NEWSLETTER of the WISCONSIN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY Volume 25, Number 2 November 1998 ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD DECEMBER 12 IN MADISON The next meeting of the Wisconsin Entomological Society will be held on Saturday, December 12 at Russell Labs on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Russell Labs is located at the corner of Babcock and Linden Drives (see map on back page). Ample parking should be available in the new Russell Labs ramp, entered from the driveway off Observatory Drive.. The meeting will begin at 1:30 PM. The program will feature our annual photo salon. Any members having slides of entomological subjects are encouraged to participate. Each entrant may submit up to five slides, labelled with the subject and name of photographer. The slides will be evaluated by the audience, which will vote to select the winning entries. The winner's name will be added to the William E. Sieker Memorial Plaque, and a print of the first place slide is added to the display in the Entomology Department office, and is also awarded to the photographer. Short presentations are tentatively scheduled. Also on the agenda is the election of officers for 1999. Nominations are welcome, and can be made at the meeting. Volunteers may contact Phil Pellitteri at the Department of Entomology, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, Wl 53706, or phone (608) 262-6510. FROM THE EDITOR: This is my last issue as Newsletter editor. After serving for the past twelve years, I feel that it is time for someone new to take over, and inject some new life into this publication. Because of a number of other obligations, I simply have too many things that need to be done and not enough time to do justice to it all. I will remain active in the Wisconsin Entomological Society, and will contribute what I can in ways less demanding of time. We are most fortunate that Janice Stiefel has agreed to be our new editor. Janice is an accomplished naturalist and photographer. She has done a considerable amount of Lepidoptera rearing, and is a popular speaker on moths and butterflies. Best of all, she is a professional editor, retiring from the Depot Dispatch paper of Elkhart Lake, Wl. As always, we depend on our members to provide news items or articles of interest for the Newsletter. Please help out by continuing to contribute whenever you can. Les Ferge, editor The Newsletter of the Wisconsin Entomological Society is published three times a year, at irregular intervals. It is provided to encourage and facilitate the exchange of information by the membership, and to keep the members informed of the activities of the organization. Members are strongly encouraged to contribute items for inclusion in the Newsletter. Please send all news items, notes, new or interesting insect records, season summaries, research requests, and report any address changes to the editor: Les Ferge, 7119 Hubbard Avenue, Middleton, Wl 53562. e-mail lesferge@juno.com NEWSLETTER OF THE WISCONSIN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 25(2): 1998 INSECT NOTES FOR 1998 Now I know what it would be like to be an entomologist in Missouri. After a southern winter it is not surprising that we saw more insect pressure this year. I am running about 15% ahead of last year's totals in the lab. I don't believe in blaming everything on El Nino, but this type of year was expected, considering the weather Lots of galls on tree leaves, foreign grain beetles, and cherry scallop moths. Deer tick numbers are up. Gypsy moth larvae are starting to come into the lab, and the traps by my house each contained 15-20 males this summer. A small bright green weevil Polydrusus impressifrons had a great year. It is a leaf feeder on birch, apple and poplar. European earwigs continue to move north and westward in the state. Aside from the recurring