Entomology Commons^™

Exudation Entomology, John Buchanan

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

My master's project is exudation entomology. I propose a new area of entomology that will renew and reshape the science, answer questions that have been explored, and open new questions that have yet to be asked.

Exudation entomology is the study of exudates from arthropods. This includes (but is not limited to) honey, saliva, silk, secretions, venom, pheromones, paper, wax, and more. Other properties, such as bioluminescence, sounds, and odors, are also included. Exudation entomology will explore the chemical makeup of exudates, the anatomical mechanisms for how the arthropod produces the exudate, why the exudate is essential for arthropods and …

Illustrated Key To Third Instar Larvae Of Forensically Important Calliphoridae From Costa Rica, Roberto Esteban Morales-Montero

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Forensic entomology in Costa Rica formally began by the end of the 1990s decade, however, the keys utilized to identify the species of Calliphoridae, the most important family of flies that colonize decomposing bodies in Costa Rica, are a compendium of work done by different authors that not include all the species present in the country, and are not adequately illustrated, which could make the analyses difficult for people without the proper knowledge of the carrion flies, or may lead to errors in the identification. The objective of this work is to put together a properly illustrated key for third-instar …

Flies: Nature’S Hidden Helpers, A Science Literacy Project Exploring Beneficial And Pest Insects, Natalie Johnston

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

A science literacy project for elementary learners exploring beneficial and pest insects with a focus on flies, nature's hidden helpers.

This project demonstrates that science literacy can be cultivated through experiential and interdisciplinary teaching. Future developments could include digital tools for compost monitoring, citizen science participation, or expanded studies of other decomposer species. Cross-curricular collaboration with language arts and art education can further strengthen the integration of creativity and evidence-based reasoning.

Ultimately, this work reaffirms that even small organisms—like flies—can inspire big learning outcomes. By integrating science literacy with sustainability education, we prepare students to think critically about ecological relationships …

Contributing To Acari Knowledge: The First Report Of Trombidium Grandissimum From The Soils Of Cholistan Desert, Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan, Muhammad Adnan Bodlah, Alishbah Mohsin, Ayesha Younas, Aleena Kanwal, Imran Bodlah, Yasir Niaz, Shumaila Khan, Shabbir Hussain

Journal of Bioresource Management

Trombidium grandissimum is also known by names, red velvet mite, real velvet mite, giant red velvet mite and rain bug, belongs to the family Trombidiidae and subclass Acari. Red velvet mite has four life stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Adult red velvet mites were collected from agricultural farm area of Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology. Important taxonomic features were revealed by morphological study, including a body length of around half of an inch, velvety, unridged skin with dense hairs, stalked eyes, and specialized organs on the anterior legs including sensilla and claws. Carotene-induced bright red coloring …

Diversity Of Butterflies (Lepidoptera) In Kanju, District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Said Miraj Ud Din, Khushbakht Asad, Hamid Ur Rahman, Attiya Iqbal

Journal of Bioresource Management

Butterflies are one of the most beautiful creatures on earth. They belong to the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, and order Lepidoptera. Butterflies play an important role in the ecosystem, contributing significantly to pollen transfer. They play an important role in pollination, and their foraging behavior enhances the genetic diversity. Additionally, they also play an important role in the food chain and serve as prey for birds, reptiles, and other insectivore organisms. The current study was conducted to find out the diversity and distribution of butterflies in Kanju district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total 203 specimens were collected from August …

A Previously Unrecognized Species Of Celastrina From The Southeastern Coastal Plain Region Of The United States (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) Named In Honor Of The Memory Of Iryna Zarutska, Harry Pavulaan

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

New species Celastrina iryna is described from the southeastern coastal plain of the United States. This species is most similar to C. neglecta but differs by possession of the unique dorsal overlay of clear wing scales found in C. ladon males. It is hypothesized that this may be a hybrid species. Some aspects of its life history remain unknown and call for further field research. The species name is a tribute to Iryna Zarutska, of Charlotte, North Carolina.

