The Newsletter of the Vermont Entomological Society

www.VermontInsects.org VES NEWS The Newsletter of the Vermont Entomological Society

Newsletter Schedule Spring: Deadline April 7 - Publication May 1 Summer: Deadline July 7 - Publication August 1 Fall: Deadline October 7 - Publication November 1 Winter: Deadline January 7 - Publication February 1

2018 Memberships are Due Check Your Mailing Label The upper right corner of your mailing label will inform you of the month and year your VES membership expires. Dues are $15 and can be sent to our Treasurer: Vermont Entomological Society - c/o Deb Kiel 147 Allen Irish Road Underhill, VT 05489

For more information on the Vermont Entomological Society, visit www.VermontInsects.org

- By Trish Hanson Luke came by his proficiency in mathematics and science naturally. His Dad was an RCA engineer, Our VES colleagues know that my husband, Luke and Hazel, the daughter of a math teacher, was an Curtis has been a devoted supporter of my ento- MIT graduate in architecture. As a kid, Luke toyed mology work, collaborating with me on many in- with electric motors and decoders. He listened to sect-related endeavors, contributing and reviewing WOR radio late into the night, and loved Jean writings for this and other publications, and serv- Shepherd, the New York radio raconteur “whose ing as VES treasurer from February 2013 through rambling jazzlike monologues on the air puzzled March 2017. Though we haven’t been able to par- many but delighted fans over two decades.” ticipate fully in recent VES events, we hope to keep After graduating from Verona High School, Luke in contact with our VES friends. As part of this, I headed for Dartmouth College, where he studied thought you would enjoy hearing more about how political science made some Luke became involved in lifelong friends including our work. Jeff Dann, who later trav- Luke’s folks, Lucien (Luke) elled with Luke to Seattle, and Hazel Curtis, lived in where they both eventually Verona, New Jersey, a resi- enrolled in University of dential community that, in Washington graduate pro- the 1940s and early 1950s, grams in anthropology. was surrounded by rural At the UW, Luke’s master’s land and nearby woods. Ad- work focused on cognition jacent to the large Curtis and applications of the theo- yard, the wild open lots af- ry of games in the behavioral forded outdoor play space, sciences. In reviewing his setting the stage for the life thesis, I noted that, along of a naturalist. with references to folks such In 1938, Luke Sr. purchased as linguist Noam Chomsky an old Vermont farm, our and sociologist Erving current home in Lincoln. As Goffman, Luke also cited Luke Jr. was growing up in Karl von Frisch, so he likely New Jersey, the farm be- had dancing bee communi- came a place of legend. Alt- cation on the brain along hough Luke Sr. came to see with the language of human the farm as a future albatross, Hazel nurtured in culture. He and John Atkins contributed the chap- her children a year-round craving for life on the ter “Game Rules and the Rules of Culture” to the bleak, rocky hill overlooking Mt. Abraham. When compendium Game Theory in the Behavioral Sciences, she and Luke Jr. were alone in Lincoln, they ex- edited by Ira R. Buchler and Hugo G. Nutini in plored the unkempt fields, forest edges, and the 1969. After he completed his MS, Luke continued woodland undergrowth and its inhabitants. They his studies in cultural anthropology, finishing his identified ferns and wild flowers and learned bird- coursework and passing his comprehensive exams, songs. Both in Verona and Lincoln, Luke collected but eventually joining the ABD (All But Disserta- butterflies and always had a favorite to tion) crowd. stalk.

