A Perfect Day for Cerceris Wasp Training

Claire Rutledge, an entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) led the Cerceris Wasp Workshop on Thursday, June 28th at White Memorial. Fifteen volunteers came to the training session to learn how the Cerceris fumipennis wasp can be utilized to survey native buprestid diversity. The wasps also act as an early detection device for other invasive buprestid such as the Emerald Ash Borer. After a short introductory presentation, the group traveled to St. Anthony’s Cemetery on White’s Woods Road, where a colony of the ground-nesting Cerceris wasps were known to inhabit.

Claire Rutledge, surrounded by volunteers, placing a collar over a Cerceris wasp hole.

On a tightly packed dirt road in the back of the cemetery we were able to find many wasp holes. The goal of this project is to spot a Cerceris wasp flying back to its colony carrying a beetle as its prey. Using aerial nets we want to try to catch or startle the wasp enough to release the beetle so that it can be collected and sent to the CAES to be identified and examined. Along with the nets, collars can also be used to gather the beetles. The collar is a file card with a hole punch tacked on top of a wasp opening, the hole punch is small enough for only to the wasp to fit through forcing the wasp to forfeit its prey. This technique of robbing the wasp or selective prey removal will not significantly alter the wasp’s provisioning behavior. Cerceris wasps are most active during July and into early August, so during this time colonies must be visited as often as possible to get the goal of capturing 50 beetles. Wasp activity is greatest when there is direct sunlight, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Since the wasps are typically found on hard packed sandy soil; baseball/softball diamonds, informal parking lots, camp-sites, and road edges are excellent locations to look for a wasp colony.
Cerceris wasp hole.
Cerceris wasp caught in a net by a skilled volunteer.


Introducing Our New Student Intern: Ethan D'Orio

Ethan D'Orio
Ethan D'Orio will be working with us this summer, lending a hand with various wildlife projects. He is from Brookfield, Connecticut and is going to be a sophomore at Brookfield High School. Ethan is an avid cross country runner and enjoys studying biology and other environmental sciences. In the future he would like to attend college and pursue a degree in a science related field. Currently Ethan is helping out with amphibian cover boards and putting together track plates to monitor small mammals. We look forward to working with Ethan this summer and give him more experience with wildlife conservation.

Amphibian Cover Board Monthly Check - June 2012

On Tuesday, June 19th James Fischer and I went out to the Solnit Parcel to do the monthly check of the experimental amphibian cover board grid. We were able to encounter 93 salamanders; 45 under the softwood boards and 48 under the hardwood boards. The majority were Red-back salamanders, although we did see 2 Four-toed salamanders, 17 Red Eft, and one wood frog. We noticed that most of the salamanders that we found were located in areas of dense fern stands. These ferns provide lush habitat for amphibians by keeping moisture and leaf mold intact.


Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)

We were lucky enough to find a female lead phase Red-backed salamander guarding her eggs underneath a hardwood board. This is not a common spectacle to come across because Red-backed salamanders only mate every other year. After laying her eggs the female will coil her body around them and protect the eggs for two months until they hatch. The eggs are laid in a cluster, so they are somewhat difficult to count, but I estimated there to be 30 eggs in the cluster. Once the eggs hatch the baby salamanders look like miniature adults and after two years will reach reproductive maturity.

Red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) with eggs.

Cerceris Wasp BioSurveillance for EAB Workshop




June 28, 2012
11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
A. B. Ceder Classroom

Emerald Ash Borer continues to march closer to our area.  This year EAB was documented for the first time east of the Hudson River!  Several methods are utilized to detect EAB's spread.  One method uses the native Smokey-Winged Beetle Bandit (Cerceris fumipennis) wasp.  These wasps don't sting humans and are fun to catch!  Claire Rutledge (CT Ag. Exp. Station) will facilitate our training and show you the importance of the project.  This workshop starts with introductory lecture indoors and is then followed by practicing the field techniques outdoors.  Please dress for the weather and bring water.  If you are interested in participating in this workshop please contact James Fischer, WMCC Research Director
james@whitememorialcc.org

Emerald Ash Borer Detection Efforts

Today DEEP Service Forester Larry Rousseau paid a visit to White Memorial to girdle several ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) to detect the presence of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis).

