It is that time of year again! Each spring and early summer, I look for sick plants and trees – both during my work as an arborist, and in my free time roaming the country. I examine these plants and trees for evidence of woodboring beetle larvae, and if I find some I take samples home to raise in containers.
Using the techniques I have learned from many very helpful friends (like Ted MacRae!), I have been able to learn new things about a number of species of beetles. I have found out what kind of plant a certain species of beetle will use (infest). I have found beetles in places they have not been recorded before. I have also been able to raise good numbers of specimens for my collection, and the collections of friends and institutions.
I usually start looking for infested wood in March. But, before I can bring home new wood I need to make room. Plant material is most nutritious and appealing to beetles during the first year after it’s death. Most species emerge during the first year I have the wood in my containers. There are exceptions, however, so sometimes I keep wood for 2 or more years. Hesperorhipisare notorious for coming out of wood that is 3 or more years old. I got a few specimens from 2 year old hackberry this year – I’m hoping for hundreds this year!
A male Hesperorhipis hyperbola hyperbola Knull reared from Hackberry.
Each spring about this time I have to decide what wood to keep another season and what to throw away. I also clean out the containers with wood I am going to keep another season and wet everything down well (wood is misted during the season weekly to keep the larvae from desiccating). Here are some of my containers drying out, ready for more infested wood…
Rearing Containers
Good luck Paul!
Hi Paul…just run on to your site this morning. I’ve been rearing beetles from infested wood since 1970. I usually collect wood all winter long and leave it lay outdoors until late winter when I saw it up to fit the containers. That way I don’t have to play nurse maid so long. That is an interesting way to collect wood eating beetles. Oh yes, I have a large Blue Atlas Cedar that I want cut down. Can you give me a price? I forgot to tell you I live Virginia.
That is a good idea to leave everything sit outside until close to the time. I usually cut it all up in the field. When I first started, I had a large series emerge in a garbage bag in the back of my truck before I got home – not again!
Since you are just up the road about 2000 miles, I will take your tree down for $4000 – that is if you use all the wood for bowl turning! 🙂
You think we could work out a better price with beetle specimens and some good field collecting and give you some bowls?
Sure, if you would be willing to move the tree to Phoenix so I can cut it down out here! 🙂 I’d love to get back there collecting, but with work it is pretty hard for me to get away.
What species would you specifically like to have?
Oh Boy! I could send a shopping list! 🙂
I collect Cerambycids and Buprestids from the wood boring beetles, along Cicindelids and Scarabs.
In Scarabs, there is an east coast Euphoria that I would like to get – areata is the species, out most of the year, associated with sandy soils and ants/gophers.
I have not collected east of Missouri, so any of the east coast wood boring beetles or tiger beetles would be of interest. I think the Buprestids would be the group I would be most interested in as far as wood borers go – Buprestis, Chrysobothris, or any of the smaller species would be nice.
The field work is part of collecting that I really like. Specimens have a link in my memory to the place and circumstances, habitat, etc when I collected them and I like that part of it! Some day I hope to get out there!
OK, that is my reply if you’re asking if there are any species from back east that I want. If you’re asking if I am doing all the rearing out here to get anything specifically, no, I am just trying to see what is here in the different areas. I am trying to discover what beetle species live at the Hassayampa River Preserve (a Nature Conservancy property) and do a lot of investigating there.
Take care! Paul
You are so like me, even with the same name it scares me. You even use the same make chain saw.
The scarab you mentioned is not in my area that I know of. It likes sandy soil so you would probably have to look east of the Blue Ridge mts. or along the coast. I like to look back on the labels and reminisce when I collected a certain insect. If you get around to OK my friends request on Facebook you could see some of my insect drawers. Look under photo albums.
Does the Nature Conservancy let you collect on their property?
Take care with them trees. I had a near accident last evening. John
And I didn’t even tell you about having a cabinet shop in MO and turning bowls… My lathe and bandsaw are all I kept when we moved out west.
I have permission to collect on the Preserve. I keep the manager informed, and will be giving a talk on beetles at the Preserve in April!
Safety is the number one concern in tree work! We take it seriously! About half or more of the deaths every month in tree care are homeowners and other non-pros – not that only professionals can do the work, but often people try to make due without all the best equipment. Be careful!