New Wisconsin State Records For Two Species Of Eusphalerum Kraatz (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae), Daniel K. Young, Jordan Marché Ii

The Great Lakes Entomologist

ABSTRACT: In Wisconsin, only one published species record exists for the omaliine rove beetle genus Eusphalerum. Two card-mounted specimens of Eusphalerum pothos were located in the research collection at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The collection event label provided no date but the Bayfield, Wisconsin location is consistent with an 1895 species list provided by Wickham.

New state records are confirmed for two species: Eusphalerum carolinensis and Eusphalerum convexum. A single specimen of E. carolinensis was collected on Rubus sp. in Dane County on 27 May 2017, while a series of 10 E. convexum came from Prunus spp. in Monroe County …

A Bumble Bee In A Haystack: Chance Observation Of An Overwintering Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, Bombus Affinis (Hymenoptera:Apidae) Gyne, Bradley M. Herrick, Susan G. Carpenter

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Bombus affinis (rusty-patched bumble bee) Cresson is listed as a federally endangered species in the United States and Canada. It is globally “imperiled” (G2) and listed as “critically endangered” on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. While the causes of the species’ precipitous decline are relatively unknown, researchers suspect introduced pathogens, habitat loss and degradation, competition with non-native bees, and climate change. Conservation strategies should encompass all aspects of the species’ life cycle. However, habitat selection of new overwintering gynes (gynes become queens when they establish nests in the spring) is the …

Injury To Soybean Seedlings From Alfalfa Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larvae, Robert L. Koch, M. Lourdes Chamorro

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is primarily a pest of alfalfa, but it has been reported feeding on other plants, including soybean. The relatively limited literature on H. postica in soybean indicates that adults and larvae can feed on soybean, but it is not suitable for larval development and survival. There have been instances of H. postica adults moving from alfalfa to nearby soybean fields where they have inflicted significant injury to the soybean plants. Here we report an instance of H. postica larvae causing severe feeding injury to soybean. This infestation of soybean was the result of …

Variability In Arthropod Community Surveys: Observations Of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods Are Dependent On Methodological Choices, Katherine Mcnamara Manning, Kayla I. Perry, Christie A. Bahlai

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Sampling approaches are commonly adapted to reflect the study objectives in biodiversity monitoring projects. This approach optimizes findings to be locally relevant but comes at the cost of generalizability of findings. Here, we detail a comparison study directly examining how researchers’ choice of arthropod trap and level of specimen identification affects observations made in small-scale arthropod biodiversity studies. Four arthropod traps (pitfall traps, yellow ramp traps, yellow sticky cards, and novel jar ramp traps) were compared with respect to an array of biodiversity metrics calculated at two levels of identification. The arthropod community captured varied by trap type. Pitfalls and …

Pollen Loads Of Insects Caught In Cultivated Fields Of Oilseed Pennycress, Frank Forcella, Ellinor Sheik, Michael Zavada, Mark Bernards

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Although many insects are known to be associated with the floral canopies of oilseed pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), those that carry the crop’s pollen are unknown. During early spring of 2024 insects associated with pennycress flowers in Illinois and Minnesota were captured in sweep nets, frozen, sorted by species, and sonicated to remove pollen. Pollen grains were counted, and pollen loads per individual insect were calculated. Members of the orders Diptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera accounted for 66%, 16%, and 14% of the 850 insects examined, but these same orders were responsible, respectively, for 18%, 3%, and 78% of the …

Nest Pollen Provisions From An Urban Population Of Megachile Campanulae (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) In Minnesota Are Consistent With Oligolectic Classification., Lam D. Le, Thea A. Evans, Colleen Satyshur

The Great Lakes Entomologist

The conservation of bees is crucial for maintaining the essential ecological services they provide. Understanding bee species' risk of extinction is a key part of conservation efforts, and can include assessment of dietary specialization, which has been linked to higher extinction risk. Dietary specialization in bees, called oligolecty, occurs when females select pollen only from closely related plants to feed their larvae. While the solitary bee, Megachile (Chelostomoides) campanulae (Robertson 1903), has been associated with flowers in the genus Campanula L. (Campanulaceae: Asterales), evidence from pollen analysis is limited, and dietary classification is reported inconsistently. This study examined dietary specialization …

