not easy with all of the various taxa available to me. In the end it was fairly simple: The Martes complex (now given its own subfamily, Guloninae) in Family Mus- telidae, has been of particular interest to me, plus the variety and number of specimens at the Beaty and many other institutions fit the bill. Specifically, I decided to work on the two species of marten that are found in British Columbia, the Pacific marten,Martes caurina and American marten, Martes americana. My goal is to delineate the contact zone between these two species within the province, and determine the genetic interaction and phenotypic differences between Pacific and American martens using museum specimens. Although I am immensely fond of field work, I wanted to keep this project grounded in museum specimens to continue to benefit the museum, building the collection and creat- ing content for exhibits and public outreach on top of doing the basic research. This approach lets me work on my own project from my current position and on my home turf. It seems like this was a bit of prescience on my part, as the current state of world affairs would have made field work quite a bit more difficult. I am happy to continue preparing marten skulls while I keep our dermestid beetle colonies well fed and check critical equipment and systems at the Beaty Bio- diversity Museum a few times per week.

What are martens and what do we know about them in BC? Members of the subfamily Guloninae include the wolverine, fisher, tayra and most importantly (at least for my work) the martens. Eight species of marten are recognised worldwide. They live mostly in the forested areas of the Northern Hemi- sphere (a few dip into the tropical areas of Asia), and two species occur in North America. The American marten, Martes

americana (Fig. 1) is found in northern Christopher Stinson forests from Newfoundland to Alaska, Figure 1: Martes americana, Fort Frances ON.

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ranging from the northern states of the USA northward to the treeline. The Pacific marten, M. caurina, is found mostly along the west coast of North America from California to Alaska and stretches as far east as the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. These semi-arboreal hunters feed mainly on small mammals, but their diets also include other small vertebrates, like birds or frogs, as well as various fruits and berries in the summer. Their lustrous fur has made them a perennial favourite in the fur industry, usually mar- keted as sable. The two species are generally similar in outer appearance though there are some differences. The Pacific marten is a bit larger on average than the American marten, and the American marten has a narrower muzzle and head. This latter difference becomes much more apparent when looking at skulls; this difference in skull shape is what makes my project interesting and possible. The contact zone between these two species in British Columbia is poorly understood (Dawson and Cook 2012) but is presumed to parallel the western edge of the Rocky Mountains in the southeast of the province and arch north easterly to southeastern Alaska. There are many conflicting references delineating the exact boundaries and overlap between the species (e.g., Clark et al. 1987; Dawson and Cook 2012; Colella et al. 2018). There is also much individual variation within species, making differentiation difficult.Martes caurina was only recently re-elevated to species, having been synony- mized within M. americana since 1953 (Wright 1953). Recent work has also shown that the Pacific marten forms two distinctive groups (Colella et al. 2018), one of which is an insular form on the islands of the north Pacific coast of North America including Vancou- ver Island and Haida Gwaii. The other is the continental form found on the mainland. Thus, the relationship between these two species in BC is fairly complex and poorly understood (Hagmeier 1958; Colella et al. 2018). This uncertainty has important management implications: changes in the number of species in taxonomic groupings identified through the phylogenetic species concept can increase the difficulty in deciding what species get the resources required for conservation (Agapow et al. 2004). Information on species ranges is important in developing appropriate management and conservation policies for each species and population, for example, through development and alteration of forest harvest practices and trapping regulations. Martens are one of the most heavily trapped fur-bearers in British Columbia (Hatler et al. 2003), and they are subject to pressures through harvest, climate change, and anthropogenic habitat alteration. Resolving their taxonomy within BC could have far reaching consequences in trapping quotas, land conservation, and forest practices. Much work has been done on this species system in the United States but there is still a large missing piece of their interaction in British Columbia (Dawson and Cook 2012; Dawson et al. 2017; Colella et al. 2018). The contact zone in BC offers a great opportunity to uncover the taxonomic interrelationships between these two species and help complete the story of an important mammalian evolutionary system. My aim is to fill in the BC gap of knowledge with new specimen contributions and current holdings at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, along with those from other collections in North America and perhaps around the world. I hope to uncover the evolutionary and taxonomic implications of their relationship in BC.

My study methods and goals I am using museum specimens (Fig. 2) to analyze the cranial morphometric and genetic differences between the two species and tease out their interrelationships to uncover their contact zone: where and how they are interacting within the province. In addition, use of historical collections will help create a comprehensive, more robust picture of the historical migration,

biogeography, and interrelatedness within the Christopher Stinson Martes of western North America. I am using Figure 2: Dermestid beetle larvae put the both traditional linear morphometrics so that finishing touches on aMartes skull from a my work will be translatable to the field, as well trapline in the contact zone. Submission for Biodiversity Research Centre photo contest 2019.

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as 3D photogrammetric and scanning techniques for more modern geomet- ric shape analyses of the skulls. The genetic work will involve genotyping by sequencing techniques to get the most robust data for my project. The crania of these two species are visibly different, especially when comparing the island forms of M. caurina to M. americana (see Fig. 3: crania of M. americana are narrower with a relatively longer rostrum when compared to M. caurina). Merriam (1890) used these cranial features to describe the Pacific marten as a new species distinct from its eastern counterpart, and such analyses have been verified in recent studies (e.g., Dawson and Cook 2012). However, the cranial morphology differences are not as pronounced

in populations found where the ranges Christopher Stinson of the two species overlap (Colella et Figure 3: Martes crania comparison. Top L-R: M. al. 2018), thus the necessity to include americana female, Saskatchewan, M. caurina female, genetic analyses to distinguish the Vancouver Island, M. caurina female, Haida Gwaii, species. Bottom L-R: M. americana male, Saskatchewan, The focus of this study will be in M. caurina Vancouver Island, M. caurina male Haida Gwaii. British Columbia. Some specimens from outside BC will be utilized to get “outgroups” and better differentiate the typical genetics and morphology found in each species outside any possible contact zone. Preliminary data collected from the specimens held at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum will allow me to set up a strategy of loans and museum visitations to encompass the greater part of the contact zone between the two species in BC than might be available from the Beaty museum alone. More specimens can also be obtained from BC trappers in traplines that fall into the contact zone as is deemed necessary from ongoing results.

Implications of the study A number of evolutionary interactions could be occurring between the marten species in this area. There are instances of hybridization in some locations in BC as well as some in the continental USA and Alaska. Some of the relationships between the species have been complicated by introductions of American marten from other areas of North Amer- ica (Pauli et al. 2015; Colella et al. 2019). This has occurred in the islands of Southeast- ern Alaska and possibly other areas as well. Although classified as Least Concern yb the IUCN (K. Helgen and F. Reid 2016), more southern populations of Martes caurina are seeing declines that do not bode well for their genetic health or survival. It is not clear if there are similar issues occurring in more sparsely populated areas of the species ranges in BC, but this does not seem to be the case as populations in BC are considered healthy but with some uncertainty (BC Conservation Data Centre 1994). For example, there is the added complication of two separate clades of M. caurina found in different parts of their range. The insular group found on islands are visibly different from those on the mainland (the continental form of Pacific marten is smaller than both insularM. caurina and M. americana), a situation which may further complicate the exact genetic differences between the species. The differences may be due to the reinvasion from multiple refugia of the Pacific marten after the retreat of the Cordilleran ice sheet, something I hope to explore in this study by incorporating more ancient specimens within the dataset. I hope to better understand the zoogeographic movements of both species that have resulted in their current ranges in British Columbia. Combining data from morphology, biogeography, paleontology, and genetics will determine and delineate the contact zone between Pacific and American martens in BC.

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References: Agapow P, Bininda‐Emonds ORP, Crandall KA, Gittleman JL, Mace GM, Marshall JC, and Purvis A. 2004. The impact of species concept on biodiversity studies. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 79(2): 161–179. doi:10.1086/383542. BC Conservation Data Centre. 1994. Species Summary: Martes americana. B.C. Ministry of Environ- ment. Available from http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ [accessed 4 April 2020]. Clark TW, Anderson E, Douglas C, and Strickland M. 1987. Martes americana. Mammalian Species, 289(289): 1–8. doi:10.2307/3503918. Colella JP, Johnson EJ, and Cook JA. 2018. Reconciling molecules and morphology in North American Martes. Journal of Mammalogy, 99(6): 1323–1335. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyy140. Colella JP, Wilson RE, Talbot SL, and Cook JA. 2019. Implications of introgression for wildlife translocations: the case of North American martens. Conservation Genetics, 20(2): 153–166. doi:10.1007/s10592-018-1120-5. Dawson N and Cook JA. 2012. Behind the genes: Diversification of North American martens Martes( americana and M. caurina). In Biology and Conservation of Martens, Sables, and Fishers: A New Synthesis. Edited by KB Aubry, WJ Zielinski, MG Raphael, G Proulx, and SW Buskirk. Cornell Uni- versity Press, Ithaca, New York. pp. 23–38. Dawson NG, Colella JP, Small MP, Stone KD, Talbot SL, and Cook JA. 2017. Historical biogeography sets the foundation for contemporary conservation of martens (genus Martes) in northwestern North America. Journal of Mammalogy, 98(3): 715–730. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyx047. Hagmeier EM. 1958. Inapplicability of the Subspecies Concept to North American Marten. Systematic Zoology, 7(1): 1–7. doi:10.2307/2411472. Hatler DF, Blood DA, and Beal AM. 2003. Furbearer Management Guidelines British Columbia: Marten, Martes americana. The Government of British Columbia. Available from http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/ fw/wildlife/trapping/docs/marten.pdf. Helgen K, and Reid F. 2016. Martes americana: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41648A45212861. International Union for Conservation of Nature. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016- 1.RLTS.T41648A45212861.en. Pauli JN, Moss WE, Manlick PJ, Fountain ED, Kirby R, Sultaire SM, Perrig PL, Mendoza JE, Pokallus JW, and Heaton TH. 2015. Examining the uncertain origin and management role of martens on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Conservation Biology 29(5): 1257–1267. doi:10.1111/cobi.12491. Wright PL. 1953. Intergradation between Martes americana and Martes caurina in Western Montana. Journal of Mammalogy 34(1): 74–86. doi:10.2307/1375946.

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Project Update

Survey of Terrestrial Arthropods of Waterton Lakes National Park David Langor Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, 5320 – 122 St. NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T6H 3S5 Email: [email protected]

Waterton Lakes National Park and its biodiversity Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) – where the mountains meet the prairies – is a spectacular gem set in Alberta’s southern Rocky Mountains. At 525 km2 it is the smallest of Canada’s Rocky Mountain national parks, yet this tiny parcel of land has wondrous and diverse scenery (mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, forests, wetlands, and grasslands). The park also has a very high diversity of biota packed into a small area, and it can truly be considered a biodiversity hotspot. The park’s four ecoregions – foothills parkland, montane, subalpine, and alpine – embrace 45 different plant community types, and 16 of these are considered rare or fragile and are threatened (https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn- np/ab/waterton/nature/environment/verdure-green). The foothills fescue prairie in the park is one of the largest tracts of native grassland in Canada. The high level of biodiversity in WLNP results from the convergence of biotic elements from the Great Plains grasslands, Rocky Mountains, and Pacific Northwest. The plants of WLNP support a designation of ‘biodiversity hotspot’ as there are >1000 vascular plant species, 182 bryophytes and 218 lichen species there. More than half of Alberta’s plant species can be found in WLNP, and the number of vascular plant species is higher there than in the much larger Jasper and Banff National Parks combined. Notably, WLNP has a relatively high diversity of moonworts (8 spp.), including one species known only from the park. Rare plant species abound in WLNP with 179 species that are provincially rare (>20 that are found only in the Waterton area) and > 50 species that are rare in Canada (https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/waterton/nature/environment/verdure-green). An iconic plant species is bear grass, Xerophyllum tenax Pursh (Nutt.), which is distrib- uted mainly west of the continental divide and occurs east of the divide only in WLNP. The vertebrate fauna of the park is also diverse with >60 species of mammals (>60% of species in AB), >250 species of birds (>60%), 24 species of fish (ca. 40%), and 10 species of reptiles and amphibians (55%) (https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/waterton/ nature).

