The Banished Beetle Project ñ My goal is to involve citzen scientsts in the pursuit of saving the endangered American burying beetle – I need your help! ñ In this packet you will fnd background informaton on the American burying beetle and classroom experiments. ñ I introduce pitall trapping for the amateur entomologist, as well as an advanced actvity to trap burying beetles. ñ I encourage your students to get outside, get their hands dirty and marvel at the many in- sects they will fnd. Theresa E. Andrew Graduate Research Assistant Oklahoma State University Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology [email protected] The American Burying Beetle (ABB) The American burying bee- fur and excrete oral and anal se- Dakota, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebras- tle, Nicrophorus americanus, belon cretons to delay decomposi- ka and eastern Oklahoma. There gs to the order Coleoptera, and is ton. Along with all other beetles, are many hypotheses for their de- in the family Silphidae, which burying beetles cline including habitat alteraton, groups together all the carrion and are holometabolous with a life cy- competton with vertebrates, lack burying beetles. ABB are easy to cle consistng of egg, larvae, pupae of appropriately sized carrion, use recognize, as they are large, about and adult. Eggs are laid in a tunnel of pestcides, light polluton and 25-35 mm in length and have dis- near the carrion, and can range more. The extncton of two ap- tnctve markings. They are shiny from 3 to 30. At least one adult, propriately sized carrion, the pas- black with two orange-red spots but usually both, will provide care senger pigeon and the greater on each elytron, a star shaped or- for the young untl at least the prairie chicken, may also explain a ange-red marking on third instar. Even though the lar- decline in ABB populatons. Under the protonum, as well as an orange vae have the ability to eat secton 4 of the Endangered Spe- facial marking and orange-tpped with chewing mouthparts just like cies Act, it is required that the Fish clubbed antennae. Males and fe- the adults, the adults and Wildlife Service develop recov- males can be told apart by the faci- will feed them predigested carrion. ery plans. The recovery plan for al marking; males have a square They also provide care ABB was completed in 1991 and and females have a triangle. Adults by protectng their young from includes monitoring existng wild are fully nocturnal and are most predators. Larvae grow rapidly, populatons, maintaining captve actve from May through Septem- and in about 10-14 days crawl of populatons, conductng surveys ber, and breed during June and and pupate in the nearby soil and for additonal populatons and con- July. They are habitat general- emerge as adults in 5-6 weeks. ductng additonal reintroduc- ists and have a The American burying bee- tons. Progress has been made broad vegetatonal landscape tol- tle has been listed as endangered through these eforts, and ABB erance and have been found in by the United States Fish and Wild- have even been found in 13 coun- grasslands, scrublands and forest life Service since July 13, 1981. It is tes of eastern Oklahoma. edges. They require an area with one of only about 30 insects pro- This banished beetle plays a an abundance of bird and mammal tected under the Endangered Spe- vital role in the environment as a re- carrion, and proper soil to bury the cies Act of 1973. Formerly, ABB cycler and undertaker. They signif- carrion. were found throughout temperate cantly reduce fy populatons, saving humans from the flth, diseases and They are unique among eastern North America, as well as agricultural dilemmas that fies cause. non-social insects because they Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebras- Research is also being done to invest- display parental care. The male ka, Oklahoma and Texas. There has gate the oral and anal secretons the ABB will locate a carcass, and then been a 90% decrease in their origi- beetles produce as a possible antbi- atract a female with his phero- nal range, and are currently pre otc for humans. The frst step to mones. Together they will bury the sent in Rhode Island, South saving this species is knowledge, carcass, clean it of its feathers or which is where you come in. Help Insect Conservation A look at the American Burying Beetle Introducton: Most people understand that wildlife Objectves: Upon completon of this module conservaton is important, that our own survival you shall: may depend on other species that we share the ñ Learn about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Ser- planet with. Some people are even fascinated with vice’s Endangered Species Act wildlife and don’t want to