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a small, metallic green color beetle native to eastern Asia. The EAB was officially identified in the U.S. in 2002, and since has been responsible for the death of millions of ash trees. It currently is found in thirteen states and in parts of Canada. Ash trees infested with EABs are typically dead within one to three years. At this stage, the goal of USDA is not to eradicate the EAB, but to prevent additional spread throughout the entire country. Strict quarantines have been authorized to prohibit the movement of firewood out of states where EABs are known to live, as well as the transportation of firewood intrastate. 
Emerald Ash Borer
Photo by the University of Kentucky
http://www.ca.uky.edu/forestryextension/eab/EABindex.php

A technique used to indicate the presence of EABs is girdling ash trees. At White Memorial, four trees were girdled at various points around the property. Girdling is a cost-effective forestry management technique used to cut off the flow of nutrients inside an individual tree, eventually killing it. Girdling is used for this project because although EABs will occupy any Ash tree, they are most attracted to dead or dying ash trees in which to lay their eggs. When looking for the proper tree to girdle, Larry Rousseau and Lukas Hyder tried to find an intermediate size tree, with a DBH (diameter at breast height) of about 7 to 10 inches. They also wanted the ash tree to have a large canopy, reaching above most of the surrounding vegetation. Finally, it was important to locate a tree that far enough from roads and people so that if it was to fall it would not harm anyone and would remain undisturbed during the girdling process.  
Service Forester Larry Rousseau with ash tree after being girdled.
The first step when girdling a tree is to record the DBH using a measuring tape. Next, a shallow ring is cut around the circumference of the tree, which aids in the next step of shaving off the bark to the cambium layer. By the end of this stage there is an approximate 10 inch long ring of bare cambium around the tree. Tape is wrapped around the trunk to indicate that the tree is dangerous and to stay clear of it. Finally coordinates of the site are charted using a GPS. The tree will be left alone until mid-September. At that time it will be cut down, then sawed into bolts (short logs), and stripped of its bark. The logs and bark will be thoroughly analyzed to find if EAB larvae exists on the tree. If it is detected then the proper management techniques will be enacted to contain the EAB from spreading any further. Currently there is not a cure for EAB infestation, only pesticides to serve as a control measure. Therefore early detection is the obvious key factor to successfully contain the EAB.

Integrated Pest Management of Purple Loosestrife

On Tuesday, June 12th, forester Lukas Hyder, volunteer Eddie Matthews, and I went out to Catlin Marsh to find and capture the Galerucella leaf-feeding beetles. These beetles are used as a biological control agent for the invasive purple loosestrife plant (Lythrum salicaria). Between May and July the females lay up to 500 eggs on the leaves and stems of the loosestrife. When the eggs start to hatch they feed on growing shoot tips and flower buds. When there is a high abundance of larvae on a plant, it can cause the plants to defoliate. Loss of shoots and buds reduces the growth of the purple loosestrife and its ability to flower and produce a seed. Also without leaves, photosynthetic capability is reduced, which will eventually kill the plant. Using these beetles as a means of reducing purple loosestrife is preferred over using herbicides, which is expensive and can cause adverse effects to the environment.