Terrestrial arthropod sampling in WLNP This brief history is not intended to be comprehensive, but merely serves to illustrate that WLNP has been a place of interest for entomological activities for at least a century. There are a few insect specimens in the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes (CNC) in Ottawa, Ontario that were collected by H.L. Sea- mans (Canada Department of Agriculture, Entomology Laboratory, Lethbridge, Alberta) in 1920, and these are the earliest known insect records for the park (Request: I would be interested to hear about earlier records). Seamans sampled in the park until at least 1924, and his colleague from the same lab, H.E. Gray, contributed to the effort in 1922 and 1923. Edgar H. Strickland, professor of entomology at the University of Alberta, Ed- monton collected in WLNP from 1921 to at least 1926, and most of his material resides in the CNC and Strickland Entomological Museum (University of Alberta). C.H. Young (National Museum of Canada) sampled insects (mainly Lepidoptera) and mammals in WLNP in 1922 and 1923, and many of his insect specimens are at the CNC. Other people who sampled insects in WLNP in the 1920s include James McDunnough and Walter Carter (Canada Department of Agriculture) in 1923, Norman Criddle (Aweme, MB) in 1926, Kenneth M. King and E.R. Buckell (Canada Dept. of Agriculture) in 1926, and J.H. Pepper (Montana State University) in 1929. Waterton continued to be a popular draw for entomologists from the 1930s to 1967,

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including Frederick S. Carr (1930-31), George Holland (1938), E.E. Sterns (1956), Os- wald Peck (1956), John and Bert Carr (1958), W.R.M. Mason (1962), and K.C. Hermann (1962). The renowned Swedish entomologist Carl Lindroth visited WLNP in 1956 and was the first to extensively sample the ground beetles there. The park also caught the attention of the celebrated Russian-American novelist, poet, and Lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov who in 1958 applied for and received a permit to collect Lepidoptera in WLNP, although we are still seeking evidence that he indeed visited the park and sampled there. One of the most interesting entomological stories concerning WLNP occurred in 1967 when newlyweds David and Margaret Larson spent July and August under contract to develop a collection of insects for the park (this story is covered in more detail in a companion article in this issue). Over 3000 specimens were collected, labelled, and now form the large majority of the WLNP Insect collection (recently donated by Parks Canada to the Strickland Museum). In 1980, several entomologists (I.M. Smith, J.M. Campbell, H.J. Teskey, W.R.M Mason, D.E. Bright and E.E. Linquist) from the Biosystematics Research Institute of Agriculture Canada in Ottawa (now the CNC) spent a few weeks in WLNP sampling insects and arachnids. A large amount of material was collected and resides at the CNC, much of which has now been identified and databased. In 2000-2001, Erin Kinsella, as part of her MSc program at the University of Calgary, sampled insects (using malaise, pan, and pitfall traps) in forests burned by the Sofa Mountain Fire of 1998 and in adjacent unburned forest. Ground beetles (Carabidae), sawflies (Symphyta), hover flies (Syrphidae), and spiders (Araneae) were mostly identified to species and trap residues containing huge quantities of specimens (esp. Diptera and Hymenoptera) are stored at the insect museum of the University of Calgary. Between 2000 and 2009, John and Kathleen Hancock sampled spiders throughout WLNP and specimens reside in their private collection in Pincher Creek. Much of this material has been databased (Microsoft Access) and John and Kathleen recently and kindly provided me with a copy of the database. I am also working with them to help find a new home for their collection and for a large number of drawings of spiders that John has completed. In 2008 and 2012, the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) sampled terrestrial invertebrates (mainly insects and arachnids) at a few sites in WLNP using various trap types, sweep-netting and man- ual collections. Samples were returned to BIO labs at the University of Guelph for DNA barcoding. Most specimens remain there and barcode data, specimen information and images are available through the Public Data Portal on the Barcode of Life Data System (www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BINSearch). In 2012, 53,095 specimens were collected in 445 collection events and a total of 6305 Barcode Identification Numbers (BINs) were obtained (Jeremy deWaard, personal communication; also see https://www. nature.com/articles/s41597-019-0320-2). In addition to the sampling activities mentioned herein, many others have collected terrestrial arthropod material in WLNP on an ad hoc basis and these specimens reside in numerous collections throughout Canada and beyond. Large numbers of records from WLNP exist in the scientific literature, and some effort is underway to capture these in a database. As well, many species and subspecies have been described based on type material from WLNP. In the CNC alone there exists no fewer than 95 primary types from WLNP, including 89 insects and three arachnids (Michelle Locke, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, personal communication). Amongst these are 62 types that are based on specimens from some of the earliest collections made at WLNP, mainly by McDunnough, Strickland and Seamans. Eight orders of insects are represented among the types: Diptera (23 taxa), Hymenoptera (19), Lepidoptera (15), Ephemeroptera (14), Coleoptera (8), Trichoptera (7), Hemiptera (5), and Plecoptera (1). Undoubtedly numerous types based on WLNP material exist in other collections but it will take some effort to tabulate those. If readers are aware of such types, I’d be pleased to hear about them.

The BSC BioBlitz and subsequent survey work From July 7-12, 2005, the BSC organized a BioBlitz at WLNP with participation of 27 people (mainly entomologists) from across the country. Many specimens were collected and accessioned into various collections, with data submitted to the WLNP Biodiversity Database (not yet publicly accessible; contact David Langor for more information). Fol-

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lowing the BioBlitz there was interest from the park and BSC in instituting a long-term biological survey. I obtained a research permit (on behalf of the BSC) in 2006, and this permit has been in place since then (renewed every three years). Many have sampled in WLNP under this permit with the following stipulations: • Inform the permit holder (D. Langor) of the names of the people requesting permission, and their anticipated sampling dates, well beforehand so that the names can be added to the permit and appropriate permission sought from WLNP personnel; • No sampling of the endangered butterfly, the half-moon hairstreak Satyrium( semi- luna); • Vouchers of all species are to be deposited in publicly accessible collections; • Data are to be submitted to the WLNP Biodiversity Database in a timely fashion.

At least a dozen people (some of them making multiple trips) have sampled in WLNP since then. I have sampled in WLNP several times per year since 2005, including large continuous sampling programs using traps (pitfall, panel, Lindren-funnel, window traps on snags), rearing (e.g., of dead wood), and Berlese funnel extractions. This has resulted in collection of tens of thousands of specimens, with representation of all insect orders resident in the park, other groups of terrestrial arthropods (Arachnida, Myriapo- da, Entognatha), gastropods, and earthworms. Despite this large effort, there are many parts of the park that have received little or no sampling effort because of difficulty of access. Unsurprisingly, habitats in the main valley and along the Red Rock Canyon Park- way and Akamina Parkway have received the most sampling effort. As well, areas along most main trails have received some sampling. The alpine areas that are best sampled are around Carthew Lakes, Rowe Lakes and Crypt Lake. The areas that have received the least amount of sampling are the southeastern corner of the park (east of Upper Waterton Lake), the northcentral region (north of Mount Galwey and Mount Dungarvan), and around Lineham Lakes. Most work since 2005 has focused on terrestrial ecosystems, although there has been sampling of aquatic systems for beetles and Hemiptera, and adult caddisflies and stoneflies have been sampled with sweep nets and in light traps. The insect orders receiving the most sampling effort, and for which identifications are most progressed, are Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hemiptera: Heteroptera. Amongst the Hymenoptera many bumble bees were identified by Cory Sheffield and ants by James Glasier. As well, I have made extensive collections of spiders, many of which have been donated to the Royal BC Museum where they are being identified. My personal interests are with Coleoptera, especially Carabidae, Staphylinidae (rove beetles), and Curculionidae (weevils). Thus far, 173 species of Carabidae (Coleoptera) have been found in the park, including a few new provincial records. With many more specimens remaining to be identified (especially of the diverse genusBembidion ), it is expected that about half of the 416 species and subspecies recorded from Alberta occur in WLNP. There has been much recent progress on identification of Staphylinidae and 350 or more species are expected to occur in the park. Over 8000 specimens of the subfamily Aleocharinae alone have been collected and pinned over the last 15 years. Many of these require dissection of genitalia to facilitate identification, and dissecting so many specimens is highly laboursome, but progress is being made. Amongst a subsample of a few hundred specimens of Aleocharinae identified thus far by Jan Klimaszewski are >70 species including several undescribed species. Identification of the weevils is in its early stages but >50 species have been identified from WLNP thus far. As well, at least 65 species of Elateridae (click beetles), 39 of Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles), 46 of Ceram- bycidae, and 83 of Dytiscidae (water beetles) have been recorded from WLNP, with most determinations done by Ed Fuller, Andrew Smith, James Hammond, and David Larson, respectively. Among other orders, the Lepidoptera have received the most attention. Thus far, 769 species of Lepidoptera have been recorded from WLNP (32% of the Alberta fauna); 78 of these are known in AB only from WLNP, and in total 108 species are considered provincially rare (i.e., recorded from five or fewer localities in the province) (Doug Macaulay [Alberta Agriculture, Edmonton] and Greg Pohl [Canadian Forest Service, Edmonton], personal communications). Furthermore, Macaulay and Pohl (personal communications) estimate the total fauna of the park to be at least 1000 species. Amongst Hymenoptera,

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34 species of Formicidae (ants) were identified based on material collected since 2005 (30% of Alberta’s known fauna), and several more species are expected to occur in WLNP (James Glasier, Wildlife Biologist, Alberta Metis Nation, personal communication). Over 130 species of Heteroptera from WLNP have thus far been identified by Geoff Scud- der and others.

Ongoing and future work The Kenow Fire burned over 19,000 ha of WLNP (over one third of the park area) in early September 2017, destroying much of the infrastructure and severely burning forests and grasslands. In 2018, I commenced a research project to document how the fire affected epigaeic arthropods (especially Carabidae) and the early stages of recovery of native fauna, and to assess whether the highly disturbed habitats are more suscep- tible to invasion by newly established non-native species. Most work in 2018 and 2019 was focused on grasslands, where assemblage recovery is expected to occur much more quickly than in forests. Many of the study sites had been sampled shortly before the fire so baseline conditions are understood. Sampling is expected to continue in 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, Ken Richards sampled bumblebees in WLNP before the fire (1993- 1996 and 2016-2017) and after (2018-2019). Sadly, Ken died in December 2019, not long after completing an unpublished report on his work. There may be an opportunity for others to carry on this work in the future. In addition to post-fire recovery research, general survey of the park’s fauna continues in areas that are yet poorly sampled. Thanks to the efforts of many, the terrestrial arthropod fauna of WLNP is one of the best documented in all of Canada. There are opportunities for others to get involved through new sampling efforts and by examination of material already collected from the park. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact David Langor ([email protected]).

Acknowledgements I am grateful to the following people who contributed information and data that enriched this article: Edwin Knox and Jennifer Carpenter (Parks Canada, Waterton) for information about historic insect sampling activities in WLNP, John and Kathleen Hancock (Pincher Creek) for information about their spider sampling in WLNP, John Swann (Uni- versity of Calgary) for information about holdings of WLNP specimens in the University of Calgary terrestrial arthropod collection, Greg Pohl (Canadian Forest Service, Edmonton) and Doug Macaulay (Government of Alberta, Edmonton) for information about Lepi- doptera at WLNP, Michelle Locke (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa), Héctor Cárcamo and Kevin Floate (AAFC, Lethbridge) for information about holdings of WLNP specimen in the AAFC collection in Lethbridge and historical information about early col- lectors, and Jeremy deWaard (Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, Guelph) for information about the BioBus sampling activities in WLNP. Many have graciously volunteered their expertise and time through the years to identify some of the material I have collected at WLNP, including Robert Anderson, Patrice Bouchard, Ed Fuller, James Glasier, Jim Ham- mond, Jan Klimaszewski, David Larson, Geoff Scudder, Cory Sheffield, Andrew Smith. My long-standing survey work in WLNP would not have been possible without the support of Parks Canada, and in particular that of Cyndi Smith, Barbara Johnston, and Jennifer Carpenter, and I am very grateful to have been allowed to work for so many years in one of the most beautiful areas in Canada. Finally, my wife Suzanne and sons, Stephen and Matthew, have been enormously supportive of my work in WLNP and accompanied me on many vacation trips to the park, allowing me to take time to sample and on many occasions enthusiastically helping.

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IISD Artist-in-Residence Program Previous Newsletter item Update: Highlights from a fisheries biologist’s stay at ELA exploring biodiversity with a camera

Sean Landsman Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science Carleton University www.seanlandsmanphotography.com

“Hey, Sean, did you see this in the latest Biological Survey of Canada newsletter?” asked Kyle Knysh, fellow lab member in Dr. Michael van den Heuvel’s lab (UPEI) and former member of the BSC’s board-of-directors. “There’s an artist-in-residency program at the Experimental Lakes!” I was acutely aware of the amazing science that researchers produce at the ELA given my training as a fisheries ecologist. I can also remember a fishing book I practically memorized as I was growing up that contained the famous aerial image of the phospho- rus-induced eutrophication experiment on Lakes 227 and 226 (reproduced at right). To me, that image typifies the power of photography as a science communication tool. This image is visually striking (such contrast!) and begs the response: “That does not look right. What is going on here?” A short caption is all that’s needed to answer the question. In addition to my interest in all-things- fish, I am also a passionate photogra- Courtesy IISD (www.iisd.org) pher. My photographic specialties include documenting research and underwater photography with a focus on freshwater fishes. But, broadly speaking, I’m also interested in aquatic biodiversity (after all, a diverse, well-functioning aquatic ecosystem will support my favourite subjects!). So, I took off my Fisheries Ecologist hat, replaced it with my Photographer ballcap, and made an applica- tion. A few months later, an email hit my inbox that contained the one word I was hoping to see: “Congratulations!”. The residency organizers and I settled on the end of August for my visit. Over the next several months, I spent some time developing a shot list. Good photographs can be made with luck, but great photographs take planning! Knowing this, I began researching what current projects were taking place at the ELA and what critters I might be able to access during my residency. Some of the projects I was looking for- ward to documenting included an experiment examining bioremediation techniques for oil spills, Mysis spp. reintroduction experiments, and continued long-term eutrophication experiments. I was excited to use my underwater camera to document a rarely observed world and perhaps raise just a little more awareness of the beauty the underwater world has to offer. In terms of biodiversity, I figured that I might have access to the typical array of northwestern Ontario cool-water fish species, a variety of aquatic vegetation, and different species of invertebrates. As an underwater photographer, I have yet to venture into macro photography and instead focus exclusively on wide-angle imagery, which limits the types of subjects I can photograph. Nevertheless, I would give it my best shot! I also knew there would be opportunities to pursue terrestrial biodiversity as well, particularly avian and mammalian fauna.

