Joshua P. Basham

New state and host plant records for metallic woodboring beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in Tennessee, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT The following 41 metallic woodboring beetle species (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from Tennessee are reported as new state records: Acmaeodera texana LeConte, Actenodes simi Fisher, Agrilus acutipennis Mannerheim, Agrilus arcuatus Say, Agrilus bilineatus (Weber), Agrilus cephalicus LeConte, Agrilus defectus LeConte, Agrilus geminatus (Say), Agrilus lecontei celticola Fisher, Agrilus masculinus Horn, Agrilus obsoletoguttatus Gory, Agrilus otiosus Say, Agrilus parvus parvus Saunders, Agrilus pseudofallax Frost, Agrilus putillus putillus Say, Agrilus quadriguttatus quadriguttatus Gory, Agrilus subcinctus Gory, Anthaxia cyanella Gory, Anthaxia dichroa Bílý, Anthaxia quercata (F.), Anthaxia quercicola Wellso, Brachys aerosus (Melsheimer), Brachys ovatus (Weber), Buprestis consularis Gory, Buprestis decora F., Buprestis fasciata F., Buprestis maculipennis Gory, Buprestis rufipes Olivier, Chalcophora virginiensis (Drury), Chrysobothris cribraria Mannerheim, Chrysobothris dentipes (Germar), Chrysobothris rotundicollis Gory and Laporte, Chrysobothris scabripennis Gory and Laporte, Chrysobothris sexsignata Say, Dicerca divaricata Say, Dicerca lepida LeConte, Eupristocerus cogitans (Weber), Phaenops aeneola (Melsheimer), Phaenops drummondi (Kirby), Phaenops obtusa (Horn), and Xenorhipis brendeli LeConte. New larval host plant records are reported for Actenodes acornis (Say), A. cephalicus, A. cyanella, A. quercicola, Chrysobothris azurea LeConte, Chrysobothris chlorocephala Gory, Chrysobothris femorata (Olivier), C. sexsignata, and X. brendeli, and biological notes for five species are presented.

Seasonal flight activity and distribution of metallic woodboring beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) collected in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Abstract Distribution records and seasonal flight activity information for metallic woodboring beetle (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) species have not been compiled for North Carolina and Tennessee. Institutional, research, and private collections in North Carolina and Tennessee were reviewed to provide seasonal activity data of 5 subfamilies of buprestid beetle species. Label information was checked for 15,217 specimens of 135 species collected between 1901 and 2013 (North Carolina) and between 1934 and 2013 (Tennessee). These collections provided data on adult seasonal activity and county records for 121 species (4,467 specimens) and 105 species (10,750 specimens) from North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively. Two species, Agrilus carpini Knull and A. pensus Horn, are reported as New State Records for North Carolina. The data reveal key geographic areas in both states where few to no collections have been made, highlighting opportunities to validate species distributions and locations where future collecting efforts can be matched with the occurrence of larval and adult host plant resources. Seasonal activity records will inform future biosurveillance efforts for invasive and endemic pests and facilitate predictions of buprestid species that are likely to be active within the hunting flight season of Cerceris fumipennis (Say) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) wasps. Activity periods of the buprestids also can focus the management of selected economic pest species to times of the year when treatment efforts, particularly through use of contact insecticides, are likely to be most effective.

Year-to-Year Variation in Prey Capture by Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) at Two Sites in North Carolina

ABSTRACT Cerceris fumipennis Say is a solitary, ground-nesting wasp that preys exclusively on beetles in the family Buprestidae, including the invasive insect pest, emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire). Understanding patterns of C. fumipennis prey collection over time may improve use of the wasp as a biosurveillance tool for locating pest Buprestidae of economic concern. Here, we report on variation in prey capture by C. fumipennis at two sites in North Carolina over a 4-yr period. In total, 466 beetles were collected from the wasps from 2010 to 2013; these comprise 35 species, four new state records, six new prey records, and three native pests. Changes in prey capture from year to year at both sites suggest the importance of continued biosurveillance at sites with known wasp aggregations as emerald ash borer and other invasive pests spread into and throughout North Carolina.