problems in the southern half of the state, the pinching plague came in from, Antigo, Rhinelander and Eau Claire. Earwigs are just starting to surface in Minneapolis. Wait until next year. This is the hardest insect for people to warm up to, and even one earwig indoors can send a house into an uproar. I usually expect the first calls around the 10th of June, but I saw my first earwig in Madison on the 22 of May. The only thing that will stop them is very dry weather in early June. I saw my second case ever of Brown Recluse Spiders. The first was out of downtown Racine last year. This year's problem was in Dodge County. A woman had a sister move up from Kansas, and she brought a number of boxes of clothing that were stored in a closet. Five spiders were captured within one week's time in that room. It will be interesting to see if they survive until next spring. For the third year, the multicolored Asian lady beetles started to swarm in October. This year they exploded on October 16. Last year it was October 30. Both days were sunny and mid 60's. This species was released in the southern states to control yellow pecan aphids. Its main claim to fame here is the tremendous overwintering aggregations. As the name implies, it is a very variable species. The classic form has 19 spots on the back, but you will find some with no dark spots, or various arrangements of small spots that give the impression of different species. The base color runs from pumpkin orange to deep red to almost yellow. I am told there is a form in China that is black with orange spots. There is an aggregation pheromone, but it has not been isolated yet. After congregating on sunny days, most individuals overwinter in leaf litter. There was lots of concern about the Asian long horn beetle. No confirmed infestations were found in Wisconsin, but lots of Cerambycids (especially pine sawyers), leaf footed bugs, and even giant water bugs were submitted to the lab. It is a little early to tell, but one of the infestations in the northern suburbs of Chicago has over 15 sq. miles of activity. The beetle will only travel one kilometer per year on its own, but can easily hitch a ride on a car or truck. If it does become established, it will be as damaging to maple trees as Dutch elm disease was to elms. The biggest surprise came to the lab the day before Halloween. Small ants from a motel in Wisconsin Dells turned out to be ghost ants ( Tapinoma melanocephalum). It is a small ant with a dark head and almost clear abdomen and legs and is closely related to the odorous WISCONSIN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP LIST (November 1998) balogh t george 1998-P 6275 LITEOLIER PORTAGE Ml 49002 BARINA, TOM 1998-1 15050 VERA CRUZ NEW BERLIN Wl 53151 BEHNKE, CHARLES 1998-1 2760 S HERMAN ST MILWAUKEE wi 53207-2239 BENJAMIN, DANIEL 1998-1 1656 CHADWELL DR SANTA MARIA CA 93454-3400 BOLLES, J. CRAIG 1997-1 3934 MANITOU WAY MADISON Wl 53711 BORKIN, SUSAN S 1998-1 2119 E WOOD PL SHOREWOOD Wl 53211 BORTH, ROBERT 1998-1 6926 N BELMONT LN FOX POINT Wl 53217 BOSSERT, FREDERICK 1997-1 3392 SILVER LAKE DR WEST BEND Wl 53095 BRUST, MATHEW 1998-1 1717 E KANE PL APT 22 MILWAUKEE Wl 53202 BRYANT, ROBERT 1998-1 522 OLD ORCHARD RD BALTIMORE MD 21229 BUCHLI, BYRON 1998-F 3055 FADNESS RD DEERFIELD Wl 53531 CARPENTER, ANITA 1998-1 304A SCOTT AVE OSHKOSH Wl 54901 CONWAY, PATRICK 1998-1 17053 N 290TH AVE GALVA IL 61434 COPPEL, HARRY 1998-1 5025 SHEBOYGAN AVE APT 212 MADISON Wi 53705-2815 DAUB, ED 1998-1 4258 MANITOU WAY MADISON Wl 53711 DERNEHL, NANCY 1998-1 UW-WAUKESHA, 1500 UNIVERSITY DR WAUKESHA Wl 53188 DICKE, ROBERT 1999-1 3717 COUNCIL CREST MADISON Wl 53711 DITTL, TIMOTHY 1998-1 1721 BOB-O-LINK CT WISCONSIN RAPIDS Wl 54494 DRECKTRAH, GENE 1997-S BIOLOGY DEPT UW - OSHKOSH OSHKOSH Wl 54901 DUNFORD , JIM 1998-1 2120 UNIVERSITY AVE APT 219 MADISON Wl 53705-2344 EBNER, JIM 1998-1 BOX 556 