see their favorite animals ñ Be able to use a pitall trap go extnct. But what about insects? Insects make up ñ Be able to identfy the American burying about four ffhs of animal biodiversity of earth, and play a large part in enabling other types of wildlife beetle to survive. Endangered Species Act The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service creat- ed the Endangered Species Act afer re- alizing that many natve plants and ani- mals are at risk of going extnct. The En- dangered Species Acts serves to protect and recover imperiled species. When an organism is placed under ESA, it is de- fned as threatened or endangered. If it is threatened, that means it is likely to become endangered in the forseeable future. If it is endangered, it means the species is in danger of extncton throughout all or most of its range. There are currently 2,054 species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The ESA protects its listed species by prohib- itng the “take” of these animals, deem- ing it unlawful to collect or harm one. “The biodiversity crisis is undeniably an insect biodiversity crisis. Yet insect conservaton remains the awkward “kid sister” to vertebrate conservaton.” (Dunn 2005) DIY Pitfall Trap What can you do to help conserve insect biodiversity? ñ Observaton is key ñ Go in your backyard or playground and see what insects and arthropods you fnd! What you need: ñ A shovel ñ Two solo cups or similar sized ñ Styrofoam plate cups (yogurt cup, etc) ñ Chopstcks Actvity TIME!!!! Pick a spot outside to dig your pitall trap, preferably away from a lot of actvity. Choose an open pas- ture or a spot in a forest. Dig a hole in the ground with your shovel that’s big enough to ft your solo cup (or your cup of choice). Once you have your hole, place both cups securely in the ground so that the top of the cups are fush with the ground. Fill your cup with about an inch of soapy water. Using your styrofoam plate and chopstcks (or similar materials), poke the chopstcks through the plate and secure the chopstcks into the ground so that the plate hovers above your trap. This will stop rain from fooding your trap. Step 1: Dig a hole Step 2: Place cups in hole Step 3: Place soapy water in cup Step 4: Positon rain shield Step 5: Collect some insects!!! Time to Collect Data! Now that you have your pitfall trap set up and ready to go, you can start observing what insects you catch in your trap and start collecting data. Check the trap every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for two weeks, fill out this data sheet and look at your results! DATE: Coleoptera Diptera (Flies) Hemiptera Hymenoptera Orthoptera Others (Beetles) (True bugs) (Ants, bees, (Grasshopers, wasps) katydids) Coleoptera Diptera Hemiptera Hymenoptera Orthoptera Burying Beetle Baited Trap Advanced Activity!!! Use the same pitall trap, but add a bait to trap for burying and carrion beetles. ñ The American burying beetle, like all burying and carrion beetles, use dead animals for their repro- ducton and food source. ñ Using a bait that imitates the smell of dead animal can atract them to your trap! ñ Be sure to NOT add soapy water to your cups this tme, in case of collectng American burying beetles (remember, they are protected under the Endangered Species Act!) What you need: ñ Two solo cups or similar sized cups (yogurt cup, etc) ñ A shovel ñ Styrofoam plate This can be added in a smaller cup ñ Chopstcks or a baggie with holes in it, and ñ Danny King’s Catish placed inside your pitall cups Punch Bait (available at Walmart) ABB are in OK! Please be aware of your locaton and the possibly of catching American burying beetles. If you are in any of the eastern, blue countes of Oklahoma shown below, please use your pitall trap with cauton! Check them frequently, so as not to let the beetles trapped for too long. Oklahoma’s Brightest Orange! ABB Anatomy Elytra (wing coverings) Pronotum Clubbed antennae Mouthparts Legs Compound eye Abdomen Thorax Head Look Closely! The American burying beetle has distnctve or- ange markings on its head, pronotum and elytra. But, don’t be fooled! Other species have similar markings. ñ Can you tell the diference between these two? ñ Which one is the American burying beetle? Nicrophorus americanus Common Burying & Carrion Beetle Identification: Nicrophorus marginatus Nicrophorus carolinus “Marg” have bright orange bands that connect on “Carols” have small orange markings, the botom two their sides. in a “C” shape. There is no notch on the pronotum. Nicrophorus tomentosus Necrodes surinemensis “Toms” also have bright orange bands, but they do not They have a fater, wider appearance, connect. The prontum is yellow and fuzzy. with tny orange dots at the botom of the elytra.