Comparison of Buprestidae collected by Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) with those collected by purple prism traps

Detection of low‐level infestations of pest Buprestidae such as emerald ash borer is crucial for their effective management, but the efficiency of trapping techniques varies. In the present study, we compare two nondestructive methods for monitoring metallic wood‐boring beetles. Buprestidae captured by the wasp Cerceris fumipennis Say (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) were compared with those captured by USDA‐APHIS‐PPQ standard issue purple prism traps (PPTs) at three sites in North Carolina, U.S.A. At each site, four PPTs were hung on trees at the edge of a known C. fumipennis nest aggregation, and changed at 5.5–7.0‐week intervals. Buprestids were collected from hunting wasps once a week during their 5–6‐week activity period. A total of 28 buprestids (seven species) were caught by traps, whereas 267 buprestids (35 species) were collected from C. fumipennis. Of buprestids captured by PPTs, 22 were caught during the pre‐flight period of C. fumipennis, six during their flight period and none during the post‐flight period. One species of Agrilus Curtis was captured by PPTs, while six Agrilus species were captured by wasps. Of the 38 identified buprestid species taken at these sites, only four were recovered at a given location by both methods. Although a standardized comparison of the two techniques is not feasible, C. fumipennis captured a greater number and diversity of Buprestidae than did PPTs. A combination of both techniques may provide the most complete temporal coverage of buprestid activity in a given area, provided that a nesting aggregation of C. fumipennis is available.

Trapping Social Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Nurseries with Acetic Acid and Isobutanol

Abstract European hornet, Vespa crabro L., damages bark of nursery trees, and most vespid species can be a sting hazard to nursery personnel when nests are disturbed. We tested acetic acid and isobutanol lures in traps for V. crabro spring queens to determine the seasonality of vespid captures and compare the efficacy of patterns of trap placement in Tennessee nurseries. Forty traps in transects from nursery tree blocks into the forest captured 547 vespid queens during 2001 and 2002. These were 78.8% Vespula maculifrons (Buysson), 6.9% Vespula squamosa (Drury), 6.8% V. crabro, 4.8% Dolichovespula maculata (L.), 2.6% Vespula flavopilosa Jacobson, and 0.2% Vespula vidua (Saussure). Total worker and male wasp captures in these traps were 2525 and 28, respectively. Polistes spp. (n = 416) were also trapped. Peak queen trap catch was in April for V. crabro and V. maculifrons and in May for other Vespula. Numbers of worker wasps captured were greater within nursery blocks or at field-forest edges compared with within forest, except D. maculata. Numbers of V. maculifrons, V. squamosa, and D. maculata queens trapped were greater in blocks in some years. The study demonstrated a strong response of V. crabro and several Vespula spp. to the lure, showed spring queen captures of V. crabro and other wasps, and indicated that trapping of the majority of vespid species was most effective at locations outside of the forest. The trapping of queens indicates some potential for reducing colony founding by queen removal in spring.

The Relationship of Body Length to Fresh Weight Varies Across Three Buprestid Genera (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