Editor’s note: The IISD ELA Artist in residence program was highlighted in a notice in the Winter 2018 issue of the BSC Newsletter. At the time, Sean was a PhD student at UPEI, as well as a well-known wildlife photographer. More information on the program can be found at https://www.iisd.org/ela/ blog/news/iisd-elas-artist-residence-program/

Volume 39(1) Summer 2020 [click here to return to front page] Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada 19 Sean Landsman

A baby snapping turtle photograhed in a small vernal pool.

A school of black striped dace.

Fast-forwarding now to the end of August and Mother Nature had other plans in mind. Rain! And lots, LOTS of it. But no way was I going to let some inclement weather disrupt my unique opportunity! I wandered the area around the ELA looking for subjects (sometimes in the pouring rain), snorkeled the lakes (also sometimes in the pouring rain), and ac- Sean Landsman companied researchers in the field (sometimes in the pouring rain as well). And, despite much forethought, most of my planned shots simply did not materialize. My father’s saying came to mind frequently during the week: “Life is what happens after you make plans.” Indeed, I had to stay flexible throughout the week and keep a sharp eye open for interesting and unexpected photographic opportunities. One of my favourite images of the week occurred when I stumbled upon a small cluster of yellow pond lilies that I photographed from below. While I was not able to capture images of all the different flora and fauna I hoped to see, I walked away with a nice collection of imagery. Someone that specializes in macro photography would have an absolute field day capturing all the tiny life that calls the ELA home. Sean Landsman Yellow pond lilies from below

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Overall, the Artist-in-Residence program at the ELA was an amazing opportunity to explore the ecosystems in northwestern Ontario. The facilities were more than adequate, communication with staff and organizers was excellent, the food was great, and, best of all, everyone at the ELA was incredibly warm and welcoming. I even had an opportunity to interact with local members of the nearby indigenous communities. In fact, one of the men I met happened to be the son of the dockhand that my father and I knew from fishing trips to nearby Lake of the Woods. This was a special – and very much unexpected! – moment for me. For those considering applying, do it! Some of the other artists-in-residence included painters, poets, and singer-song writers. No matter what art you may have an interest in, there’s undoubtedly a way to use it as a medium to explore the ELA and the biodiversity within.

A colorful collection of lichens and mosses. Sean Landsman

Less than ideal weather conditions required getting a little... creative. I found a dead crayfish and tried to photograph it against a dramatic background (a rainy lake surface). Sean Landsman

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Feature Articles

1. The Waterton Lakes National Park Insect Collec- tion: A Tale of Romance and Drama

David Langor Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, 5320 – 122 St. NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T6H 3S5 Email: [email protected]

The genesis I became aware of the Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) insect collection (and of its companion plant and mammal collections) in 2004 as I was starting to organize a Biological Survey of Canada Bio-Blitz for WLNP in 2005. A park biologist, Cyndi Smith, showed me the insect holdings and informed me that the collection was largely compiled in 1967 by David J. and M.A. Larson and wondered if I knew them. I gladly informed her that I knew David and Margaret Larson very well as David was my supervisor and mentor at Memorial University of Newfoundland where I completed my BSc Honours and MSc theses under his supervision. I was immediately intrigued by the collection for several reasons. First, I was curious about its genesis. While a student for four years in David’s lab, I was delighted by many of his stories about his entomological exploits in Alberta and elsewhere, but he had never mentioned his part in compiling this collection, even though its origins constitute a wonderful tale. Second, the collection seemed to be a ‘well-kept secret’ within the entomological community in Alberta. By the time I became aware of the collection I had lived and worked in Alberta for over 20 years and thought that I knew of all the insti- tutional and private insect collections in the province. I was also struck by the fact that no entomologist I consulted in the province knew of the existence of these specimens. Furthermore, I subsequently learned that even amongst WLNP staff, the existence of the collection was known to only a few. No wonder as the two cabinets of specimens were hidden away in a small room, partially obscured from view by sundry equipment and supplies. Thirdly, I was excited by the collection’s intrinsic scientific value – the ca. 3,100 specimens provided a glimpse of the park’s fauna (a baseline if you will) from nearly 40 years previous, providing an opportunity to discern faunal changes in the park. I was immediately compelled to learn the story behind the collection, and this background was not seemingly known by WLNP staff at the time. Thus, I promptly phoned David, by then recently retired and living near Maple Creek, SK, and he told me some of the fascinating tale. I learned a bit more of the story later in 2005 when David and I spent some time together during the BSC-organized Bio-Blitz at WLNP. It was during this time that David was once again able to see the collection, for the first time since he and Margaret created it almost 40 years earlier. Further information about the origin of the collection came to light in 2016 when David and Margaret visited WLNP, saw and reminisced about their old

collection, and were interviewed by Edwin Canada Parks Edwin Knox, Knox, Cultural Resource Officer at WLNP on July 8. The transcript of this interview was David and Margaret Larson visiting their WLNP kindly shared with me by Edwin, and this Collection, July 8, 2016.

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transcript is preserved in the files at WLNP. Finally, while reviewing an early draft of this article, David and Margaret kindly provided a few additional details. In 1967, there was much excitement across the country as Canadians celebrated the centennary of confederation. However, young David and Margaret had much more to celebrate. Margaret had recently completed her graduate degree at the University of Alberta and David had largely completed his thesis and would defend a few months later after completion of the WLNP work. Furthermore, after meeting and falling in love while attending university, they were married in June 1967. It was also in 1967 that Kurt Seel, a naturalist at WLNP, approached the University of Alberta Faculty of Agriculture for as- sistance in compiling a collection of insects in the park, offering a contract for the summer. This opportunity came to the attention of Dr. Brian Hocking, Professor and Chair of the Department of Entomology, who suggested that David apply for the contract. David and Margaret had the interest and skill sets, and the timing was perfect. Thus, after being awarded the contract they embarked on their ‘honeymoon’ collecting expedition to WLNP starting in July. However, as they had used their personal funds on their academic programs, they were financially broke. Thus, as a wedding present to the young couple, the Dean of Agriculture generously spotted them a loan of $200 to enable them to pursue the WLNP work. The Larsons were fortunate to obtain free accommodation (with cooking facilities) for the summer in Waterton townsite at a small hotel that was in the process of clos- ing down. Based out of this convenient summer home they ranged throughout the park. Over the course of July, which they describe as having “…endless lovely days…”, they made many insect collecting forays. In their 2016 interview with Edwin Knox they described their typical day of insect collecting as: “…if the weather was good, we would look on the point on the map, maybe a trail we hadn’t walked or sometimes it was a type of habitat that we hadn’t looked into and just designated that as the focus for the day. We’d go out and collect until about supper time and then come in and spend the evening pinning up the specimens and preparing them…”. Their collecting was focused largely at points along the road system and some of the trails, e.g., Twin Lakes, Line- ham, Crandell Lake. They had borrowed a small boat and motor from David’s father which allowed them access to some points along Upper Waterton Lake. One of their favourite collecting spots was along Blakiston Creek in the vicinity of Red Rock Canyon. An examination of dates on specimens in the WLNP collection allows one to follow their collection itinerary, which was very busy. There were only seven days in the month where no specimens were collected, largely due to inclement weather. Sometimes they were joined by friends who aided them in their collecting activities… after all, it is not a hard- ship to visit and spend some time at WLNP, especially in good company. Notably, Brian Hocking and his family (wife, brother and sister-in-law) joined David and Margaret for a short time at the beginning of the collecting expedition, and there are some specimens in the WLNP collection collected by “Hocking family” on July 1, 1967. Once the collecting activities wrapped up on July 31, David and Margaret turned their attention to finishing preparation and identification of specimens and writing of the requisite report for WLNP. This took all of August and flowed over a few weeks into the fall. This report is likely still in the files at WLNP, although I have not had opportunity to read it.

Composition and value of the collection The collection consists of about 3,100 pinned insect specimens that occupied 24 drawers in two cabinets at WLNP. The specimens are in remarkably good shape considering that the collection has been largely uncurated since 1968. I found no dermestid damage when I examined most of the collection in 2005, nor in 2014 when I next examined the holdings. On neither occasion were chemicals present in the drawers to deter dermes- tids. Fortunately the drawers were of high quality with tight seals. The large majority of specimens was collected by the Larsons in 1967, but there were about 530 specimens collected by others. The earliest material consisted of 22 specimens of bees collected in June 1960 by Weldon Hobbs (a longtime resident of the Lethbridge area with an interest in pollinators). Over 410 specimens were collected in 1968 by Dom G. Wales, a student in the Department of Biology, University of Calgary, who had a contract in 1968 to collect butterflies in the park, although he did collect

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specimens of other insect orders. The aforementioned Hocking family supplied about 80 specimens to the collection. Most of the specimens (ca. 2,800) were databased by Parks Canada about 10 years ago, although for reasons unknown, the butterflies (est. 200 specimens) were not databased. As well, ca. 50 specimens of Cerambycidae and about the same number of Staphylinidae did not get databased as they were on loan to the Canadian Forest Service (but have since been returned to the WLNP collection). There are eight insect orders represented in the collection. Coleoptera (beetles) represent the largest portion (43%) and within the beetle holdings the family Carabidae (ground beetles) is the most-represented (390 specimens). This is no surprise as David had a passion for beetles and, in particular, ground beetles, having just completed his M.Sc thesis on carabid taxonomy. The other orders represented were Diptera (true flies; 20% of the collection), Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies; 15%), Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants; 12%), Hemiptera (true bugs; 4%), Odonata (dragonflies and damsel- flies; 3%), Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets; 2%), and Neuroptera (lacewings; 1%). Practically all of the specimens were identified to family, most to genus, and a large proportion (especially Coleoptera and Lepidoptera) to species, quite an accom- plishment for the time as there were then fewer modern keys to species available for all groups compared to today. We now know that there are thousands of species of insects in the park and it would take enormous effort to document them all (see the article about survey work in WLNP in this Newsletter issue). The Larsons were tasked with developing a reference collection that was representative of the fauna of the park rather than a comprehensive inventory. They accomplished that objective admirably and along the way compiled a set of specimens and data that have high scientific value. For example, some of the specimen data were utilized in the recent publication The Cerambycidae of Canada and Alaska by Bousquet et al. (2017). Furthermore the material can be used to assess faunal changes through time. For example, the invasive seven-spotted ladybird beetle Coccinella sep- tempunctata was not collected in the park in 1967 but is now the dominant ladybird beetle species there, likely to the detriment of some native species. Similarly, the non- native ground beetle, Pterostichus melanarius, was not collected by the Larsons in the park in 1967 but has now invaded much of the hardwood forests and grasslands there (Langor, unpublished data).

A new home Following some discussion, in 2017, the Park decided the timing was right to find a new home for the collection where it would find professional curatorial attention and increased accessibility. After weighing several options, the Strickland Entomological Museum at the University of Alberta was identified as an ideal repository, in large part because of the historical link between WLNP and the University of Alberta with regard to facilitating the development of the collection. When approached with this proposal, Felix Sperling, curator of the Strickland Museum, was happy to accept the collection, and thus the groundwork was complete. All that was left to do was transport the collection from WLNP to Edmonton in early September 2017, a task that I happily volunteered to perform. But best laid plans sometimes go awry. The year 2017 was a severe year for forest fires in Alberta and British Columbia. When the time arrived for my planned trip to WLNP to escort the collection to Edmonton, I was advised to stay away because a fire (labelled the Kenow Fire) that started in nearby BC and had burned across the border into western parts of WLNP resulted in the entire park being put on 2-hour evacuation notice. It was decided that I would travel to WLNP later once the fire was under control. However, it was only a day later when I received a call from Barb Johnston, WLNP Park Ecologist, who informed me that the Kenow Fire had burned further into the park and that the town and headquarters compound (where the collections were stored) were at risk. She asked if I could arrange to evacuate the insect collection as soon as possible. I left Edmonton early, arriving 6 hours later amid thick, choking smoke. There was a pervasive sense of nervousness and urgency among the WLNP staff. Barb and Edwin Knox helped me quickly load and secure the insect cabinets and drawers, and I was soon on the road for the long trip back to Edmonton. That night the fire burned to the edge of the headquarters compound and destroyed the nearby

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Visitor’s Centre. Fortunately the town was spared. A day later I delivered the collection to Felix Sperling and Danny Shpeley at the Strick- land Museum, and heaved a sigh of relief. It is expected that over the next few years the identification and nomencla- ture of specimens of many groups will be examined and updated (this process has already begun) and the database of holdings started by WLNP will be completed and incorporated into the main Strickland Museum

database. Some specimens Canada Parks Edwin Knox, have already been loaned David Langor and Barbara Johnston loading up the WLNP collection to researchers for study. In for transport to the Strickland Museum, September, 2017. fact, the click beetles collected by the Larsons in WLNP were recently examined by Ed Fuller, and data are being utilized in a review of the Elateridae of the prairie provinces that David is leading. Thanks, David and Margaret for providing us with this legacy collection.