I didn’t tell you I have been associated with printing since 1962. Started my own shop in 1972 and taught printing in a vocational school until I retired. Wasn’t your father a printer?
I did typesetting at a Bible study publisher for a couple years… that is why we sold off the cabinet shop. Dad worked at and managed a bookstore for years! 🙂
I noticed you had 32 gal blue trash cans for your rearing wood. Do they seem to work O K concerning it being as night continuously? Also do you cut ventilation holes in your buckets? You live in the hottest area I know of. Here I have problems with condensation due to our high humidity.
John, Those are actually drums that originally held soap for a carwash – they gave them to me! I gut a 4″ hole in the top with a holesaw. I did holes in the bucket lids with a holesaw too, but smaller. A piece of aluminum window screen is glued over the hole on the inside of the lid. I’ve used contact cement and different kinds of caulk (whatever I had on hand) to stick the screen on the hole. Ted uses fiber drums he has collected from work. I have had a hard time finding any of them out here, then got some interesting info from another collector – keeping the moisture up seems critical (at least out here!). When I check the drums weekly in spring/summer, I mist the wood with a sprayer. It was suggested to spray them DAILY, but to also have more ventilation, that’s too much trouble. As to continual night, I have not experienced a problem with that. I keep them in my shop building which is normally unlit and totally dark most of the time. Ted keeps his drums (no vent holes) in his garage. You want to replicate the normal temps as much as possible (unless you can up the heat and get things out in advance of the normal emergence dates so you know what is coming, but that’s a different story). I decided to go with the 7 gallon buckets instead of looking for fiber drums to help with the moisture situation. In your more humid environment, the drums might work better for you?
On looking more closely in my Scarab drawers I found 2 Euphoria species but they turned out to be Euphoria inda (Linnaeus). Do you have “Beetles of Eastern North America” by Arthur V Evans? Probably not since you are not of that area. That’s a nice book on beetles. I see Ted has one.
A note to remember: My daughter has an above ground swimming pool. She lives on a hill top. Everytime she cleans the filter she gets handfuls of insects. She also has horses which draws Dung beetles. I have gotten large numbers of Scarabs including Aphodius fimetarius, Atenius spretulus, Phanaeus vindex, Onthophagus Hecate, Onthophagus Taurus, Euphoria sepulcralis and the very hard to get Bolbocerosoma farctum. I collected for 20 some yrs and I only had one that someone gave me. Now I have a good number. All found in her pool filter. I’ve started you a box of specimens.
John, I didn’t get that book, because as you say, it’s not my area. I do have some eastern books, but not that one. I check pool filters when we are out on jobs and have gotten a few things, diplos mainly. Lots of horse people around here, but not many native dung beetles here in Central AZ – different down south. I have not collected A spretulus, but have at least one of everything else! Do you get out to AZ collecting? There is a dinner at Fred Skillman’s place (Cochise Stronghold) in July every year, and one at Pat Sullivan’s in August (Ramsey Canyon). I usually get to Fred’s, but may hold off and go to Pat’s. There is a lot of good collecting, depending on rains. I got tons of E inda when we were in Farmington NM in fermenting bait traps – sent most to FSCA!
Did this Fred Skillman come from Pennsylvania. I once knew a guy by that name, he would come by rather often to talk and to collect. I think he had some connection with Arizona. Money was never an issue with him. He must have inherited millions. Is Cochise Stronghold a town?
My daughter and husband bought a self contained camper to take trips out west and they always wanted us to go along. So I got to collect at a different place every night. We did get to Grand Canyon, only place in AZ that I collected.
I bought myself a camera today…Nikon D7000 w/ two lens.
I don’t know where Fred originates, but he was in FL for a while. He works, but also goes on trips out of the country an awful lot! His focus is Cerambycids.
I have Canon… 🙂
What model Canon do you have? I’m thinking about cancelling the order for the Nikon model due to the reviews I’ve been reading.
5D Mark2, I wanted the full frame sensor for wide angle landscape plus it was one of the only ones at the time with HD video. Nice camera, more than I need, but I was doing some work for pay at the time.