Galerucella Leaf-feeding Beetle

In preparation for this project White Memorial has been growing several potted loosestrife plants. When we noticed the beetles starting to breed, we went out to capture them. In order to get an even ratio of male to female beetles we tried capturing beetles that were in the process of breeding. Then every ten beetles that were caught were placed into a holding jar. On our first try of Catlin Marsh we were able to capture approximately 70 beetles. We brought the beetles back to the museum, and each vessel of ten beetles were released onto a potted loosestrife plant, which was then canopied with a light fabric covering. The beetles will remain on the plant for about a month and a half or until they lay eggs and the larvae begin to emerge. Once the first new adults start to emerge it is time to take the pots to a wetland that is infested with purple loosestrife. At the wetland the fabric covering will be removed from the plant and the beetles will be released. Released adults feed on leaves for a few weeks, but disappear around mid-August to overwinter in the soil near their host plant. Galerucella leaf-feeding beetles were introduced to Connecticut in 1996; they primarily feed on purple loosestrife. If purple loosestrife is left unchecked, it can become a serious issue because the plant’s rapid growth can crowd out native species, therefore reducing biological diversity.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
The potted loosestrife covered with fabric
after the beetles were added.


Amphibian Cover Board Results

Today the amphibian cover boards were checked for a second time this summer. Interestingly enough the total number of salamanders that were found, 28, was the exact same number as last time the cover boards were checked in the middle of May. Also, like last time, I was only able to encounter the Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) and the Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). However the major difference between this survey and May’s survey was that this time the salamanders discovered were less dispersed over all the grids. The Duck Pond and Pine Island grids, which are very close together in location, held the majority of salamanders, 10 and 11, while the Mott-Van Winkle Area had 4 salamanders, and the Interpretive Trail, Icehouse Marsh, and Butternut Brook, each had 1 salamander, respectively. In May, the total number of salamanders was spread out more evenly among almost all the grids, although Pine Island did have the majority of salamanders. The Duck Pond and Pine Island grids are located in a conifer dominated forest, next to a pond or vernal pool. Therefore we can hypothesize that the Red-backed Salamander and Red-spotted Newt prefer this type of habitat, which stays moist and cool from the conifers and harbors many invertebrates due to its proximity to water. 
Lead phase Red-backed Salamander
Red-backed Salamander







Typical Cover Board Grid
Red-spotted Newt (eft stage)
Over the past week we have added seven more amphibian cover board grids around White Memorial, focusing on the Catlin Woods area. We have also flagged three additional sites around the property to place more cover boards. These new grids will be left undisturbed for several weeks in order for salamanders to become established there. Hopefully by the end of the summer we will be able to survey all of the grids, both new and old, and really discover various amphibians’ ranges and will come across a population of Blue-spotted x Jefferson hybrid Salamanders. 

Bat Maternity Colony Monitoring

A bat maternity colony monitoring project was held Wednesday, May 30th at White Memorial. The survey’s purpose is to identify and evaluate the size of bat maternity roosts. This is achieved by conducting an emergence count of a specific roost before the pups begin to fly and an additional count after the pups begin to fly (sometime during the month of July). The emergence count started at 7:30 pm right before dusk, when the bats start to leave their den to feed. James Fischer and I, the surveyors, stood on either side of the barn and counted all of the bats that emerge.

The site that we decided would be most appropriate to monitor a bat colony is the two-story, open barn, known as the Green Barn, that holds White Memorial’s truck, van, and miscellaneous landscaping tools. There is a well-known roost of Big Brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) that occupy the ceiling of the barn. From 7:30 to 9:09 pm we counted a total of 127 bats emerging from gaps at the top edge of the barn. Big Brown bats have black wings with a brown furry back and paler fur below. They are a very common bat in Connecticut, and typically are found in forests, but they can also live in crevices of buildings and caves.
Green Barn where bat survey took place.

Big Brown Bat
Photo by Jim White
http://02b93fb.netsolhost.com/
Opening from which most of the bats emerged.


It is important to document colony declines and losses to accurately track population change, especially to monitor the effects of White-Nose Syndrome, which since 2006, has killed over 5.7 million bats in Eastern North America. Bats play a crucial role in maintaining an ecosystem balance and consume thousands of mosquitoes and other insects every night.
This project is hosted by Connecticut DEEP Wildlife Division, who encourage volunteers to make counts wherever a bat colony is known to exist. Researching a wildlife disease is expensive, therefore more committed volunteers will help DEEP retain and use grant money to help combat this destructive disease.