Acknowledgements I am grateful to Edwin Knox (Parks Canada) for sharing with me the transcript of his 2016 interview with David and Margaret Larson, for givng permission to use two photographs, and for providing feedback on this article. Thanks also to David and Margaret Larson, Barbara Johnston (Parks Canada), and Donna Giberson for reviewing this manuscript and providing valuable feedback.

Reference Bousquet, Y., Laplante, S., Hammond, J.E.H., and Langor, D.W. 2017. Cerambycidae of Canada and Alaska (Coleoptera): identification guide with taxonomic, distributional, host-plant and ecological data. Jan Farkac, Prague, 300 pp.

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Feature Articles

2. First records of Climaciella brunnea (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) in Saskatchewan

Mel Hart1 and Victoria A. Kjoss 1Biology Department, University of Regina

The mantidflies (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) are a cosmopolitan group of raptorial insects that are represented in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa by some 400 species in 44 genera (Ohl 2007). Of the six species reported to occur in North America, four are found in Canada. Cannings and Cannings (2006) provided a detailed review of the four Mantispidae of Canada, including descriptions of their ecology and morphology. Of the four Canadian species, the wasp mantidfly Climaciella( brunnea) (Say 1824) is the most frequently observed, with specimens collected from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec (Cannings and Cannings 2006). Although predicted by Cannings and Cannings (2006) to occur in southern Saskatchewan, to date, no observations of C. brunnea in Saskatchewan have appeared in the literature. Here we report three sightings of C. brunnea in the province: one misidentified specimen, and two photo-documented specimens. The first specimen was a male collected by Ronald Hooper on 13 August 2002 from a sweep of Rhus aromatica (skunkbush) in the west block of Grasslands National Park, in the extreme southwest of the province (Hooper 2003). Misidentified asLitaneutria mi- nor (agile/minor ground mantis), it, and a true mantis, Mantis religiosa, were published as accounts of mantids in Saskatchewan (Hooper 2003). With the distinguishable amber brown colouration along the anterior margin of the forewing (Welch and Kondratieff 1991), the specimen in the photo is clearly a mantispid. Unfortunately, although given to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, the specimen has since been lost (Cory Sheffield, personal communication). The second documented sighting of C. brunnea took place at ~16:00 h on 5 August 2014 (Fig. 1). The specimen was perched on a stem of Melilotus officinalis(yellow sweet clover), an introduced Eurasian legume, in the west block of Grasslands National Park (49º 11ʹ N, 107º, 39ʹ W), near the village of Val Marie. This patch of yellow sweet clover was immediately adjacent to a hiking trail on 70 Mile Butte, within view of the parking lot at the trail head. Climaciella brunnea does not appear to be closely associated with any particular plant species or growth forms, as specimens have been collected from coniferous and deciduous trees, various grasslands, and mixed herbaceous habitats (for complete descriptions of collection sites, see Cannings and Cannings 2006). Victoria A. Kjoss Figure 1. Climaciella brunnea on Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover) in Grasslands National Park, Sas- katchewan, in August 2014.

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The third sighting also occurred at the 70 Mile Butte trails in Grasslands National Park. The specimen was spotted resting on a leaf of Populus tremuloides (trembling aspen) at 11:43 h on 21 July 2019 (Fig. 2). Unfortunately, the sex of these recently observed specimens (from 2014 and 2019) was not determined. Sexes can be differentiated by comparing external features; Cannings and Cannings (2006) noted significant differences in headwidth t( -test, p = 0.01), and prono- tum length (t-test, p = 0.03) from the measurements of 12 males and 13 females. However, without anything against which to measure the photographed specimens, their sex can only be speculated. If any future specimens are collected, the collector can determine sex definitively by referring to Welch and Kondratieff (1991), who provided a description of the mantispid genitalia, noting that the pseudopenis is distinct in the species. Adult mantidflies are stalking and sit-and-wait preda- tors (Kral 2013), which have been observed visiting flowers to feed and gathering to mate (Redborg and Redborg 2000). Studies in Illinois (Redborg and Macleod Mel Hart Figure 2. Climaciella brunnea on a 1983, Redborg and Redborg 2000) have suggested that leaf of Populus tremuloides (trem- they lay their eggs near the ground in wooded areas, bling aspen) in Grasslands National not where they gather at flowers, to give their larvae the Park, Saskatchewan, in July 2019. best opportunity of boarding a spider host. In a Missis- sippi marsh habitat, eggs were collected from Juncus roemerianus (black needlebush), where host availability was high (LaSalle 1986). Unlike other mantispid larvae, C. brunnea do not search for their hosts, but take on a phoretic posture (Redborg and Redborg 2000). Although laboratory tests have shown that C. brunnea will board non-lycosid hosts, it is believed that behavioural fac- tors restrict the mantispid to wolf spiders in nature (Redborg and Redborg 2000). Given that the larvae overwinter on their spider hosts to enter egg sacs constructed the following year (Redborg and Redborg 2000), the specimens described herein likely hatched the year prior to their discovery, and were near the end of their lives when seen. Based on the three instances of C. brunnea found in Grasslands National Park, this seems to be the best location in the province for nature enthusiasts to spot one of these mantispids. The sightings also lend support to the prediction of Cannings and Cannings (2006) that the species should be found in southwestern Saskatchewan (2006), and establish that it does, indeed, live in the province.

Acknowledgements The authors thank Rob Cannings for connecting them, and Cory Sheffield for sharing his knowledge of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum’s collection.

References Cannings RA and Cannings SG. 2006. The Mantispidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) of Canada, with notes on morphology, ecology, and distribution. The Canadian Entomologist, 138: 531–544. Hooper RH. 2003. Praying mantids in Saskatchewan. Blue Jay, 61(3): 179–180. Kral K. 2013. Vision in the mantispid: a sit-and-wait and stalking predatory insect. Physiological Entomology, 38: 1–12. LaSalle MW. 1986. Note on the mantispid Climacieella brunnea (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) in a coastal marsh habitat. Entomological News, 97(1): 7–10. Ohl M. 2007. Towards a global inventory of Mantispidae – the state-of-the-art in mantispid taxonomy. Proceedings of the IX International Symposium on Neuropterology, 8: 79–86. Redborg KE and Macleod EG. 1983. Climaciella brunnea (Neuroptera: Mantispidae): a mantispid that obligately boards spiders. Journal of Natural History, 17(1): 63–73. Redborg KE and Redborg AH. 2000. Resource partitioning of spider hosts (Arachnida, Araneae) by two mantispid species (Neuroptera, Mantispidae) in an Illinois woodland. The Journal of Arachnol- ogy, 28(2): 70–78. Welch J and Kondratieff BC.1991. The Mantispidae of Colorado. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 64(1): 69–76.

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Tales from the Field1

Tales from the Field is a new feature in the Newsletter. The aim is to share some of the stories behind the collecting that underpins our biodiversity studies.

Please consider submitting a collecting story or adventure to Tales from the Field. Send them to the editor, Donna Giberson, at [email protected].

Peeping Robert Robert Wrigley Winnipeg, Manitoba

During a visit to spend time with my son in Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island, I was enchanted by the magnificent scenery – expansive, salt-sprayed sandy beaches, monumental rocky outcrops washed by the pounding surf, green bogs full of unusual plants, and forests so tall and dense that I could not penetrate them for more than a few metres. At times, it seemed like I was in Japan, with wind-sculptured coniferous trees growing on picturesque islands arising from the sea, some barely visible in the mist. Being a biologist, I just had to go beachcombing every day to see what a wonderful diversity of marine life lay exposed in pools among the rocks at low tide, and what sea- weeds and creatures had washed up on the sandy shore. It was on one of these strolls that I spotted several fast-running, coppery-brown insects, which I identified immediately as the western tiger beetle (Cicindela oregona). Since I did not have this species in my collection, nor had I thought of bringing along my folding insect net, I decided to attempt to capture some specimens by hand. Now, tiger beetles have large bulging eyes and can spot an approaching predator from three metres away, at which time they usually take wing and fly speedily away for some distance, whereupon they land with a bounce and stand still, alert for further movement. Dropping onto my hands and knees, I stalked the beetles with the slow precision of a chameleon, but every time the very instant I started to reach out and pin one to the sand with my hand, it evaded me as deftly as a house fly. Consequently, I spent the next half-hour dragging myself along the beach on all fours, like a sea turtle searching the beach for a site to lay eggs, every once in a while lashing out an arm into the air. Several people on the beach, pausing to watch my strange antics, must have thought I was a lunatic, testing the temperature of the water and too timid to wade in! Donna Giberson

A western tiger beetle (Cicindela oregona) on a west coast beach – not in Tofino, but on the nearby mainland, at Sechelt, BC. The photo at left shows how well they blend into the beach debris making them difficult to see and capture (the beetle is in the centre of the photo).

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I was repeatedly unsuccessful and was becoming rather frustrated stalking the beetles on the exposed wet sand, so I thought of trying the dry upper beach, where some logs might hide my approach. Most of these massive logs, which had been washed up during violent storms, lay jumbled in a maze near the shrub line. With mounting anticipation of avoiding being thwarted by some insects, I spotted a couple of the beetles dash into a space beneath a metre-high log, and I decided to try an ambush technique. I crept up to the log and rose slowly to peer over it, so as to not startle my quarry, and had the shock of my life when I startled three young ladies at close range – sunbathing entirely in the nude. What followed next were three high-pitched shrieks and a mad scramble to grab bikini tops and bottoms, while I stood there with my mouth wide open, from which emerged, after a terribly awkward pause, a most sincere; “I am so sorry!” There was no way they would ever believe my stuttering explanation that I was just innocently stalking beetles (which had already long departed) instead of being a pervert, so I quickly backed away, almost tripped over onto my back while executing a 180-degree maneuver, and then retreated down the beach, never daring to look over my shoulder. Understandably, I gave up entomology for the day, feeling far too sheepish to make another appearance. It was one of the most embarrassing incidents of my entire field career. Just another of the trials and tribulations of a beleaguered beetle hunter.

1This story is an excerpt from Robert’s book entitled Chasing Nature - An Ecologist’s Lifetime of Adventures and Observations. Friesen Press, 367 pages.

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History Corner

Two grassland entomologists stay connected over a span of 62 years

Joe D. Shorthouse Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario

Spending one’s teenage years in Lethbridge, Alberta, in the late 1950s and the 1960s was ordinary for neighbours David Larson and myself with one exception – from Grades 5-9 we developed a keen interest in insects and planned to become entomologists. Da- vid, now of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, and myself, now of Sudbury, Ontario, grew up enamoured by the prairie grasslands of southern Alberta. Who would have known that many of our joint interests – insect life history strategies and biodiversity of the prairies, Waterton Lakes National Park, the Cypress Hills, and wild roses – would keep us connected over a span of 62 years? Here I describe with a range of anecdotes about how our common interests contributed to an understanding of prairie grasslands with David undertaking a life time of studying the evolution, classifica- tion, and ecology of carabid and dytiscid beetles while I studied how cynipid gall wasps control the growth of wild roses.