OKAUCHEE Wl 53069 EVANS, MARK 1997-1 217 ISLAND DR MADISON Wl 53705 FERGE, LES& CAROL 1998-F 7119 HUBBARD AVE MIDDLETON Wl 53562 GRIMEK, HERBERT 1997-1 1101 TEMKINAVE MADISON Wl 53705 GRIMSTAD, PAUL 1997-1 UNIV. OF NOTRE DAME, DEPT. BIOL. SCI. NOTRE DAME IN 46556-0369 HAINZE, JOHN 1998-1 4747 N LAKE DR MILWAUKEE Wl 53211-1257 HANSEN, DEAN 1998-1 402 SOUTH 6TH ST STILLWATER MN 55082 HENDERSON, RICH & KATHY 1997-F 2845 TIMBER LN VERONA Wl 53593 HILSENHOFF, WILLIAM 1998-1 DEPT OF ENTOMOLOGY, 1630 LINDEN DR MADISON Wl 53706 HOFFMAN, RANDY 1998-1 305 5TH ST WAUNAKEE Wl 53597 HOGG, DAVID & SUSAN 1996-S DEPT OF ENTOMOLOGY, 1630 LINDEN DR MADISON Wl 53706 JAVOREK, JEFF 1998-1 886 S COUNTY ROAD X MOSINEE Wl 54455 KAISER, KURT & BARRETT, C. 1997-F 1 320 W WASHINGTON AVE CLEVELAND Wl 53015-1429 KHITSUN, ANDREW 1998-1 409 EAU CLAIRE AVE APT 207 MADISON Wl 53705-2846 KIRK, KATHRYN 1998-S DNR - ENDANGERED RESOURCES, BOX 7921 MADISON Wl 53707 KLEIN, MICHAEL 1996-P 1520 SILVER RD WOOSTER OH„ 44691 KMENTT, WALDEMAR 1997-S 4330 E WOOD TR BELOIT Wl 53511-7828 KRUSE, JAMES 1998-1 1305 SOLANO AVE APT B ALBANY CA 94706-1845 KUGLERJR, WALTER M 1998-1 525 PIPER DR MADISON Wi 53711 LEARY, ROBERT 1998-1 612 S WESTFIELD ST OSHKOSH Wl 54901-5540 LEGLER, KARL & DOROTHY 1998-F 429 FRANKLIN ST SAUK CITY Wl 53583 LIBRARY REFERENCE 1998-1 MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM, 800 W WELLS ST MILWAUKEE Wl 53233 LILLIE, RICHARD A 1998-1 8609 SCHOEPP RD SAUK CITY Wl 53583 LINTEREUR, LEROY J 1998-1 1428 MARY ST MARINETTE Wl 54143 MACARTHUR, KENNETH 1997-S 1 5900 W MONTEREY DR NEW BERLIN Wl 53151 MARTIN, ROBERT 1998-1 1310 ORANGE ST RACINE Wl 53404-2932 MATZKE, CURTIS 1 998-1 181 7 WESLEY AVE JANESVILLE Wl 53545 MAXWELL, JUDI 1997-1 5834 BALSAM RD APT 3 MADISON Wl 53711-4248 MERKHOFER, RICHARD 1996-S 39 PARKVIEW DR APPLETON Wl 54915 MERTINS, JAMES 1998-1 3028 NORTHRIDGE PKWY AMES IA 50010 NIELSEN, MOGENSC 1998-S 3415 OVERLEA DR LANSING Ml 48917 PARKINSON, JAMES C 1998-1 1951 JAMES ST MOSINEE Wl 54455 PEACOCK, JOHN W 1 998-1 185 BENZLER LUST RD MARION OH 43302-8369 PELLITTERI, PHIL 1999-1 DEPT OF ENTOMOLOGY, 1630 LINDEN DR MADISON Wl 53706 PFUTZENREUTER, MARY A 1998-1 E2249 ROCKLEDGE RD LUXEMBURG Wl 54217-9702 PHELPS, LAURENCE 1998-S 6472 WILSON RD ROCK SPRINGS Wl 53961 RABE, MARY 1998-1 Ml NATURAL FEATURES INV., PO BOX 30444 LANSING Ml 48909-7944 RADKE, DAVID 1998-P 1076 W MURRAY LN HUBERTUS Wl 53033 ROCHELEAU, TOM & NINA 1998-F DEPT OF ENTOMOLOGY, 3100 BUENA VISTA MADISON Wl 53704 ROMEYN, RICHARD 1998-1 W5306 EMERALD CT LACROSSE Wl 54601 SCHABEL, HANS G 1997-1 COLL OF NATURAL RESOURCES, U WSP STEVENS POINT Wl 54481-3897 SHEBESTA, ANN L. 1998-1 427 BUCHANAN ST MISHICOT Wl 54228 SIEKER, KATHERINE T 1997-P PO BOX 1032 MADISON Wl 53701-1032 STIEFEL, JOHN & JANICE 1998-F W6311 MULLET LA PLYMOUTH Wl 53073 SULLIVAN, RAYMOND 1998-1 125 N 123RD ST MILWAUKEE Wl 53226-3809 SWENGEL, ANN B& SCOTT 1998-F 909 BIRCH ST BARABOO Wl 53913 THRELFALL, ANNA M 1998-1 N3438 WOOD LAWN RD KENNAN Wl 54537-9476 TRICK, JOEL A 1 998-1 351 CLEMENT ST #6 GREEN BAY Wl 54302-6000 TURNBULL, JAY 1997-S N1632 SUGARBUSH RD ANTIGO Wl 54409 VOGEL, THOMAS 1998-1 522 WISCONSIN AVE KEWAUKEE Wl 54216 WATERMOLEN, DREUX 1998-F PO BOX 302 MADISON Wl 53701-0302 WEISMAN, KEN 1999-1 2893 HUMBOLDT RD GREEN BAY Wl 54311-5746 WESTOVER, DAVE 1997-1 324B N. MONROE ST WATERLOO Wl 53594 WILLIAMS, ANDREW H 1998-F 413 COLUMBIA AVE DEFOREST Wl 53532 YOUNG, ALLEN M 1998-1 MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM, 800 W WELLS ST MILWAUKEE Wl 53233 NEWSLETTER OF THE WISCONSIN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 25 ( 2 ): 1998 house ant. It is normally found only in central and southern Florida, and with multiple queens and multiple colonies it can be a challenge. I do not have all the details, but this ant most likely came in on tropical plants. If this keeps up I may have either become