- Luke and I met at Kunio and Shigeto Otani’s green- In more recent years, along with assisting me with house in the Greenwood District of Seattle. Luke various -related projects, Luke helped tran- thrived under Shig’s mentorship, learning how to scribe Ross Bell’s book on Carabids, monitored weld and mastering the art of poinsettia cuttings plant phenology for FPR, and collected daily tem- and culture. He also replaced much glass, since the peratures, and snow depths at our Lincoln site to greenhouse range was next to a boys’ club that had help the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife stones that begged to be picked up and tossed. track the Winter Severity Index. (The Otani family gave direct insight into and a sad Luke has three children. In Seattle, he became a appreciation of the treatment of Japanese- father to Bay, an energetic little girl who grew up Americans on the West Coast in the early 1940s.) to be an energetic young woman. She and her We moved to Vermont in 1979. After working at Ontario-born husband Guy, and their children, Mi- Claussen's Greenhouse for several years, where he lo and Jove, live in Coles Island, New Brunswick. met VES member Sandy Wilmot, Luke was hired Our children, Ole and Lena, are both married; Ole as a technician at UVM’s Entomology Research and his wife Jamie, live in Philadelphia, are expect- Lab. In that position, he assisted ing a baby girl in May. Lena and with a variety of projects ranging her husband, Patrick, live in Port from gypsy surveys Townsend, WA, where I grew up. (including work with our new Luke has been struggling with State Entomologist and VES memory loss in recent years along member Judy Rosovsky as she with physical issues that keep him pursued her MS); pear thrips sur- from joining me in the outdoor vey field methodologies; develop- projects that we love, but I have ment with VES member and for- fond memories of our many mer Forests Parks and Recreation outings together, particularly Forest Health Specialist Ron most recently when we haunted Kelley, of a standard method for ballfields around Vermont on a long-term monitoring, evaluation, quest for buprestid-carrying and image analysis to track forest Cerceris wasps, and when we at- canopy health. He also spent sev- tended VES functions and other eral years censusing breeding work-related gatherings. Despite bird populations in VT, MA, NY, Luke’s health concerns, we contin- and CT as part of the Cooperative ue to relish weekly music sessions with an informal Gypsy Moth Program. He often ran a light trap on couple of wisecrackers, VES member Dave our property to help John Grehan (one of the VES Henderson who has contributed to VES News, and founders) and others catalog Vermont’s moth Eric Mortensen, who is a bottomless pit when it fauna. comes to jokes about and just about every- After I completed my graduate work and joined thing else. Together and separately, Luke and I FPR as an entomologist, Luke stayed home, have come to know and cherish our many bug- wrangled our kids, and started making fine wood loving friends and other naturalists through VES furniture, mostly from cherry taken from our and through my work with the State of Vermont. woodlot. He attended school events and assem- blies, volunteered for field trips, and drove Ole and Lena to their athletic, music, and social activities. He was also deeply involved in the project to con- struct a new Lincoln Library after the 1998 New Haven River flood destroyed the old one.

- By Judy Rosovsky For many years, the various agencies involved in searching for EAB had trained together to prac- On February 19, 2018, a forester in Orange Coun- tice what we would do if an invasive pest was ty was updating a current use management plan found in the state. Once the pest was confirmed, for a new client. He had recently attended a we took immediate steps to delineate the extent Forest Health meeting organized by the Vermont of the infestation. VT FPR took the lead, assisted Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, by UVM Extension, Vermont Agency of Agricul- (VT FPR) and was well informed about the signs ture, Food and Markets, and and symptoms of the destruc- the USDA. Visual road sur- tive forest pest, the Emerald veys of all of the towns abut- Ash Borer (EAB) (Agrilus ting the infested towns have planipennis). He noticed dying been completed. Follow-up trees and realized, upon clos- crews are checking trees iden- er inspection, that he was see- tified as “suspect,” and work ing EAB damage. We re- is almost complete. That could ceived his information change quickly, however, if through vtinvasives.org, a another EAB is found in a website designed for people new town. to report invasive insect sightings. What will happen to our for- ests once the EAB is estab- Gwen Kozlowski works for lished? The insect causes al- the University of Vermont most 100% ash tree mortality, Extension, (UVM Ext), and and the survivors are not ro- she coordinates the invasive bust. Mortality takes place insect reports. She looked at over one to five years, with the photos the forester then healthy, large trees in new, forwarded them to the other low insect-density areas sur- members of the team with viving the longest. Once the the message “Yikes!” Fortui- insect population increases, tously, there was a meeting or if the targeted trees are to update the VT EAB Action Plan on Feb 20th, weakened from any other source (basal wound- and members of that group volunteered to go ing, drought, other abiotic factor or other insect and check out the report. To our regret, EAB was attacks), mortality occurs sooner. In more urban confirmed in Orange County, VT, and subse- areas, dead ash trees may become hazardous. quently in Washington and Caledonia Counties. The loss of almost all individuals of any species The towns in which these insects have been in a forest will have an ecological impact. Almost found to date are Orange, Plainfield, Groton and all North American ash species appear to be sus- Barre. ceptible. Foresters now refer to the “aftermath forest” and use the phrase “functional

