The Wasps Are Out!

The Cerceris wasps are beginning to emerge at St. Anthony's Cemetery! We hope to begin monitoring these wasps during the first week of July, after the remainder of the individuals emerge.

One of the first wasp burrows of the year

Cerceris wasps are a native genus of stingless insects that hunt for beetles from the Buprestidae family.  After finding and stinging a beetle, these wasps bring the beetle back to their burrows.  The invasive emerald ash borer is one of the wasp's prey species, so groups across North America have found it helpful to monitor Cerceris colonies in order to detect the presence of this pest.  When a wasp returns to its burrow with its prey, we net it and identify it.  This way, we can determine if the wasps are catching any emerald ash borers in the area.

As part of a statewide effort to detect the emerald ash borer, White Memorial is monitoring the Cerceris colonies at St. Anthony's Cemetery, Wamogo High School, the Morris Town Beach, and Litchfield High School.

Claire Rutledge of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station is hosting a training session for volunteers who would like to help monitor the wasp colonies.  The session is scheduled for 11 AM on Tuesday, July 2 in the Ceder Room.

Cerceris Wasp Biosurveillance of Emerald Ash Borer -- 2011 Season Review

Cerceris fumipennis with prey and Satellite Fly (Kleptoparasitic).
photo by Phillip Careless
www.cerceris.info

Cerceris wasps have finished gathering Buprestid beetles for the season.  We collected a total of 73 Buprestid beetles this season from 4 colonies.  We collected 30 beetles from Morris Town Beach ball field, 26 at Wamogo Region #6 High School baseball field, 13 at St. Anthony’s Cemetery in Litchfield, and 4 at the Litchfield Public Schools Plumb Hill ball field colonies.  We observed approximately 40 nests at Morris Beach, 40 nests at Wamogo, 17 nests at St. Anthony’s, and 14 nests at Plumb Hill.  It was a very successful season this because we established our procedures and created a solid baseline of Buprestid beetles species before the Emerald Ash Borer colonizes the state.  This project was supported by several volunteers this year including Madeline Bove, Amanda Downey, Frank Errico, Ryan Gannon, Nicki Hall, Marcus Johansson, Nicole Morin, John (Jack) Nelson, Carol Perrault, Henry Perrault, Olivia Scott, and Rebecca Solnit.  Claire Rutledge, Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station Entomologist, is our state sponsor/facilitator. 

Thank you Claire for extending your leadership with this project, it’s a worthwhile program.