a tropical entomologist or move to Canada to get above the evolving tropical rain forest. Phil Pellitteri - University of Wisconsin (?) Insect Diagnostic Lab WISCONSIN MOTH SURVEY: PROGRESS REPORT The Wisconsin macro-moth fauna (superfamilies Drepanoidea, Geometroidea, Mimallonoidea, Bombycoidea, Sphingoidea and Noctuoidea) currently stands at a total of 1203 verified species, not including six uncorroborated literature records. This total is estimated at 98-99% of the species possibly occurring here, based on published information from neighboring and similar areas. The largest families are the Geometridae, with 280 species, and the Noctuidae, with 726 species. A checklist, based on specimens collected or examined by the authors, has been compiled by Les Ferge and George Balogh, and is nearly ready for publication. Its purpose is to establish the framework upon which a comprehensive survey of Wisconsin's moths is being built. Information on distribution, status, flight period and habitat association continues to be gathered, with the intention of producing a detailed publication on the moths of Wisconsin. However, many years of field work remain to be done in a variety of habitat types to determine the status of many infrequently encountered species, and much distributional data remains to be gathered from collections. Les Ferge NOTICES 1998 Wisconsin Lepidoptera records are wanted for inclusion in the season summary which is to appear in the next W. E. S. Newsletter. Things to report include new distributional data, uncommon species occurring in your area, records of stray or migrant species, early or late occurrences, unusual abundance or scarcity, rearing or host plant data, or flowers utilized by adults. Please indicate county, locality, and date of capture or observation, and also note if records are sight only, or documented by voucher specimens or photos. Specimens whose identities are uncertain may be brought to the December meeting for verification, or arrangements to view specimens or photos at another time may be made individually. Please send reports by January 1 to: Les Ferge, 7119 Hubbard Avenue, Middleton, Wl 53562. e-mail lesferge@juno.com Monarch Watch is a cooperative network of students, teachers, volunteers and researchers dedicated to the study if the biology and migration of the Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus. Monarch Watch participants are involved in tagging of migrating Monarchs, maintaining migration journals, rearing Monarchs for classroom projects and planting milkweed and butterfly gardens. Tagging is the principal activity, with an estimated 49,000 Monarchs tagged by members in 1996. For more information or membership application, contact: Monarch Watch, c/o O. R. Taylor, Dept, of Entomology, Haworth Hall, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 phone toll-free 1 (888) TAGGING e-mail: monarch@ukans.edu Wisconsin Records of Sphingidae, Satumiidae, Lasiocampidae and Mimallonidae are wanted for inclusion in an atlas of distribution records of Wisconsin moths, to be published in the W. E. S. Special Publication series. Records should be documented by specimens or photographs. As the records are also being entered into a Wisconsin moth database, complete label data is needed, including county, locality, date and col lector/photographer. Les Ferge, 7119 Hubbard Avenue, Middleton, Wl 53562. e-mail lesferge@juno.com WISCONSIN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY Les Ferge, Editor 7119 Hubbard Avenue Middleton, Wl 53562 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED Wisconsin Entomological Societu Newsletter — June 2000 Secrets of tie Southeastern Wisconsin Red-Haired BnmHleHee by Babette Kis W hen Purple Prairie Clover starts to bloom on a southeastern Wisconsin remnant tall grass prairie. Red-haired Bumblebees (Bom bus ternarius) appear and collect its