First detection of Agrilus planipennis in Connecticut made by monitoring Cerceris fumipennis (Crabronidae) colonies

Abstract

Smoky winged beetle bandits, Cerceris fumipennis Say, digger wasps in the family Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Cercerini, provision their underground nests with adult metallic wood-boring beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Researchers, as well as engaged community volunteers, in several states have monitored female wasps returning to their nests as a means to detect invasive buprestid species. In this paper, we report the first detection of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairemore), an invasive beetle responsible for killing millions of ash trees in North America, in Connecticut by C. fumipennis and discuss its relationship to A. planipennis survey efforts by other modalities in the state. We also report detections of A. planipennis by C. fumipennis in Illinois, New York and Ontario; all of which were made after it was known the beetle was in the area. These findings support the use of C. fumipennis as a biomonitoring tool and bolster the use of engaged volunteers.

Ball Diamonds as Habitat for Nests of Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae): Comparisons among Three States

“…Using variations of these techniques, buprestid beetles (and rarely other insect families) have been collected for decades (Grossbeck 1912;Cartwright 1931;Scullen & Wold 1969;Evans 1971;Kurczewski & Miller 1984;Rutledge et al 2011;Careless et al 2014). At least 105 species of Buprestidae have been recorded as prey of C. fumipennis (Scullen & Wold 1969;Rutledge et al 2011Rutledge et al , 2013Swink et al 2013;Careless et al 2014;Westcott & Thomas 2015). These collections have resulted in the addition of new state records and dozens of previously unrepresented Buprestidae species to regional insect museum collections (Hellman & Fierke 2014;Westcott & Thomas 2015).…”

“…An extension of this study was the enlistment over the summers of 2013 to 2014 of members of 3 Texas Master Naturalist Program Chapters to monitor and collect buprestids at 3 aggregations located in eastern Texas, as has been done with similar groups in the northern U.S. (Bohne et al 2011;Teerling 2012;Rutledge et al 2013). Although these efforts did result in buprestid collections (but no emerald ash borer), there were few beetles collected due to challenges in locating aggregations of sufficient working size and gaining commitments from enough Chapter members to conduct surveys in the early days following aggregation initiation (when the efforts would be most productive).…”

“…In light of its efficiency in detecting buprestids and the accessibility of its aggregations to human collectors, protocols to use C. fumipennis as an emerald ash borer detection tool have been developed (Careless 2009a;Carrier & Jackson 2012) and used successfully by numerous volunteer groups in many areas for the detection of the emerald ash borer and other uncommonly collected Buprestidae in the northeastern U.S. (Bohne et al 2011;Rosenholm 2012;Rutledge et al 2013). However, their utility for biosurveillance of the emerald ash borer and other Buprestidae in the western Gulf Region of the U.S. is unknown.…”

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

“…In addition to the success of using C. fumipennis to locate emerald ash borer in Connecticut (Rutledge et al 2013), the wasp might be used for monitoring and detecting other invasive buprestid species, such as A. subrobustus and Agrilus sulcicollis Lacordaire (Marshall et al 2005;Careless 2009;Careless et al 2009;Haack et al 2009), due to potential overlapping flight activity periods of these beetles and the wasp. In North Carolina however, population densities of C. fumipennis are lower than those observed in the northeastern US (Nalepa et al 2012).…”

Sampling Buprestidae (Coleoptera) in Washington state with Cerceris californica Cresson (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae)

“…Careless et al (2014) developed a thorough methodology for using C. fumipennis to detect A. planipennis, which are readily captured by the wasps, and several eastern states and provinces have successfully implemented wasp-based monitoring programs. The first A. planipennis recorded in Connecticut was collected from a foraging wasp in 2012, concurrent with a capture on a purple sticky trap (Rutledge et al 2013).…”