The Early Years David’s and my lives were to become inter- woven over our careers and our many interests brought us together on many occasions. This seemed unlikely, for after we finished our PhDs, David became an entomology professor far to the east at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and I became a professor of entomology in the centre of the country at Laurentian University in Sudbury. Fortunately, we connected for nine years when we both served on the Scientific Com-

mittee of the Biological Survey of Canada Gushul Evan (BSC) at a time when the Survey launched a Fig. 1. Three members of the Junior Science major project on the arthropods of grass- Club of Lethbridge who became entomologists. lands, a project we enthusiastically en- This photograph was taken in 1962. Left: Joe dorsed. However, our connections go back Shorthouse, age 16; Middle: Ken Richards (de- far before the BSC meetings. We first met in ceased), age 16; Right: David Larson, age 18. the summer of 1958 when David was 14 and I was 12. Not only were our houses a stone’s throw apart, we both became members of the Junior Science Club of Lethbridge, a science club established by Lethbridge Research Station wheat geneticist, Ruby Lar- son. Sixteen members would meet Saturday mornings in Ruby’s basement which she had equipped with lab benches, microscopes, specimen storage cabinets, and a library (Shorthouse 2011). This is where David developed his interest in Coleoptera and other insects, and I developed mine in insect galls (Figs. 1–2). Marilyn Shorthouse David and I spent many hours through- Fig. 2. Photograph of Joe Shorthouse (left) out our youth walking the treeless prairie and David Larson (right) taken in 2013 at the plains, coulees, and river valley of the Old Larson ranch. Man River in search of insects. David would

Volume 39(1) Summer 2020 [click here to return to front page] Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada 30 Joe Shorthouse Marilyn Shorthouse Fig. 3. David Larson searching for insects in 2018 Fig. 4. Joe Shorthouse examining rose galls on under a log in the Cypress Hills of Southwestern Rosa arkansana in 2011 at the Heads-Smashed-In Saskatchewan. Buffalo Jump near Fort Macleod, Alberta.

search for beetles, and I would look for rose galls – as we still do to this day (Figs. 3–4). I remember in early spring of 1960, David made a collection of stem galls on wild roses at a river bottom Park below Lethbridge. He placed them in a jar and when hundreds of tiny reddish-brown cynipid wasps chewed their way out of the galls and lined the side of the jar, we were mesmerized. I remember staring at the jar with amazement, and was immediately hooked on rose galls, and to this day, I still place galls in jars to obtain the inhabitants (Figs. 5–6). The Entomological Society of Alberta (ESA) and its insect collection competition played a major role in our development as entomologists. Both David and I won various book prizes starting in 1958 (Figs. 7–8). David won a prize in 1961 in a challenge competition for aquatic insects and in 1962, there was a draw for first prize between David and me for a competition on insects and plant galls.

Fig. 5. Jar of spring- collected galls induced by Diplolepis spinosa with hundreds of adult cynipid wasps that had just chewed exit tunnels to the outside. Joe Shorthouse Fig. 6. Adult cynipid wasp Diplolepis spinosa that induces galls about the size of a golf ball on the stems of Rosa woodsii across the prairie grasslands. Joe Shorthouse

Fig. 7. Plaque in the front cover of a book David Fig. 8. Plaque in the front cover of a book Joe received received in 1959 for winning first prize in the Senior in 1958 for winning first prize in the Junior Section of Section of the Entomological Society of Alberta Insect the Entomological Society of Alberta Insect Collection Collection Competition. Competition.

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We attended our first entomology conference in 1960 when the ESA met in Lethbridge, David was 16 and I was 14. When the ESA met again in Le- thbridge in 1963, I gave my first conference paper which summarized a project tagging monarch butterflies in southern Alberta. I was one of the volun- teers for Fred Urquhart, famed University of Toronto entomologist, who discovered the overwintering site of monarchs in Mexico. Unfortunately, none of the live tagged monarchs Fred sent to me for release near Lethbridge in the early 60s were ever found. I Larson David Fig. 9. Camel cricket found under rocks in still rear and tag monarchs on Manitoulin Island. the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan. Our connections with Ruby Larson and the Science Club introduced us to entomologists at the Leth- bridge Research Station which led to summer jobs during high school and university. David worked for insect physiologist Norman Church and I worked for aphid biologist Alex Harper and click beetle biologist Charlie Lilly. Both Harper and Lilly sent me to Waterton Lakes National Park a couple of times a month to collect aphid galls and click beetles for live pheromone experiments. While employed at the Research Station, photographer Evan Gushul taught us the value of good nat- Larson David ural history photographs. Thanks to Evan’s mentor- Fig. 10. Glover’s silkworm moth, Hyaloph- ora gloveri, one of the most sought after ship and encouragement, we took pride in using our insects of our early collecting years. The own photographs in publications, public addresses, literature stated that the caterpillar’s host and our university lectures. To this day, we think of was wolf willow so we searched in vain for Evan when photographing insects that thrilled us as caterpillars until we discovered that the youngsters, such as camel crickets (Fig. 9), Glover’s host on the prairies is sandbar willow. silkworm moths (Fig. 10), tiger beetles – the delight of all field entomologists on the prairies (Fig. 11), and painted lady butterflies (Fig. 12). Both David and I went to the Department of En- tomology at University of Alberta in Edmonton for our undergraduate and MSc degrees. David revised the taxonomy of carabid genera Tecnophilus and Philophuga (Fig. 13) for his MSc and I studied a rose gall induced by Diplolepis polita on Rosa acicularis (Fig. 14). In 1965-1966, we stayed at the same boarding house within walking distance to the Uni- Larson David versity. David gave his first Fig. 11. Tiger beetle Cicindela decemnotata found on clay flat. What are the southern ESA paper in 1965 in Calgary prairies without tiger beetles to chase! This on the distribution of the ca- species occurs on bare clay soil, usually on rabid Platypatrobius lacustris. coulee sides and outwashes. David Larson David David Larson David

Fig. 12. Painted lady Vanessa Fig. 13. Carabid beetle of the Joe Shorthouse cardui. This butterfly does genus Philophuga studied by Fig. 14. Cynipid gall induced by Diplolepis not overwinter on the prai- David for his MSc research at polita on the leaves of Rosa acicularis ries but disperses northward the University of Alberta. studied by Joe for his MSc research at each year from the US. the University of Alberta. Volume 39(1) Summer 2020 [click here to return to front page] Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada 32

My first paper on thesis material was in 1968 when I spoke on the biology of the Diplolepis polita gall. When David was in his graduate program, I often joined him, along with then graduate students Terry Erwin and Robin Leech, at lunch in a dingy, windowless basement room for graduate students in the Agriculture Building. Lunch time discussions often involved biodiversity and zoogeography. It was here that Robin Leech encouraged me to join an expedition to Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island in 1967 (Giberson and

Shorthouse 2011). Joe Shorthouse David and I came under the influ- Fig. 15. Example of the connections between David Lar- ence of George Ball (he was David’s MSc son and members of the insect biodiversity community. supervisor and was on my MSc supervi- From left: George Ball (now deceased), U. of Alberta; sory committee). George was the most Gordon Pritchard (now deceased), U. of Calgary; David Larson, Memorial U. (retired); David Langor, Canadian enthusiastic field biologist, systematist, Forest Service, Edmonton; Chris Buddle, McGill Univer- naturalist, and zoogeographer we had sity; Tara Sackett, McGill Univ. ever met. He was a legendary racon- George Ball was on Gordon’s PhD. committee at the teur, a gift he passed onto us both which University of Alberta. David Larson was supervised by proved handy as we later stood at the George for his MSc and Gordon for his PhD. David Larson was David Langor’s MSc supervisor at Memorial Univer- podium in university lecture halls. Many sity in Newfoundland. Chris Buddle was co-supervised by entomologists were mentored by George David Langor at the University of Alberta. To Chris’ left with his legacy extending over several is Tara Sackett who was co-supervised by Chris for her generations (Fig. 15). MSc and then took her PhD. George, David Larson, David George Ball, along with then Depart- Langor and Chris were all members of the Scientific Committee of the Biological Survey of Canada for many ment of Entomology Chair Brian Hock- years and have made major contributions to our under- ing, encouraged us to take an interdis- standing of Canada’s insect biodiversity. ciplinary approach to entomology. This Photograph was taken at the 2005 meeting of the Ento- led to David switching to the biology of mological Society of Canada in Canmore, Alberta. Alberta dytiscid beetles (Fig. 16) for his PhD research at the University of Calgary under Gordon Pritchard. I was encouraged to couple my study of gall communities with study of the botanical side of galls (Fig. 17) at the University of Saskatchewan under the tutelage of Taylor Steeves, an internation- ally recognised plant morphologist and Dennis Lehmkuhl, who studied communities of aquatic insects. Before deciding to return to graduate school for his PhD, David was hired as a research scientist in 1968 at the Lethbridge Research Station to control the alfalfa weevil. Later that year, he enrolled in the PhD program at the University of Calgary to study the dytiscid beetles of Alberta. After completing his PhD in 1974, he was hired by the Saskatchewan Depart- ment of Tourism and Renew- able Resources in Saskatoon to study impact of forest harvest- ing on northern Saskatch- ewan streams and to develop guidelines to protect riparian ecosystems during forestry op- erations. In 1976, he enrolled in the BEd program at the

David Larson David University of Saskatchewan, Joe Shorthouse Fig. 16. Agabus margaretae (named after Fig. 17. Gall induced by the cynipid Diplolepis David’s wife Margaret), one of the many nebulosa on leaves of prairie Rosa woodsii, species of Alberta dytiscids studied by one of 6 species of cynipids and their galls David for his PhD research. studied by Joe for his PhD research.

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assuming that a teaching degree would help him land a professorial position. This it did, and in 1977, he was hired at Memorial University. The education degree served him well as he developed skills in organization, preparation, and delivery of course and public lectures; an area generally lacking from science curricula at the time. I continued to work on galls, and received an Agriculture Canada PDF, through NSERC, to research the use of galls in the biological control of weeds (Harris and Shorthouse 1996) before being hired at Laurentian University. Both David and I remained at our respective universities until we retired. Both David and I relished field work and made frequent collecting expeditions across Canada and into the Yukon and Alaska, in addition to trips outside of North America. We were fortunate that our wives understood the importance of field work and sampling, and both made substantial contributions and sacrifices to our science. David and Marga- ret were married in 1967 and Marilyn and I were married in 1971. Margaret accompanied David on most of his collecting trips and on his sabbatical and research leaves in Ottawa, London England, New Guinea, Australia, and Kenya all of which resulted in publications on topics such as Australian dysticids (Larson 2007) and New Guinea dytiscids (Balke et al. 1997). Margaret also played a supportive role in Da- vid’s major project on the dytiscids of the Nearctic region (Larson et al. 2000). Margaret has been at his side for the past 20 years as they walk the prairies and grassy slopes of coulees in search of insects near their retirement home in southwestern Saskatchewan. Marilyn has accompanied me on collecting trips to all provinces and walked with me through numerous roadside patches of roses in search of galls, often up to her waist, and covered with scratches on hands and legs. For our honeymoon in 1971, we drove from Saskatoon to Circle City, Alaska collecting galls along the route. One memorable trip took us to the mountains of northeastern Turkey searching for the floral and hip galls of Diplolepis fructuum (Güçlü et al. 2008). Collecting expeditions were often combined with family vaca- tions. For example, David, Marga- Joe Shorthouse Fig. 18. Gall collecting trip in 1973 south of Val Marie, Sas- ret and their two children under- katchewan. Elderly prairie cowboy hopped in our truck in Val took an expedition to the Yukon Marie to guide us to a monument in the middle of a prairie in 1987 to collect dytiscids. They dog town. Note the shocked look on Marilyn’s face when she found 113 species, which pro- discovered that 15 month-old son David was chewing on vided the data that supported the what he thought was a liquorice nib. His attempt to rid the area of prairie dog droppings did him no harm as he grew Larson (1997) chapter in the BSC up to become a researcher in biodiversity informatics. book ‘Insects of the Yukon’ (Danks and Downes 1997). Marilyn and our two children (Fig. 18) were on gall collecting expeditions to all 10 provinces. Later, two of our grandsons accompanied us on similar trips, including the 2005 BSC BioBlitz in Waterton (Fig. 19) and the 2006 BioBlitz in Gros Morne, Newfound- land. Specimens from these collections are still used in publications on Diplolepis and gall parasitoids (Zhang et al. 2017; Zhang et al. 2019). Marilyn Shorthouse Fig. 19. Andrea and Joshua Renelli, grandsons of Joe and Marilyn, on the 2005 BSC BioBlitz in Waterton Lakes National Park. They are proudly holding the Biological Survey of Canada flag after collecting blossom feeders in a patch ofRosa woodsii.

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Scientific Committee of the Biological Survey of Canada The Biological Survey of Canada (BSC) was initiated in 1977 to “establish the basic inventory and natural history of the Canadian insect fauna, through collection and research on a comprehensive geographical scale and a publication program for a series of identification and reference volumes.” (Danks 2016, p. 6.). A Scientific Committee of the BSC, consisting of about 15 entomologists from across Canada along with representatives of various government agencies, met in Ottawa twice a year to review progress on various survey projects. Danks (2016) provided a detailed history of the BSC and a review of its sponsored projects. David was a member of the Scientific Committee for 21 years from 1982–83 to 2002–03. I joined the Committee in 1993–94 and overlapped with David for nine years. One of the major projects of the BSC was the book “Insects of the Yukon” (Danks and Downes 1997). Besides contributing the chapter on dytiscids (Larson 1997), David was co-author of a synthesis chapter describing the characteristics and history of Yukon insects (Danks et al. 1997). Another major project of the BSC that brought David and me together was the Arthro- pods of Canadian Grasslands Project. This long-term project involved many members of the Scientific Committee and resulted in four volumes totalling 1,621 pages on the ecology, habitats, and species composition for various groups (Cárcamo and Giberson 2014; Floate 2011; Giberson and Cárcamo 2014; Shorthouse and Floate 2010). David and I wrote the introductory and concluding chapters of the first volume (Shorthouse and Larson 2010a and b), while I contributed chapters on grasslands as habitats for insects (Shorthouse 2010a), ecoregions of prairie grasslands (Shorthouse 2010b), and galls of prairie wild roses (Shorthouse 2010c). Working on this project reminded David and me of the many challenges we faced in years past as we sampled grassland insects among vertebrates (Figs. 20–21). A review of the grasslands project and progress over the past 40 years was provided by Floate et al. (2017). Joe Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse Fig. 20. Bison at Waterton Lakes National Park Fig. 21. Cattle in ponds in the Cypress Hills in the Fescue Grasslands Ecoregion. One has provide a challenge for David when he samples to be careful near these animals inside the his favourite aquatic insects. paddocks when reaching out from an open vehicle door to grab a flower-visiting insect.