In planning a study on flight loads in the buprestid hunting wasp Cerceris fumipennis Say (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), we sought to determine an appropriate measure of body size in their prey Buprestidae. Body size is a multidimensional parameter that is comparable only among groups that have similar body geometry (Ohl and Theile 2007). Buprestids, however, vary greatly in body shape, ranging from the robust, oblong bodies of Buprestis Linnaeus to the squat, shield-shaped bodies of Pachyschelus Solier and Brachys Dejean and the elongate parallel-sided, generally small bodies of Agrilus Curtis (see Paiero et al. 2012). The goal of our study was to determine if body length (see Hellman and Fierke 2014) was a suitable predictor of body fresh weight in the range of Buprestidae brought back to the nest by C. fumipennis in North Carolina. Buprestid prey were collected from wasps in eight North Carolina nesting aggregations ranging from the coastal plain to the mountains, using methods previously described (Careless 2009; Careless and Marshall 2010; Swink et al. 2013). They were transported on ice to the laboratory, where the beetles were weighed using an Ohaus Explorer balance (0.0001 g) and the length of the beetlemeasured using a Mitutoyo Absolute Digimatic caliper (0.01mm). All measurements were made within 24 hr of collection, and lengths were measured three times with the average used in analysis. The study commenced on 28May and terminated 8 July 2014. Buprestidae were identified by W. Swink and J. Basham. The data were analyzed using JMP Pro12 (SAS 2015). A total of 258 beetles were collected from foraging wasps. The buprestid with the smallest linear measurementwasAgrilus subrobustusSaunders (4.86mm), and the beetle of greatest length was Buprestis rufipes Olivier (21.26 mm). Of the 258 beetles collected, 236 (91.4%) belonged to three genera: 182 (70.5%) were in the genus Buprestis (B. consularisGory,B. lineataFabricius,B.maculipennis Gory, B. rufipes, B. striata Fabricius); 27 (10.5%) were Agrilus (A. arcuatus (Say), A. bilineatus (Weber), A. cliftoni Knull, A. difficilisGory, A. ferrisi Dury, A. pensus Horn, A. quadriimpressus Ziegler, A. ruficollis (Fabricius), A. subrobustus); and 27 (10.5%) were Chrysobothris Eschscholtz (C. cribraria Mannerheim, C. dentipes (Germar), C. rotundicollis Gory andLaporte,C. sexsignata (Say),C. shawneeWellso and Manley, Chrysobothris spp.). These three genera were used to analyze the relationship between body length and fresh weight. The slope of the linear relationship between body length and body mass is not consistent across these buprestid genera (Fig. 1); there is a significant genus 3 length interaction in the relationship between body length and body mass (Regression Effect Test; F (2, 230) 5 29.42, P , 0.001). In the sample of three genera analyzed here, it was the streamlined shape of the economically important genus Agrilus that significantly altered the relationship. If Agrilus is removed from the analysis, the interaction of body length and body mass is not significant (F 5 1.41, P (1, 205) 5 0.236). Although sample sizes were small, comparison of weights of the 12 specimens in these genera where

The Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) of Tennessee: Distribution of Species, Seasonal Adult Activity, and New State Records

Abstract Efforts to document species of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) occurring in Tennessee have not been updated since 1973. To address this knowledge gap, institutional, research, and private collections in Tennessee were reviewed to provide faunal distribution assessments and seasonal activity data for the cerambycid beetle species active in Tennessee. Examinations of 9,918 specimens and records yielded a list of 230 cerambycid beetle species within 5 subfamilies. Twenty-seven species are reported as new state records from Tennessee. Adult seasonal activity data that were recorded on specimen labels are presented. Where available, notes on collection method, adult resources, and larval host plants are provided for species within a supplementary table. Supplemental figures report the distribution for species collected across the state and from 85 of the 95 Tennessee counties, as well as the ecoregions from which each species is reported. The bias-corrected Chao1 species richness estimator predicts another 11 species remain to be identified across the state. Future collection efforts in the Central Appalachian, Mississippi Alluvial and Valley Loess Plains, Southeastern Plains, and western portions of the Interior Plateau ecoregions could yield additional new state records. Developmental host and adult resource plants, collection methods, as well as regional collection notes from adjacent states are discussed for several additional candidate longhorned beetle species.

Delayed Emergence of Trachykele blondeli blondeli (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Summary Prolonged emergence of Trachykele blondeli blondeli Marseul (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is reported from kiln-dried and subsequently painted wood in this report. The specimen emergence is a new record for Florida. Because the specimen did not emerge from host plant material grown in Florida, it is likely that its origin was exterior to Florida. Because of delayed and prolonged emergence capability in Buprestidae, as well as specimen survival of wood preservation processes like kiln drying, the current report does indicate a concern for redistribution of non-indigenous buprestid species to new areas.