pollen and nectar. When the prairie clover blooms fade, the bees seem to disappear. Where are these bees during the rest of the year? And in spring, when the queens emerge from hibernation to seek pollen and nectar, what flowers do they frequent? Although I had observed what I called “Orange- haired Bumblebees" since I was a child, it wasn’t until spring of 1997 that I began to seek the answers to these questions. On every weekend, beginning in May, I looked for Red-haired Bumblebee queens on a ten-acre prairie remnant where I had seen these bees in past years. I never found a queen, but in July the workers were out on Purple Prairie Clover flowers. After the prairie clover faded, I looked for these bees on other prairie plants: wild rose, lespediza , stachys , goldenrod and aster. I didn’t find any. In spring of 1998, I continued my search for Bombus ternarius on both the prairie remnant and the nearby 20-acre degraded oak open- ing. The oak opening contains numerous clumps of Gray Dogwood, several clones of Smooth Sumac, American Hazelnut and scattered Buckthorn. At the low east edge, scattered Asian Honeysuckle and clumps of Pussy Willow border a cattail marsh and pond. The pond, oak opening and prairie remnant are surrounded by plowed fields. On May 4, 1998, 1 found a Red- haired queen visiting Virginia Bluebells that were growing under the oaks. During the next week, I observed two Red-haired queens on Virginia Bluebells. Although numerous Wood Violets, Bloodroot, Sharp-lobed Hepatica, White Trout Lilies, Recurved Trillium, and Wild Geranium were blooming here, I found the Red-haired Bumblebees only on the bluebells. I did not find these bees on the Hoary Puccoon, Shooting Star, Seneca Snakeroot, and Yellow Star Grass flowers that grew on the adjacent prairie. By May 22, the Virginia Bluebells had faded and the Virginia Waterleaf flowers were opening. One Red-haired queen bee was working on this plant’s pale lavender flowers. This was the last day in spring of 1998 that I saw a Red-haired Bumblebee. I now knew that the queen emerged in early spring when the Virginia Bluebells bloomed, but where did she make her nest? On May 1, 1999, the Virginia Bluebells in the oak opening began to bloom. On May 2, I first saw a Red-haired Bumblebee queen on these flowers. During the next few days, I followed her as she flew back and forth from the bluebells to a rock-strewn hedgerow In the oak opening. She also flew to a wet area surrounded by several species of pussy willows, but I was not able to find her when she flew to this area. On May 18, a Red-haired queen emerged from the Page 7 nest I had staked on May 2 and flew to and from her nest to the Virginia Bluebells and one Virginia Waterleaf, which had just started to bloom. On May 19, about 9:00 in the morning, a Red-haired queen flew to both Virginia Waterleaf and Virginia Bluebell flowers. At mid-afternoon, she returned to the hedgerow and climbed under some brown Bur Oak leaves that covered the opening to her nest. I watched and waited for several hours, but she did not emerge. I visited the oak opening and prairie every week during the rest of May and Into June but did not see any of these bees. On June 20, 1999, Purple Prairie Clover began blooming on the prairie. I searched the entire remnant, but didn’t find a single Red- haired bee on Purple Prairie Clover, Gray Dogwood, Potentilla, Spiderwort, Thimbleweed or Black- eyed Susan flowers. The next week, on June 26, the Red-haired worker bees were out. I counted six of them collecting bright orange pollen from a clump of Purple Prairie Clover. I did not see them on any other prairie flowers. By July 11, the Prairie Clover had almost finished blooming. Com- pass Plant, Prairie Coreopsis, Wild Rose, Gray-Headed Coneflower, field Thistle and Leadplant were in full bloom. On that day, I found only one Please see. Bumblebees, Page 8 OArtae \\