Another major project of the BSC was the on-line publication Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification (CJAI), the brainchild of University of Guelph entomologist Steven Marshall, which was supported by the BSC when it was introduced at a meeting in Charlottetown, PEI, in 2004. The CJAI has steadily moved towards its objective of documenting the Canadian arthropod fauna in the context of freely accessible, thorough reviews with richly illustrated keys. Volume 34 (of the 40 published to date) illustrates the breadth of David’s grassland work, providing a key to the seed bugs of the Canadian prairie provinces (Larson and Scudder 2018). Typical of David’s work, and CJAI, this 174-page article is a masterpiece of insect identification. The high-quality photographs of all 76 species were taken by David.

Waterton Lakes National Park Another continuing connection between David and me is our long-standing work at Waterton Lakes National Park in southwestern Alberta. Although the smallest of the 5 National Parks in Alberta at only 525 km2, its diverse habitats of mountains, foothills,

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lakes, rivers, waterfalls and grassy plains make it a biodiversity hotspot (see also the project updates on Waterton Lakes National Park by Dave Langor, elsewhere in this issue (Langor 2020a; 2020b)). Waterton’s motto ‘where the mountains meet the prairies’ comes from the grassy plains of the Fescue Grassland Ecoregion that extend to the base of the mountains, without tree-covered foothills typical of areas further to the north. This small ecoregion covers only about 2% of Alberta with most of it found in Waterton (Shorthouse 2010b). Waterton is also noteworthy because it is the only place in the world designated as a National Park (established in 1895), an International Peace Park with Glacier National Park in Montana, USA (established in 1932), a Biosphere Reserve (established in 1979), and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (established in 1995). The Park has at least 45 different types of plant communities and is a biodiversity hotspot for insects with at least 173 species of carabids, which is almost half the number of species found in the rest of Alberta (see Langor 2020a, this issue). To date, 740 species of Lepidoptera have been found in the Park. Since Lethbridge is only 140 km from the Park, and our families frequently visited during the summers for picnics and hiking, it is no wonder that David and I developed a deep bond with the Park which continued through our graduate work and beyond. When David and Margaret were married in 1967, they received a contract arranged by Brian Hocking of the University of Alberta to spend the summer that year making an insect collection for the Park (see Langor 2020b, this issue). In an interview by Waterton Resource Manager Edwin Knox in 2016, David and Margaret described with fond memo- ries their summer of hiking trails in the Park during the day and curating insects in the evening, likely the perfect honeymoon for outdoor enthusiasts. David returned to the Park during his PhD research to study dytiscids. Marilyn Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse

Fig. 22. Rosa acicularis growing partially Fig. 23. Rosa woodsii on the northern slope shaded at the edge of a Waterton Park of the Cypress Hills. forest.

The Park was also one of the study sites for my PhD research on rose galls. All three species of wild roses (Figs. 22–24) found across southern Alberta and Saskatchewan are abundant here and I have returned 6 times since 2000 in different seasons to examine the shrubs and compare them to roses in other parts of the prairies. Remi- niscent of our younger years, both David and I still stop to examine arthropods

living within the flowers of Waterton’s wild Joe Shorthouse roses (Figs. 25–28). I received funds from Fig. 24. Rosa arkansana growing on a grassy Laurentian University to return to the Park slope on the Larson ranch south of Maple Creek. in 2018 to examine the regrowth of roses following the Kenow fire in September of 2017. By July of 2018, there was an “explo- sion” of wildflowers on grassy plains at the base of mountains (Figs. 29–30), with many species not before seen in this area by current park naturalists.

Volume 39(1) Summer 2020 [click here to return to front page] Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada 36 Joe Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse Fig. 25. Rose curculio Merhynchites bicolor feed- Fig. 26. Unidentified cerambycid feeding on ing on petals of Rosa arkansana in Waterton. pollen in flower ofRosa arkansana in Waterton. Joe Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse Fig. 27. Crab spider Misumena vatia resting on Fig. 28. Crab spider Misumena vatia feeding a flower ofRosa arkansana in Waterton ready to on a syrphid fly it captured on a flower ofRosa ambush a flower visitor. arkansana in Waterton. Joe Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse

Fig. 29. Grassy plain at the outflow of Red Rock Fig. 30. The same plain shown in Fig. 29 in the sum- Canyon in Waterton with typical abundance of flow- mer of 2018, less than a year after the fire, showing ers in years before the fire. a luxuriant growth of flowers.

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The widespread Kenow fire burned all duff to the bedrock in some areas, but in places where only the surface burned and the rhizomes of roses were not damaged, new sucker shoots were growing profusely a year later. The Park now is site of a classic example of secondary succession following fire, and there is little doubt the fire benefited the wild roses (Figs 31–32). Gall wasps will find the luxuriantly growing roses and within a few years, their galls will be more abundant than before the fire. Joe Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse Fig. 31. Patch of Rosa woodsii in Waterton where Fig. 32. Sucker shoots of Rosa woodsii growing the fire burned only the surface duff. Rhizomes profusely in an area burned by the 2017 fire. Many (stem-like structures exposed here on the surface of the shoots here are 20-30 cm in height, less of the ground) were not damaged and sent up new than one year after the fire. sucker shoots in the spring of 2018.

Cypress Hills Our teenage collecting trips went further afield once we had driver’s licences. One mid-spring day in about 1964, we drove in David’s 1956 Chevrolet to the Cypress Hills in southeastern Alberta. We couldn’t help but notice how the hills were covered with forests and yet the surrounding prairie was treeless. We knew little about glaciation at the time, but we developed such a deep fascination with the hills that we were to both return many times in the future. Indeed, David and Margaret ended end up spending their retirement years on a ranch on the northern slopes of the Cypress Hills on the Saskatch- ewan side. The Cypress Hills are classified as the Cypress Upland Ecoregion (Shorthouse 2010b). They are the highest Canadian land elevation east of the Rockies and west of Labrador and consist of three separate hills or blocks, one in Alberta and two in Saskatchewan. They rise 600 m above the surrounding plains and their height causes air masses to rise and condense providing more moisture than the prairies around them, and like Water- ton, they are a biodiversity hotspot. The Cypress Hills are considered sky islands by Dempsey et al. (2020), which are defined as isolated hills or mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. This is the case with the Cypress Hills as they are densely forested and yet are completely surrounded by dry prairie grassland (Figs. 33–34). The hills lie 250 km Joe Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse Fig. 33. North facing slope of the Centre Block Fig. 34. Northeastern facing slope dominated of the Cypress Hills in southwestern Saskatch- by aspen poplar. Note the flat, tree-less prairie ewan with white spruce and aspen poplar. grasslands towards the horizon.

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west of Waterton and are separated by large expanses of treeless Mixed Grassland and Moist Mixed Grassland Ecoregions (Shorthouse 2010b). They are home to freshwater streams and creeks, lakes, fescue grasslands, and forests of lodgepole pine, white spruce, trembling aspen, and balsam poplar (Newsome and Dix 1968). The lush habitats on the hills support a wide variety of flora and fauna that are absent in adjacent grasslands. Thick stands of snowberry, cinquefoil, wolf willow and roses (Shorthouse 1991) are found among fescue grasses. Several of the understory species such as mosses (Bird 1962) and grasses and herbs (Breitung 1954) have disjunct distributions with montane populations to the west. Hilton (1985) recorded 31 species of dragonflies here, whereas far fewer species are found between the hills and Waterton. David has sampled the hills intensively, establishing many new records for insect taxa.

Larson’s retirement ranch near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan David and Margaret dreamed of retiring somewhere on the prairie grasslands, and while vacationing in southwestern Sas- katchewan in 1998, they found and pur- chased a property with natural grassland about 20 km south of Maple Creek, on the northern slope of the Cypress Hills. David didn’t retire until 2005, so in the following summers, he and Marga- ret travelled between St. John’s and the ranch that had no buildings. The first building they constructed was a large Joe Shorthouse shop (Fig. 35) to house their belongings Fig. 35. Workshop on the Larson ranch in 2016 and ranching equipment with a parti- where a portion houses David’s research laboratory tion across one end that was their living and insect collection. quarters while their house was being constructed. They planted numerous species of trees and shrubs around their buildings, along with vegetable gardens – all of which were sources of insect specimens. Once they had moved into the house, the former living quarters became David’s research laboratory and place to store his collection of insects. When not building sheds and installing fences, David began studying the insects in this biologically important part of Saskatchewan and for the past 20 years, has amassed a large collection and database on many local insects with an emphasis on beetles, moths, and plant-feeding bugs. My wife and I visited the Larsons five times since 2000, usually combined with a visit to Waterton. Our last visit was in 2018, but on each visit, I examined his collections and learned about his publications. The visits also include trips to some of David’s favourite habitats in the nearby Cypress Hills and around his property. Once David began sampling in 2000, he dramatically increased the number of species of Coleoptera known from Saskatchewan. Bousquet (1991) had recorded 1673 species of beetles in Saskatchewan and then David and his friend Ron Hooper (now deceased) of Regina increased that number to 2313 (Hooper and Larson 2013). Bousquet et al. (2013) subsequently reported an additional 50 species, to 2353 species, and by 2018, David (unpublished manuscript) had further increased the number to 2700 species. By definition, one never knows where or when a new species will be found in the fauna, but a combination of the discovery of previously unrecorded species along with a seemingly unending arrival of new invasive species, makes a provincial total of 3000 Saskatchewan beetle species likely. David has also made substantial contributions to our knowledge of the Lygaeoidea (Hemiptera) of the prairies. Maw et al. (2000) recorded 48 species from the prairie provinces, but David added an additional 20 species. Many of David’s records have been published by Scudder (2009; 2010; 2012; 2014) and Larson and Scudder (2018). David has researched both common and obscure taxa resulting in a series of detailed publications such as his keys to lady beetles of Saskatchewan (Larson 2012) and to the obscure variegated mud-loving beetles (Larson 2014), both of which include high quality habitus photographs of all species. Living on site in southern Saskatchewan has also resolved a common problem with

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most biodiversity projects by entomologists across Canada; sampling usually occurs during a short window of time during sporadic collecting trips. A habitat may be visited for a few hours a couple days a year and depending upon weather, time of the day, and phenology, the number of species collected is far less than the number of species actu- ally present. Intensive sampling throughout a season in the same area, and ideally over several years in succession, gives a much more complete picture of the biodiversity in a region. The sampling pattern undertaken by David in southwestern Saskatchewan is com- parable to that carried out by Norman Criddle, who homesteaded at Aweme (southeast of Brandon) in southwestern Manitoba in the early 1900s, and set up his lab there (Fig. 36) as the first Dominion Entomologist in Western Canada (Holliday et al. 2005). Insects have been sampled there, starting with Norman Criddle, for >115 years and it is one of the best documented sites in Manitoba. For example, 199 species of carabid beetles have been found at the site since 1900, represent- ing 54% of all the species known from Mani- toba (Holliday et al. 2014). David’s arthropod sampling around his home over 20 years has resulted in numerous discoveries, and like Criddle, his interests extend far beyond the world of arthropods and their natural history. David is keenly aware of changes in the habitats he visits and makes his observations known to others, such as observations on Joe Shorthouse predation by leopard frogs (Larson 2017). Fig. 36.Norman Criddle’s entomology laboratory Because of his work on dytiscids, David at ‘Aweme’, Manitoba in 2010 after restoration always monitored aquatic insects. He once by local historians. Norman was appointed as discovered a freshwater spring in the Cypress Western Canada’s first Dominion Entomologist in Hills, an unusual occurrence on the prairie 1912 and this is the building where he housed his grasslands, and noticed that the stream be- insect collection. low the outlet was being destroyed by thirsty cattle, along with the associated flora and fauna. The land is within the Cypress Hills Provincial Park and he was given permission to enclose the spring with a sturdy fence and run a pipe to a water tank so the cattle would not trample the stream. He was coauthor of an article on the insects of freshwater springs across Canada (Roughley and Larson 1991), and one of the dytiscid species co-described by David from springs in southern Alberta (Sanfilippodytes bertae Roughley & Larson 2000) was later assessed as endangered by Joe Shorthouse Fig. 37. David’s microscopy work station. the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, due to similar habitat destruction challenges in Alberta (COSEWIC 2009). David’s combined home office and research laboratory would be the envy of any insect taxonomist. He has a desk for microscopy (Fig. 37) and another workstation for macrophotography (Fig. 38). He has shot individual photographs of all the species he has dis- cussed in his many publications. These photographs are of such fine quality that diagnostic characters of even some of the smaller species (Fig. 39) are readily apparent.