Nocturnal Flight Periodicity Of Caddisflies (Trichoptera) Along The Lake Huron Shoreline Of Drummond Island, Michigan (Usa), Robert A. Haack, David Houghton

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Over 7000 caddisfly specimens, representing 33 species in 10 families, were collected between sunset and sunrise on 12 nights: three nights each during early July and early August in both 2023 and 2024. Collections were made on the southwestern side of Drummond Island along the shoreline of Lake Huron. Sampling occurred for five minutes at 15-minute intervals from near sunset (21:00) to 01:00 and then once again at 03:00 and 05:00. Nocturnal flight periodicity was broadly similar between years and months, with mean caddisfly abundance and species richness peaking at about one hour after sunset. Mean species accumulation varied between …

Initial Changes In Ground Beetle (Carabidae: Coleoptera) Assemblages After Creating Gaps Of Varying Sizes In Mature Northern Hardwoods Forests In Wisconsin, Robert A. Haack, Robert E. Acciavatti, Toby R. Petrice, Robert L. Davidson, Terry F. Strong

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Managers of northern hardwood forests in the Great Lakes region create gaps in the forest canopy of various sizes during harvesting to achieve different silvicultural objectives. Single-tree harvesting favors recruitment of shade-tolerant tree species by creating small gaps in the canopy, whereas group selection creates larger gaps that can favor shade-intolerant tree species. We evaluated changes in carabid beetle abundance and diversity in harvest-created gaps of five sizes (gap diameters of 6, 10, 20, 30, and 46 m) and uncut forests in northern Wisconsin where sugar maple (Acer saccharum) was the dominant tree species. Gaps were cut during …

Michigan Entomological Society Becomes The Great Lakes Entomological Society, John Douglass, Robert Haack

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Michigan Entomological Society Becomes the Great Lakes Entomological Society. An overview of the rational of the change and history of the society.

Cover Art For Tgle Vol. 58 Nos 1 & 2

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Cover Art for TGLE Vol. 58 Nos 1 & 2

Cover Pages For Tgle Vol. 58 Nos 1 & 2

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Cover Pages for TGLE Vol. 58 Nos 1 & 2

Full Issue For Tgle Vol. 58 Nos 1 & 2

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Full Issue for TGLE Vol. 58 Nos 1 & 2

Complex Interplay Between Facilitation And Competition In Two Invasive Fruit Pests Data, Eleanor Mccabe, Nicholas Teets Phd

Entomology Research Data

When one invasive species facilitates the invasion of another species, it can lead to invasional meltdown. However, when the two species depend on the same finite resource, facilitation and competition can occur simultaneously and impact population dynamics. Furthermore, factors like resource availability and population density could alter the balance between facilitation and competition. Drosophila suzukii and Zaprionus indianus are two invasive insect pests that infest small fruit crops. The co-localization of these species in the same fields, coupled with the fact that Z. indianus lacks a hardened ovipositor that can penetrate the skin of fruit, has led to the hypothesis …

Bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) Of Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands In Mississippi, Haley Hughes, Katherine A. Parys, Kim T. Huntzinger, Caleb Lankford, Christine Fortuin, J. Brian Davis

Publications

Seasonal wetlands help meet the biological needs of various autumn migrating and wintering waterfowl species in North America (Reinecke et al. 1989). Management of seasonally flooded impoundments often uses soil and vegetation disturbances and water management to promote early succession plants that produce abundant seeds for foraging birds (Low and Bellrose 1944, Kross et al. 2008). Native bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) also occupy these wetland habitats, as they are attracted to a diversity of flowering plants (Stephenson et al. 2018).

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) is an alluvial plain and once represented by nearly 10 million ha of bottomland hardwood forests, …