[Fwd: Please keep your eyes open for this insect]
Kent McFarland
Hello friends,
I’ve just sent this out to folks in my department, and thought it would be a good idea to send it along to some of my nature-loving friends as well.
Happy hunting!
Trish
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Hello Everyone,
As many of you know, we are looking for nest sites of the ground-dwelling wasp called Cerceris fumipennis. This is an insect that can help us survey for the emerald ash borer. These wasps provision their nests with metallic wood-boring beetles that they collect in trees that are near their nest sites, and are the latest in attempts at biosurveillance for the worrisome emerald ash borer.
I’ve attached some pictures of the wasp, along with a document that shows you what to look for. The wasps are very distinctive in appearance, and are apt to be seen carrying beetles back to their tunnels. Between trips out to collect beetles, the female, with three yellow spots on her face, is likely to look up at you from the entrance of the tunnel as you look down at her. (She stops just short of smiling!) Sometimes the first clue to the presence of the wasp is the appearance on the surrounding soil of dead metallic wood-boring beetles. They often look jewel-like or shiny, just the kind of thing that catches your eye. Here’s the short video that shows the wasp in action.
http://www.rkwalton.com/wasps/cefu.html
As you’ll note in the attached pdf file, the wasps prefer well-drained baseball diamonds, campsites, and unpaved parking lots. Work done in other states has shown a close association between nest sites and hard packed, sandy soil, human disturbance, full sunshine, sparse vegetation and proximity to wooded area (about 200 yards or less).
Please keep your eyes open for this fascinating insect. If you find a nest site, I’d be happy to know about it! (By the way, the wasps do not sting, even if you handle them.)
Thank you,
Trish
Trish Hanson
Forest Biology Lab
Environmental Laboratory Building
Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, VT 05671-0409
telephone: (802) 241-3606
-- Kent McFarland Vermont Center for Ecostudies PO Box 420 • Norwich, VT 05055 802.649.1431 http://www.vtecostudies.org/