- extirpation” to refer to the fate of the ash. mont, including the Two-lined Ash Borer (A. bilineatus), and the Bronze Birch Borer (A. anxius.) David Wagner, a former University of VT We have learned more about our native fauna Entomology Research Lab post-doc, discussed thanks to Trish Hanson and the Cercerid wasp- the effects of the loss of ash on lepidopteran ash catching volunteers. Another family often associ- specialists (Wagner, 2007.) He lists 21 Lepidop- ated with Buprestidae are the Cerambycids, teran species that require ash to some degree, in- known as round-headed borers or longhorned cluding the Canadian Sphinx Moth (Sphinx cana- beetles. This group includes some native ash bor- densis) which is found in Black Ash swamps. ers, such as the Redheaded Ash Borer (Neoclytus There are rays of hope. acuminatus) (MSU Extension, 2005.) The Ceram- Resistant trees are out bycidae family includes the dreaded Asian Long- there, and we have hornedBeetle (Anoplophora glabripennis ) which learned lessons from the has not yet appeared in Vermont…so don’t move past. Foresters are trying firewood! Please report any suspicious potential to encourage landown- invasive-insect sightings to vtinvasives.org. You ers to leave some ash can post photos, too, which are always welcome. trees on their land, even References: small ones, to help iden- tify resistant survivors. Bauer, et al. 2016. Emerald Ash Borer: Biology and life cycle. US Forest Service Northern Research Station. Our neighbors in New www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/eab/biology_e Hampshire have started cology/planipennis/.

to experiment with para- Michigan State University Extension. 2005. Extension Bulletin- sitoid wasps as bio- 2939. New 2005. www.emeraldashborer.info/documents/E- controls. The introduc- 2939.pdf. tion of natural enemies Wagner, David. 2007. Emerald ash borer threatens ash-feeding . News of the Lepidopterist’s Society 49 (1). will not eliminate tree death from EAB, but it www.lepsoc.org/sites/all/themes/nevia/lepsoc/Conservation% 20Matters%20-%20EAB.pdf. will help suppress the insect population enough to allow some trees to reach maturity. The EAB life cycle does not lend itself to control efforts since larvae can spend one to two years under the bark. The adult females lay eggs on protected areas of the bark. The larvae hatch about a week later and bore into the trees. It takes longer for the insect to mature in healthy trees, so some larvae overwinter for a second year. The adults start to emerge in May and need to feed on ash leaves before they lay eggs. Emerald Ash Borers belong in the family Bupres- tidae, the flat-headed borers, metallic wood- boring beetles, or the jewel beetles. There are sev- eral native borers in the Agrilus in Ver-

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By Jeff Freeman

he Big One is a one-inch, dark brown horse Numbers of Female Tabanus calens Collected by 2-Tier Box Trap and Net T fly found in Addison County, Vermont. Standing near a horse in Weybridge, west of Middlebury, at a home on Snake Mountain Road in July, there is steady traffic of Upland Green- heads (Tabanus quinquevittatus) and Hairy-eyed Spot-wing horse flies (Hybomitra lasiophthalma) My cooperator, Deb Laramie, hopes to see fewer attempting to feed on horse blood. In the course Big Ones at, near, or on her horse, Journey. With of a week’s trapping there may be thousands of beef cattle, their weight gain is reduced by each, carefully collected into labeled freezer bags pestering and blood feeding by tabanid flies. by Deb Laramie of Addison. Less milk from dairy cows has led to large free- ranging barns with more adlib feeding and wa- tering, different ways to handle manure, and not having to go get cows at milking time. Because of the measured negative effects on large livestock, economic entomologists have been called in to help.

My hope is to see if this is a true range extension by [actually] collecting the Big One along a north -south line back to where they have been found The Latin name of the hairy-eyed spot wing, in New York in the past. I hope that the UVM Lasiophthalma refers to hairiness (lasio) and eyes collection will show our results. (ophthalma). There are several obvious darkened spots on their wings. The Latin genus Tabanus, Some 60 years ago, H. Tashiro at Cornell did the the horse fly, suggests that Romans “home run” of tabanidology: adult-to-egg-to- experienced these horse flies too. In Latin, calend adult rearing. Using this method, an investiga- refers to the first day of the month. Each year, tor collects a horse fly, allows it to feed on blood, the Big One appears near the first day of August. feeds it sugar water in a cage, provides it with an “You can hear them as they are approaching”, egg-laying surface and then rears the larvae for we are told. two years until they pupate and emerge as an adult. For this, you need to have a clean, well-

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kept laboratory and provide individual rearing collection, so any sense of numbers is missing. containers (They are cannibalistic). Each larva Sightings and being bothered by Big Ones must be allowed to feed on a soft-bodied inverte- outnumber actual captures, pinnings, labelings, brate, then must be washed and kept clean in an and placing in a collection. They are easy to individual container. ignore. I want to intentionally place in Vermont’s Zadock Thompson NHM insect Trapping Tabanidae at Addison led to three collection some well-documented examples of years of counting data on 43 species of tabanid the Big One so there will be a Vermont record in flies in one location for the whole season, a first place. for this family in Vermont using a trap. T. calens represented a major part of this community. The We now know how to collect T. calens and get it two-tier trap, the horse, and the careful and into a working collection. We know of the regular collecting by Deb Laramie made this difficulties that go with collecting by net. One possible. way to reduce populations of horse flies is to reduce larval habitat and egg-laying opportuni- Was this abundance an isolated occurrence or ties…but we do not yet know exactly where eggs was this the northern extreme of a continuous are laid or where the precise larval habitat is. distribution of this species? This certainly was an isolated use of this trap. Previous range maps show that Vermont is just outside the northeast edge of the distribution of this species. Field work in August began in 2017. Hemenway Rd., Bridport; Dead Creek Flow WMA, W. Addison; and Stony Point Rd. next to Benson Landing in western Rutland County provided only sightings of T. calens, but we do not have any specimens on pins yet. A location in Hampton, NY, offers this study an interested horse owner and collector, a horse, and a place to put a 2-tier box trap in August. - Two things seem to influence finding T. calens in collections. First, they are very hard to catch with a net. Swinging and missing are common. Second, these flies take up much space in a

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May 6 Directions: From Whitehall, NY, take Route 4 Herrick’s Cove Wildlife Festival east; from Rutland, VT, take Route 4 west. Rockingham, VT Just east of Whitehall Village, turn north onto 11 a.m. Route 9A across from the Bittersweet Plaza. Af- VES will set up a small table and lead an ter about one mile, turn left onto Route 9 at the afternoon insect walk. “T”. Take the first right on Route 10, Doig Contact: Michael Sabourin, mothvet Street. Then turn left onto the dirt road (paved @yahoo.com, (802) 426-2133 or (802) 345-0644. road curves right). Cross bridge and turn left. See www.nature-museum.org/herricks-cove- The Tim's Trail parking area is 0.7 miles down festival/. road on the right. Contacts: Michael Sabourin, mothvet June 3 @yahoo.com, (802) 426-2133 or (802) 345-0644, Macrae Farm Park (WVPD) or Laurie DiCesare, Nature- Colchester, VT [email protected], (802) 893-1845. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This easy walk includes many habitats (fields, July 8 wetlands, overview of the Winooski River) and Birds of Vermont Museum a good variety of flora and fauna (dragonflies, Huntington, VT frogs, wading and soaring birds; turtles) 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Some areas may be wet so appropriate footwear Meet in the museum parking area and we will is advised. venture up to the pond and beyond. Call Directions: From the intersection of Heineberg Museum (802) 434-2167 if raining to see if we Rd. (Route 127), Prim and Macrae Roads, follow have rescheduled. Macrae Rd. about a mile to a wooden bridge at Directions: Museum is 8 miles from I-89 Exit 11, the park entrance. Parking is available before Richmond. At the stoplight in Richmond and beyond the bridge. Village, turn right (south) towards Huntington Contacts: Don Miller (leader), and follow the signs (5 miles). Turn on to Sher- [email protected], (802) 288-9766 or Laurie man Hollow, a dirt road, after crossing Hun- DiCesare, [email protected], (802) tington town line. The museum is one mile up, 893-1845. 1/2 mile past the Audubon Nature Center. Contact: Michael Sabourin, moth- June 24 [email protected], (802) 426-2133 or (802) 345- Buckner Preserve (Nature Conservancy) 0644. West Haven, VT 11 a.m. July 21-22 Buckner Preserve is an amazing site that we vis- Montpelier BioBlitz it yearly due to its diverse habitats. Boots and Montpelier, VT long pants are recommended; watch for snakes; The Montpelier 2018 BioBlitz is a unique cross- no pets, please. continued ~ city collaboration of the North Branch Nature Center, the Montpelier Parks Department, and the Montpelier Conservation Commission. Information at [email protected].