One wall in his laboratory is lined with Joe Shorthouse boxes (Fig. 40) holding his extensive collec- Fig. 38. David’s macrophotography work station.

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tion of local insects. On each of my visits, he proudly displays his reference collection of dytiscids (Fig. 41), grasshoppers (Fig. 42), plant bugs (Fig. 43), and large Lepidoptera (Fig. 44). David and Margaret have several beehives on their property (Fig. 45) which supply them with honey. Margaret sells their honey at a local farmers market. Another result of David’s keen, daily observations (and another subject that connected the two of us through its relationship with prairie roses) was his discovery of the buprestid rose girdler (Agrilus cuprescens Ménétriés) on his property. David was the first entomologist on the prairies to detect the arrival and damage caused by this introduced and invasive buprestid. Writing in the provincial magazine Blue Jay (Larson 2003; 2009) and in the 2013 Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Saskatchewan (Larson 2013)), David described how the larvae of this beetle have been spreading unabated across southwestern Saskatchewan and Alberta since 2000. David and I examined normal stems of Rosa woodsii (Fig. 46) and stems swollen by Joe Shorthouse Fig. 40. Portion of David’s insect col- Joe Shorthouse lection.

David Larson David Fig. 41. David and a box of his prized dytiscid beetles.

Fig. 39. Example of David’s photographs used in his publications. Note the detail in this small mud-loving beetle Augyles canadensis. Joe Shorthouse Fig. 42. David holding a box of prairie grasslands grasshoppers. Fig. 43. David holding a box of plant bugs used in one of his publications. Joe Shorthouse

Fig. 44. David holding a box of the larger Lepidoptera found on his ranch. Joe Shorthouse Fig. 45. David in his apiary. David and Margaret are successful bee keepers and honey producers. Joe Shorthouse Margaret sells honey at the local farmers market.

Volume 39(1) Summer 2020 [click here to return to front page] Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada 41 Joe Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse Joe Shorthouse Fig. 46. Normal stem of Rosa Fig. 47. Stem of Rosa woodsii Fig. 48. Dissected stem of Rosa woodsii on the Larson ranch. swollen and gnarled by larvae of woodsii showing tunnelling larvae the rose stem girdler. of the rose stem girdler.

tunnelling larvae (Fig. 47). We dissected many of the stems to see tunnels in the cam- bium girdling the stem (Fig. 48) which kills the stem above the damage, but in many cases, also kills the stem to ground level. The beetle attacks both Rosa woodsii on the open prairies and Rosa acicularis growing near trees. However, the beetle does not attack the smaller Rosa arkansana because its stems are too small to support feeding larvae. Together we examined massive diebacks of patches of Rosa woodsii and he speculated how their disappearance will alter prairie ecosystems. David found that the girdler does not kill the shrubs, because new growth arises from underground rhizomes; however, the change in density of above ground biomass will have a negative impact. Wild roses play an important ecological role in coulees and hilly grounds on the prairies including the retention of snow and spring melt water (Shorthouse 2010c). Roses prevent soil erosion, along with providing habitat for vertebrate fauna. Their flowers are an important source of pollen for insects (Fig. 26) and their hips are eaten by many species of vertebrates. Although David has attempted to alert government officials as to pending loss of this important shrub (Larson 2013), no action has been taken. Sadly, the citizens of Alberta are unaware that their floral emblem Rosa( acicularis) is threatened. Because of the girdler, the once impenetrable rose thickets of the Great Sand Hills, to the northeast of Swift Current, are all but gone, as are rose thickets in the draws and coulees of the prairies south of the North Saskatchewan River from Manitoba to the Rocky Mountains. Discussions with David in 2005 alerted me to checking wild roses near Sudbury and on Manitoulin Island. Sadly, the girdler is now present in central Ontario and as of 2019, wild roses on Manitoulin Island are now uncommon.

Future of prairie grasslands Although David’s and my experiences wandering the grasslands have been exhilarat- ing, our frequent evening discussions often leave us with a feeling of foreboding. You can’t put two retired university professors together in the same room after a lifetime of studying grasslands without their lamenting over the human impact on this important bi- ome. After discussing the pending impact of global climatic change, and damage caused by introduced flora and fauna (e.g., the rose stem girdler), our discussions darken when we remind each other that most of the prairie grasslands, as they were 200 years ago, are gone.

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We fretted about the consequences of the massive ecological alterations humans have concocted on the prairies. We summarized some of our views and concerns in the last chapter of ‘Arthropods in Canada’s grasslands: Synthesis and future directions’ (Volume 1 of the BSC grasslands series; Shorthouse and Larson 2010b). Others in subsequent BSC volumes and summaries have done the same (Hall et al. 2011; Holliday et al. 2014; Willms et al. 2011; Floate et al. 2017). Each of these authors, along with David and me, are saddened that the few remaining tracts of natural prairie grasslands in Canada are in a perilous state, and we assume that in only a few remaining sites does the fauna resemble that present when the first Euro- peans arrived. We all recognize that our prairie grasslands were once sustainable and in a state of balance because few humans were present, there were huge herds of bison, and fires were frequent. We accept the necessity for most prairie grasslands being converted to agroecosystems in order to feed our burgeoning population, and that in quick succession fires were no longer tolerated, bison were eliminated, virgin grassy fields were plowed, and new crop plants and cattle from outside North America were introduced. But we have trouble accepting that over 70% of the wetlands had to be drained, and that insecticides and herbicides have become so widely used to control pests that the populations of endemic species of arthropods have been in a steady state of decline for decades. We remind our- selves that the agroecosystems are artificial and remain productive because we use fos- sil fuels, fertilizers, and insecticides in place of ecosystem services (Willms et al. 2011). We bemoan the fact that the few remaining expanses of native grasslands are still being lost to agroecosystems, urban sprawl, roads, and resource extraction. David and I suspect that all authors in the BSC volumes are environmentalists, conservationists, preservationists, and ecologists (Shorthouse and Larson 2010b). We join the preservationists in stressing that at least some of the remaining natural grasslands with its biota must be allowed to exist. We know that many species will become extirpated or extinct before we understand the ecosystem services they provide, such as pollination, break down of plant detritus and solid waste of vertebrates, controlling pest species, indicators of environmental change, and serving as the basic mass at the bottom of food chains. We are not surprised that Hall et al. (2011) in Volume II of the Grasslands series estimated that at least 720 species of insects are at risk on the prairies and that the most important threat is their reliance upon plants that are also at risk. In addition, Hall et al. (2011) estimated that at least 30,000 species of insects in Canada have yet to be described, and if correct, this would double the number of species at risk on the prairies to about 1,500. David and I are pleased that on March 1, 2019, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared 2021–2030 the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.” This call to action emphasizes the need to massively accelerate global restoration of degraded ecosystems, to fight the crisis in climate change, enhance food security, provide clean water, and protect biodiversity on the planet. There are still areas on the prairies where partially damaged grasslands, such as cattle pastures, can be restored and the UN Dec- laration provides the stimulus for returning some patches of prairie grasslands to their natural state. Ecological restoration is becoming a major strategy for increasing the provision of ecosystems services and reversing losses in biodiversity (Bullock et al. 2011). I reminded David that if functional ecosystems can be built on smelter-damaged lands near Sudbury

where hill-top soils were washed away after fumigation by S02 (Gunn 1995), it would be easy to build functional grassland ecosystems on some prairie sites where soils still remain. We urge arthropod biologists to join in these projects. Like all field entomologists, we complain that miniscule amounts of funds from grant- ing agencies are available for biodiversity studies on the prairies. While Canada’s federal government spends millions of dollars supporting a telescope in Hawaii to search for life in outer space, along with millions of dollars in a Sudbury mine to detect neutrinos (particles without mass) from outer space, a proportionally small amount of money is available to identify and understanding the ecological role of arthropods in our country. Although it doesn’t bear directly on ecological integrity of the prairies, it is important to point out that there are strong current trends to reduce or even eliminate public ac-

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cess to prairie environments. The federal government has disposed of much of its land holdings which have largely been acquired by the private sector. Trespass laws are being changed so that access to private land is illegal. Similar rules are being applied to the remaining public pastures. As a result, opportunities to freely roam and experience the prairie environment are vanishing like most other prairie features. We wonder how people who have never known this environment can be expected to value and conserve it.

Into the sunset A highlight of each visit to the Larson ranch is a late evening walk to the hills east of their house to watch the sun set. The last photograph I took in 2018 (Fig. 49), captured with my cell phone (setting suns appear more attractive with cell phones than with real cameras), showed David to the left, Margaret, Marilyn, and the three Larson dogs. Within 10 minutes from the start of this hike, we flushed 6 mule deer from the brush at the base of a coulee, and two coyotes circled us on adjoining ridges as they commu- nicated with yaps and howls. Not lost on the moment were signs that the coulees and ridges on which we walked were formed by melting waters of the Laurentide glacier that once surrounded the Cypress Hills (Kulig 1996). These were the hills where David has been sampling intensely for the past 20 years. We walked over tipi rings, circles of boulders made by nomadic indigenous peoples hundreds or thousands of years ago, to hold down the hide coverings of their conical lodges or tipis. Our walk was also daunting as we imagined the newly formed Northwest Mounted Po- lice who passed this area in 1874 as they made their way from Winnipeg to the Cypress Hills just over the horizon to the west where they established Fort Walsh. Members of this young police force may have patrolled through the Larson ranch chasing off Ameri- can wolf hunters and whisky traders. Not far to the east the new police officers were to meet with Sitting Bull and his followers who had entered Canada near Wood Mountain (then part of the Northwest Territories) after their 1876 battle with the United States cavalry at Little Bighorn in nearby Montana. The hikes reminded the four of us that the lives of entomologists are filled with adventure, comradery, discovery, and a deep appreciation for beauty and history.

Fig. 49. Setting sun on the Larson ranch in July, 2018.

