May Phenology 2: Insect First Appearances

June 5, 2013 at 5:36 am (dragonflies and damselflies, ecology, insects (other))
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by Carl Strang

Today’s seasonal comparison is between first appearance dates of insects at Mayslake Forest Preserve, through May. This includes April data, as there were not enough species in that month to consider alone.  As was the case with plants, the most dramatic difference was between this year and last: 15 species appeared a median 33 days later in 2013 than in 2012.

The differences from other years were smaller: 10 days later in 2013 than 2011 (15 species), likewise 10 days later than 2010 (13 species), and 5 days later than 2009 (12 species).

The bee fly Bombylius major first appeared 10 days later in 2013 than in 2010.

The bee fly Bombylius major first appeared 10 days later in 2013 than in 2010.

Green darners are our earliest dragonflies each year. In 2013 the first showed up 5 days later than in 2009.

Green darners are our earliest dragonflies each year. In 2013 the first showed up 5 days later than in 2009.

The numbers did not fully parallel those for flowering dates, in part because the months were combined, and in part because the sample sizes were smaller. Nevertheless, the 2013-2012 comparison is the consistent one. Also, this year is confirmed as the latest of the five I have been at Mayslake.

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Old Mystery Solved

April 16, 2012 at 6:17 am (insects (other), methods)
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by Carl Strang

Today’s story brings back a number of points I have tried to make over the years. For instance, there’s the idea that when one is engaged in natural history inquiries, there always are innumerable unanswered questions cooking away in memory. Sooner or later, opportunities come to answer some of them. Back in 2006, on the first day of the Roger Raccoon Club camp at Willowbrook Forest Preserve, some of the kids noticed an impressive insect.

It was perched on one of the outer roof beams of the picnic shelter.

Everyone checked it out.

It was a fly, most of an inch long. I suspect the underlying question in most kids’ minds was, will it sting or bite me?

The appropriate response to model in this situation is not fear, but interest and curiosity. Fortunately my response was interest and curiosity, so no problem. I took photos (making a record from different angles, yet another point I like to make), and noted aloud that it did not have a biting fly’s beak.

I thought it might be one of the bee flies, and that there might be some connection between it and the hole in the wood just above it, from which something appeared to be protruding.

My limited references at the time were no help. I kept the photos, and there they sat until last week. In the most recent edition of American Entomologist magazine there was a series of articles on citizen science, and one of them described an on-line publication, the Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification. I checked it out, and found that one of its papers was a clearly illustrated key to Canadian bee flies. I remembered my photos from 2006, and was pleased to find that it didn’t take long to identify the fly. It was Xenox tigrinus, and when I plugged that name into the BugGuide website, I learned that this fly is a parasite of carpenter bees. So, not only did I get the identification, but I made the connection to the hole in the wood. The protruding object apparently was the fly’s pupal case.

Here are the reference and the link: Kits, Joel H., Stephen A. Marshall, and Neal L. Evenhuis. 2008. The Bee Flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae) of Ontario, with a Key to the Species of Eastern Canada. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification. doi: 10.3752/cjai.2008.06 (or: http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejournal/kme_06/kme_06.html ).

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First Flowers

April 25, 2011 at 6:05 am (botany, insects (other), restoration)
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by Carl Strang

Spring advances, despite the unpleasant weather that has denied our enjoyment of much of it so far. As I have sloshed through the rain and the mud at Mayslake Forest Preserve, I have been finding the first of the woodland wildflowers, so I guess it hasn’t really been as cold as I have thought.

Bloodroots have been blooming for what seems an extended period, though. Perhaps the temperatures have been marginal for them.

Lots of spring beauties have taken advantage of last fall’s burn in the south savanna.

These haven’t hit their peak, yet.

Views of pollinators still have been few.

In addition to this bee fly, I have seen the first of the year’s queen Bombus impatiens bumblebees.

The expansion of the Dutchman’s breeches population is gratifying.

These make me smile whenever I see them.

Ongoing restoration clearing of buckthorn has shown the quickest response by trout lilies, which now can be found in great numbers in many places on the preserve.

Their flowers haven’t been open on many days, yet, needing temperatures above 50F or so.

It’s a little early yet to do a serious phenological comparison, but so far, compared to the last two years at Mayslake, first flower dates in 2011 have been the earliest for one species, latest for 2 species, and between those of 2009 and 2010 for 5 species.

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Happy Familiar Things

May 20, 2010 at 5:54 am (birds, botany, insects (other), Uncategorized)
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by Carl Strang

While I have my creative side, and there’s a part of me that enjoys novelty, I also take comfort in familiar patterns. As the seasons turn, I take delight in recurring sounds and sights associated with each point in the year. Early in spring I enjoy looking for the relatively large, common bee fly Bombylius major.

I like it because of the contrast between the round fuzzy body and the long pointy beak. Mayapple leaves rise from the ground in clustered clonal colonies. Shortly after their folded umbrella leaves open, they bloom.

Spring migration brings the kaleidoscope of colors and cacophony of songs from the many birds. One of my favorites is the rose-breasted grosbeak. Here a male takes aim at an insect on a leaf.

One of the grand displays is bud break in shagbark hickories.

These spring events are all the more delightful after the long 3 seasons of winter.

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Bee Fly

May 8, 2009 at 11:05 am (insects (other))
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by Carl Strang

Recently I saw the first bee flies of the season at Mayslake Forest Preserve. Sources agree that the common species in North America, including northeast Illinois, is Bombylius major.

Beefly 2b

They are remarkable looking, with their densely hairy round bodies and long, needle-shaped proboscis. The proboscis is not for biting people, but for probing flowers. One of the ones I saw in late April was visiting spring beauty flowers south of May’s Lake. They are active early in the season, when conserving the heat from the muscles that power their blurring wings would be a valuable property of that fur-like body covering. Here is another, photographed from behind at an angle.

Bee fly flight b

It was hovering over the trail, holding still long enough for me to take this tele-macro photo, and also to lead me to think there was some kind of displaying or patrolling taking place. Looking back at my brief dossier  on the species, I see that I have observed this behavior before.

5MY87. Showing territorial behavior on paths of Willowbrook Back 40. Rest on ground, occasionally move into hovering flight, patrolling small area or chasing others.

8MY87. Still territorially active, also 14MY.

12AP88. First one of the season seen at Willowbrook.

Returning to the photo, I see that the wings were moving too rapidly for my equipment to catch. I’m interested in the legs that are sticking out in an odd asymmetry: what’s with that, I wonder? Another question for the file.

According to my references, the larvae are parasites of ground-nesting bee larvae.

I should add the caveat that my identification is not based on the keying out of collected specimens. All the references I have at my limited disposal point to these insects being Bombylius major. They have the long proboscis, the round yellow-haired bodies, the same black pattern on the wings, and the correct body size as shown in references. They are widespread and common every spring in DuPage County. If there are other similar species of bee flies that need to be considered, I would appreciate hearing about it.

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