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July 29 September 22 (Rain date, Sept. 23) Black River BioBlitz Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge Springfield, VT Swanton, VT Discovering the flora and fauna (butterflies, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. dragonflies, birds, mammals) of the lower Black Meet at southern parking lot on Tabor Rd. near River with experts from many fields. Bird Walk Steven Young Swamp at 2 p.m.; then meet at 7 at nearby Muckross State Park (7 to 8 a.m.); PM at refuge visitors' center on Tabor Rd. The Exhibitors set-up 8:30 a.m. at Hoyt’s Landing; event will focus on and other insects, open to the Public 10 a.m.; VES canoe/kayak at depending on interests. The group will walk Hoyt’s Landing starts at 11 a.m. Shuttle bus along the railroad passage trail adjacent available to nearby Muckross State Park for Maquam Bog in the late afternoon; then set up walking trails. Contacts: Kelly Stettner lights at the visitor’s center in the evening. (Springfield), [email protected], Contact: Michael Sabourin or Warren Kiel, (802) 738-0456, [email protected], (802) 899-5039. For more or Laurie DiCesare (Milton), Nature- about the refuge: [email protected], (802) 893-1845. www.fws.gov/refuge/Missisquoi/about.html.

August 4 Victory Bog Hogback Mt. Conservation Area Victory, VT Marlboro, VT (Time and site to be determined) 11 a.m. Explore Victory Bog and the vicinity with NEK VES walk in association with Cambridge (Mass.) Audubon (details pending). Michael Sabourin Entomological Society. will lead a daytime field trip; Laura Tobin will Contact: Scott Smyers, do an evening “moth light”. [email protected], (978) 929-9058 Contact: Michael Sabourin, [email protected], x103 or Michael Sabourin, mothvet @yahoo.com, (802) 426-2133 or (802) 345-0644. (802) 426-2133 or (802) 345-0644. See www.hogbackvt.org. Other Vermont Natural History / Insect August 19 Field Trips & Events: Preston Pond West Bolton, VT July 11 – 15 11 a.m. Annual Lepidopterists’ Society Meeting From a small trailhead on Stage Road, we will Ottawa, Canada take a leisurely, 1-hour walk on a gravel road See www.lepsoc.org/content/annual-meeting. and woodland trail (with hand-painted wildlife signs) to Preston Pond, a good site to look for Green Events List dragonflies. Carpooling from Jonesville is For Laurie’s current list with information on nat- encouraged. ural history programs and NatureHaven Day Contact: Laurie, [email protected], Camp (with $25 VES grant off first week). (802) 893-1845. Contact: Laurie, [email protected],

(802) 893-1845.

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Bill Boccio’s “Favorite Things” Art Exhibit In February, VES member Bill Boccio, whose insect photos have often graced our Newsletter covers, was invited to display some of his photographs at the Jericho Town Hall. Reporters from Mount Mansfield Community TV attended the artist’s reception and created an 8-minute video of the event. You may see the clip at https://vimeo.com/259754539

Amazing Odonates: Dragonflies and Damselflies by Laurie DiCesare

On March 29, Laurie DiCesare, a member of the wings behind their thorax; dragonflies holding Milton Conservation Commission (MCC) since their wings perpendicular to their bodies; and 2003, presented a free, introductory show-and- Spreadwing Damselflies often holding their tell program on Odonata (Dragonflies and Dam- wings at a 45-degree angle to their bodies when selflies) to a small but attentive audience at the they perch. Milton Town Office. Dan Gaherty, the MCC Chair- After considering a few person, introduced her points of history, from the and mentioned some of primitive “Griffinfly” the local projects that the Meganeuropsis fossil MCC has been working with a 30-inch wingspan on this past year, includ- (Carboniferous Period, ing securing funding for 325 million years ago… an ADA-accessible almost 100 million years walking trail at the before the advent of the Milton Town Forest, to dinosaurs in the Triassic) help access the Milton to Hopi rock art dragon- Marsh, and working with fly symbols, Laurie de- the VT Youth Conserva- scribed the life cycle of tion Corps on bridge- modern dragonflies, from work and trail re-routing predatory aquatic at the Lamoille Riverwalk. nymphs with piercing or scooping jaws; emer- gent tenerals drying their glistening wings in the Using body language, Laurie described the dif- sun; and mosquito-munching, flying adults. ferences between the diminutive “Dainty Damsels” with slender bodies and barbell- Laurie also demonstrated the use of the conical shaped eyes (and sometimes eyespots); and the butterfly/dragonfly net and handed out three “Mighty Dragons” with larger, broader bodies door prizes: Stokes’ Beginner’s Guide to Dragon- and multi-faceted, wrap-around eyes that some- flies and Damselflies; a set of Laurie’s hand-made times look like sunglasses. She also described the dragonfly note cards; and a copy of a basic wing differences, with Broad-winged Dam- recent VES Newsletter. selflies and Pond Damsels holding their four

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