Cerceris Wasp Bio-Surveillance for Emerald Ash Borer -- 2012 Season Update

Although catching Cerceris Wasps can be challenging,
finding a Buprestid Beetle in the net is a great reward! 

We need your help!  The more people we have at each of the Cerceris colonies, the more beetles we catch!  That’s the secret to our success, so far.  Our goal is to collect 50 beetles at each colony so that we can assess the diversity of species now.  When Emerald Ash Borer colonizes the property, not only will we lose the ash trees but we will also see changes in the beetle population, too!  More importantly though, this project is really fun!  We need your help but don’t miss out on the fun.  


We finished Litchfield P.S. Plumb Hill Ball Field today with a total of 50 beetles, exactly!  On Tuesday there were 4 of us and we caught 25 beetles in two hours.  We finished this site in just a few days because we collected 50% of the goal in one day!


St. Anthony’s cemetery has 38 beetles so far, which means one more day’s worth of work will finish it off.  We’ve had one person at this colony by themselves for 3 days.  Those individuals caught 10 – 13 beetles each day.  We've almost finished with this colony!  Can you help us finish this colony tomorrow?  

Wamogo’s colony just woke up around Monday, but we have 13 beetles collected so far.  Three people caught 13 beetles in one day!  The pitcher’s mound is the place to be at Wamogo with over 20 nests.  Then there are the other nests in the rest of the diamond!  This site could be finished quickly with just a little bit of your help!

Morris Town Beach also woke up on Monday but we have not made it to that location yet, therefore no beetles have been collected at that site.  This colony is closest to some of our best ash stands on the property; therefore it is vital that this site not get put to the last colony for the season.  We can’t miss the big push.  We need you here!  

Please be part of this project.  As you can see if you want to part of the fun, you will need to be part of it before we finish the season without you.  

Contact me to let me know when and where you want to catch wasps and collect beetles.

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Amphibian Cover Boards Yield Blue-spotted x Jefferson Salamanders

Blue-spotted x Jefferson hybrid Salamanders were encountered today while checking amphibian cover board grids. A total of fifteen grids yielded 2 Blue-spotted x Jefferson hybrids Salamanders, 11 Red-backed Salamanders, and 12 Red-spotted Newts (eft stage). The Blue-spotted hybrid Salamander is always an exciting amphibian to come across due to its endangered species status in Connecticut. The cover boards are used as a method to monitor their population at White Memorial.

Blue-spotted x Jefferson hybrid Salamander

Seven newly constructed cover board grids were checked today for the first time. Only three of the grids had salamanders underneath them, indicating that the grids without any salamanders were either not placed in appropriate amphibian habitat or the boards have not been there long enough to attract any salamanders. The recent hot weather also seemed to dry out the leaf litter under many cover boards, which is not favorable conditions for the moisture-loving salamanders. As the summer progresses I will be interested to see what other kinds of amphibians we find under cover boards and if the Blue-spotted x Jefferson hybrid Salamanders will become more prevalent.  

Red-spotted Newt

Red-backed Salamander