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References Balke M, Larson DJ, and Hendrich L. 1997. A review of the New Guinea species of Laccophilus Leach 1815 with notes on regional melanism. Tropical Zoology, 10: 295–320. Bird CD. 1962. Bryophytes of the Cypress Hills Provincial Parks, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal of Botany, 40: 573–587. Bousquet Y (Editor). 1991. Checklist of beetles of Canada and Alaska. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa. vi + 430 pp. Bousquet Y, Bouchard P, Davies AE, and Sikes DS. 2013. Checklist of Beetles (Coleoptera) of Canada and Alaska (2nd edition), Pensoft Series Faunistica No 109, Sofia-Moscow. 402pp. Breitung AJ. 1954. A botanical survey of the Cypress Hills. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 68: 55–92. Bullock JM, Aronson J, Newton AC, Pywell RF, and Rey-Benayas JM. 2011. Restoration of ecosystem services and biodiversity: Conflicts and opportunities. Trends in Ecology and Evolution,26 : 541–549. Cárcamo HA and Giberson DJ (Editors). 2014. Arthropods of Canadian grasslands (Volume 3): Biodiver- sity and Systematics part 1. Biological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 413 pp. COSEWIC. 2009. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Bert’s Predaceous Diving Beetle San- filippodytes bertaein Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. Available from https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public- registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/bert-predaceous-diving-beetle-2009.html [accessed 2 June 2020] Danks HV. 2016. The Biological Survey of Canada: A Personal History. Biological Survey of Canada, Ot- tawa, Canada. 180 pp. Danks HV and Downes JA (Editors). 1997. Insects of the Yukon. Biological Survey of Canada (Terres- trial Arthropods), Ottawa, Canada. 1034 pp. Danks, HV, Downes JA, Larson DJ, and Scudder GGE. 1997. Insects of the Yukon: characteristics and history. pp. 963–1013 In Insects of the Yukon. Edited by HV Danks and JA Downes. Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods), Ottawa, Canada. 1034 pp. Floate KD (Editor). 2011. Arthropods of Canadian grasslands, Volume 2: Inhabitants of a Changing Landscape. Biological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 371 pp. Floate KD, Shorthouse JD, Giberson DJ, Cárcamo HA. 2017. Arthropods of Canadian grasslands: a retrospective of a 40-year project of the Biological Survey of Canada. The Canadian Entomologist, 149: 702–717. Giberson DJ and Cárcamo HA (Editors). 2014. Arthropods of Canadian grasslands (Volume 4): Biodiver- sity and Systematics Part 2. Biological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. 479 pp. Giberson DJ and Shorthouse JD. 2011. Fifty years of high arctic entomology: Hazen camp on Ellesmere Island. Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada, 30: 17–27. Güçlü S, Hayat R, Shorthouse JD, and Tozlu G. 2008. Gall-inducing wasps of the genus Diplolepis (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) on shrub roses of Turkey. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 110: 204–218. Gunn JM (Editor). 1995. Restoration and Recovery of an Industrial Region. Springer-Verlag. New York. 359 pp. Hall PW, Catling PM, and Lafontaine JD. 2011. Insects at risk in the prairie region. pp. 323–349 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands: Inhabitants of a Changing Landscape. Edited by K. D. Floate. Biological Survey of Canada. Biological Survey of Canada. Ottawa, Canada 371 pp. doi: 10.3752/9780968932155.ch13 Harris P and Shorthouse JD. 1996. Effectiveness of gall inducers in weed biological control. The Cana- dian Entomologist, 128: 1021–1055. doi: 10.4039/Ent1281021-6 Hilton DFJ. 1985. Dragonflies (Odonata) of Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Alberta and their biogeograph- ic significance. The Canadian Entomologist,117 : 1127–1136. Holliday NJ. 2005. Norman Criddle: pioneer entomologist of the prairies. Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Canada, 37: 10–19. Holliday NJ, Floate KD, Cárcamo H, Pollock DA, Stjernberg A, and Roughley RE. 2014. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of the prairie grasslands of Canada. pp 1–85 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 4): Biodiversity and Systematics Part 2. Edited by DJ Giberson and HA Cárcamo. Biological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. 479 pp. doi: 10.3752/9780968932179.ch1 Hooper RR and Larson DJ. 2013. Checklist of beetles (Coleoptera: Insecta) of Saskatchewan. http:// www.entsocsask.ca/documents/insect_lists/Coleoptera%20Species%20List%20of%20SK_copy.pdf Kulig JJ. 1996. The glaciation of the Cypress Hills of Alberta and Saskatchewan and its regional implications. Quaternary International, 32: 53–77. Langor D. 2020a. Update on the Survey of Terrestrial Arthropods of Waterton Lakes National Park. Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada, 39(1): 14–17. Langor D. 2020b. The Waterton Lakes National Park Insect Collection: A Tale of Romance and Drama. Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada, 39(1): 21–24. Larson DJ. 1997. Dytiscid water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) of the Yukon. pp. 491 – 522 In Insects of the Yukon. Edited by HV Danks and JA Downes, Biological Survey of Canada. Ottawa, Canada. 1034 pp. Larson DJ. 2003. The rose stem girdler (Agrilus aurichalceus Redtenbacher) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Buprestidae), a new threat to prairie roses. Blue Jay, 61(3): 176–178. Larson DJ. 2007. Habitat and community patterns of tropical Australian hydradephagan water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae, Gyrinidae, Noteridae). Australian Journal of Entomology, 36: 269–285. Larson DJ. 2009. Notes and observations on the rose stem girdler (Agrilus cuprescens Ménétriés) (In- secta: Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Blue Jay, 67(2): 82–85.

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Larson DJ. 2012. Key to Lady Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of Saskatchewan. Available from: http://www.entsocsask.ca/documents/insect_lists/Coccinellidae_key.pdf [accessed 31 May 2020] Larson DJ. 2013. The impact of the rose stem girdler (Agrilus cuprescens Ménétriés) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) on prairie rose communities: a call to action. Entomological Society of Saskatchewan Newsletter, 32(2): 1–3. Larson DJ. 2014. Key to Saskatchewan species of Heteroceridae (variegated mud-loving beetles). Available from: www.entsocsask.ca/documents/insect_lists/Key%20to%20Saskatchewan%20Spe- cies%20of%20Heteroceridae_Feb.%202014.pdf [accessed 31 May 2020] Larson DJ. 2017. Leopard frog predation on emerging adults of colonizing variegated meadowhawk dragonflies. Blue Jay,75 (2): 16–18. Larson DJ, Alarie Y, and Roughley RE. 2000. Predaceous diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) of the Nearctic region with emphasis on the fauna of Canada and Alaska. NRC Research Press, Ot- tawa, Ontario. 982 pages. Larson DJ and Scudder GGE. 2018. Seed bugs and their allies (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeoi- dea) of the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification34 (July 2018) doi:10.3752/cjai.2018.34 Maw HEL, Foottit RG, Hamilton KGA, and Scudder GGE. 2000. Checklist of the Hemiptera of Canada and Alaska. NRC Research Press, Ottawa. 220 pages. Roughley RE and Larson DJ. 1991. Aquatic Coleoptera of springs in Canada. pp. 125–140 In Arthro- pods of Springs, with Particular Reference to Canada Edited by DD Williams and HV Danks. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, 155. 217 pp. Scudder GGE. 2009. Nine Heteroptera (Hemiptera) new to Canada, with additional new provincial records for three other species in Canada. Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia, 106: 3–9. Scudder GGE. 2010. Melacoryphus admirabilis (Uhler) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) new to Canada, with additional Canadian provincial records for other Heteroptera. Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia, 107: 3–9. Scudder GGE. 2012. Additional provincial and state records for Heteroptera (Hemiptera) in Canada and the United States. Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia, 109: 55–69. Scudder GGE. 2014. The Heteroptera (Hemiptera) of the Prairies Ecozone of Canada. pp 283–309 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 3): Biodiversity and Systematics Part 1. Ed- ited by H. A. Cárcamo and D. J. Giberson. Biological Survey of Canada. 413 pages. doi: 10.3752/9780968932162.ch10 Shorthouse JD. 1991. An unusual population of galls of Diplolepis polita (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) in the Cypress Hills of southeastern Alberta. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 105: 542–549. Shorthouse JD. 2010a. Canada’s grasslands as habitat for arthropods. pp 27–51 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 1): Ecology and interactions in Grassland Habitats. Edited by JD Shorthouse and KD Floate. Biological Survey of Canada. 358 pp. doi: 10.3752/9780968932148.ch2 Shorthouse JD. 2010b. Ecoregions of Canada’s prairie grasslands. pp 53–81 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 1): Ecology and interactions in Grassland Habitats. Edited by JD Shorthouse and KD Floate. Biological Survey of Canada. Ottawa, Canada. 358 pp. doi: 10.3752/9780968932148.ch3 Shorthouse JD. 2010c. Galls induced by cynipid galls of the genus Diplolepis (Hymenoptera: Cynipi- dae) on the roses of Canada’s grasslands. pp 251–297 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Vol- ume 1): Ecology and interactions in Grassland Habitats. Edited by JD Shorthouse and KD Floate. Biological Survey of Canada. Ottawa, Canada. doi: 10.3752/9780968932148.ch12 Shorthouse JD. 2011. In memory of Ruby I. Larson. Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Canada, 43: 91–93. Shorthouse JD and Floate KD (Editors). 2010. Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 1): Ecol- ogy and Interactions in Grassland Habitats. Biological Survey of Canada. Ottawa, Canada. 358 pages. Shorthouse JD and Larson DJ. 2010a. Grasslands and grassland arthropods of Canada. pp. 1–24 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 1): Ecology and interactions in Grassland Habitats. Edited by JD Shorthouse and KD Floate. Biological Survey of Canada. Ottawa, Canada. 358 pages. doi: 10.3752/9780968932148.ch1 Shorthouse JD and Larson DJ. 2010b. Arthropods of Canada’s grasslands: Synthesis and future directions. pp. 325-342 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 1): Ecology and interactions in Grassland Habitats. Edited by JD Shorthouse and K Floate. Biological Survey of Canada. Ottawa, Canada. 358 pages. doi: 10.3752/9780968932148.ch15 Willms W, Adams B, and McKenzie R. 2011. Overview: anthropogenic changes of Canadian grasslands. pp. 1–22 In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands: Inhabitants of a Changing Landscape. Ed- ited by KD Floate. Biological Survey of Canada. Ottawa, Canada doi: 10.3752/9780968932155.ch1 Zhang YM, Gates MW, and Shorthouse JD. 2017. Revision of Canadian Eurytomidae (Hym: Chalci- doidea) associated with galls induced by Diplolepis (Hym: Cynipidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 61: 1–29. Zhang YM, Zoltán L, Looney C, and Shorthouse JD. 2019. DNA barcodes reveal inconsistent species boundaries in Diplolepis rose gall wasps and their Periclistus inquilines (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae). The Canadian Entomologist. 151: 717–727. doi: 10.4039/tce.2019.59.

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2019 papers in the Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification:

Schorno S, Marshall SA, Murphy WL, and Muzzatti M. 2019. Sciomyzidae of northeastern North America. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification35 : 331pp. doi:10.3752/ cjai.2019.35 Burton DK. 2019. Capniidae (Plecoptera) in Canada east of Alberta. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification36 : 114pp. doi:10.3752/cjai.2019.36 Lindsay KG and Marshall SA. 2019. Laphria (Diptera: Asilidae) of Ontario, with a key to the eastern Canadian species of Laphriini and Dasylechia. Canadian Journal of Arthro- pod Identification37 : 91pp. doi:10.3752/cjai.2019.37 Douglas HB, Cognato AI, Grebennikov V, and Savard K. 2019. Dichotomous and matrix-based keys to the Ips bark beetles of the World (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae). Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification38 : 234pp. doi:10.3752/ cjai.2019.38 Jones N, Whitworth T, and Marshall SA. 2019. Blow flies of North America: Keys to the subfamilies and genera of Calliphoridae, and to the species of the subfamilies Cal- liphorinae, Luciliinae and Chrysomyinae. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 39: 191 pp. doi:10.3752/cjai.2019.39 Pelletier G and Hébert C. 2019. The Cryptophagidae of Canada and the northern UnitedStates of America. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification40 : 305 pp. doi:10.3752/cjai.2019.40

Reminder of BSC Publications The BSC has produced a number of monographs and briefs on various topics relating to biodiversity. Briefs and some monographs are available as downloadable pdf documents from our website: http://biologicalsurvey.ca/home

Volume 39(1) Summer 2020 [click here to return to front page] Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada 47

Notices

Recent Books available from the Biological Survey of Canada. These are available for download on the BSC website, and most are also available as softcover bound versions. See http://biologicalsurvey.ca/monographs for information:

Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands series Volume 1: Ecology and Interactions in Grassland Habitats. Volume 2: Inhabitants of a Changing Landscape Volume 3: Biodiversity and Systematics, Part 1 Volume 4: Biodiversity and Systematics, Part 2

A Handbook to the Ticks of Canada (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Ar- gasidae)

The Biological Survey of Canada: A personal history

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Entomological Monographs

The Entomological Society of Canada has published a number of entomological monographs (including some of the popular Insects and Arachnids of Canada Series) on their website. To access these, go to: http://esc-sec.ca/publications/aafc/

If you prefer the monographs in bound format, these can still be obtained on a print-on- demand process though an agreement with Volumes Direct (http://www.volumesdirect. com/). Visit their website, and search for title or author.

Call for Suggestions for a 2021 Biological Survey of Canada BioBlitz

A BioBlitz is a great way to start or implement a faunal inventory of a region, as can be seen by reading the report of the 2017 bioBlitz in Winter 2017 issue.

If you are interested in organizing a BioBlitz for the next summer, or have a BioBlitz planned that you’d like to coordinate with the Biological Survey (for example, the 2017 BioBlitz was held in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan in conjunction with the BioBlitz Canada 150 programme), please contact the Biological Survey of Canada: [email protected]

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Add Your Voice: Biological Survey of Canada on Social media

Join the biodiversity discussion on the BSC Facebook site, and other ways to engage in discussing topics in Canadian biodiversity.

Visit our Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/biolsurvey1can/?fref=nf#

Who we are: The Biological Survey of Canada is a Not-for-Profit Corporation dedicated to promoting biodiversity science in Canada - The BSC consists of an elected board of directors and a membership represent- ing all areas of biodiversity science. The historical focus has been on Arthro- pods, but with the ongoing Biota of Canada initiative, the focus has expanded to the entire Biota. - We produce a newsletter twice per year, organize events such as the annual BSC Symposium at the Entomological Society of Canada (ESC) meeting, a “Curation Blitz” at some ESC meetings, and assist in organizing BioBlitzes when possible. Anyone can receive the newsletter, by sending a request to the Sec- retary (address below). - Membership is free, and includes this newsletter and the right to vote at the Annual General Meeting. All members are encouraged to become actively involved in BSC projects, propose new projects, or to run for the positions on the Board of Directors. (A nominal membership fee may be charged in future to cover infrastructure costs). - The Annual General Meeting is held each summer by conference call.

To Join the BSC: Send an email to Donna Giberson, Secretary, BSC. [email protected]

- In the subject line, write “BSC Membership” - in the body of the message, give your full name and contact information, and a valid email address. Remember to update the BSC if you change email addresses. Please also provide some information on your background and biodiversity interests.

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