Correction re GwWarbler in Lamar last week

[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

One of the highlights of the CFO Convention was the male Golden-winged Warbler foraging for multiple days in Jane and John Stulp's yard south of Lamar.  I was asked to be in Jane's yard on May 6th to help with the many field trip groups coming that morning.   For Peter Gent's group and perhaps a couple others, I want to correct some incorrect information I gave regarding the item that bird was eating.  The insect was the European Elm Flea Weevil (Orchestes alni).  One larva per leaf of this introduced weevil makes a fairly conspicuous, oval-shaped, brown, mined out area (the insect is between the upper and lower layers of the leaf) along the leaf margin.  At this time of year, inside each brown mine is a whitish weevil larva.  The GwWarbler and other birds were gently peeling open the mines with both their beaks and claws.  With surgical precision, they then removed the tiny larvae at the rate of about 5-10 per minute.  I was calling the insect the "Elm Leafminer", a type of introduced sawfly, and realized my error in the dark that night while thinking about my food field trip the next morning.  Sorry for the confusion.

For those of you who get "Colorado Birds", I am writing about European Elm Flea Weevil for the next "The Hungry Bird" column.  This was covered in the July 2012 issue but (just like blueberries, buttered popcorn, and snap peas) there are reasons I think this food item is worth revisiting.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins