Author: Leigh Greenwood

Wasp catching with the Wasp Watchers of Massachusetts

by Natalie Garcia

 

I have never hunted anything in my life, well not until now at least. In July, the DMF team was very lucky to be able to participate in Wasp Watchers Massachusetts, a citizen scientist program that uses native wasps to monitor for signs of the emerald ash borer. I was ecstatic to run around and hunt wasps that were returning with their prey, cause who doesn’t love the thrill of the chase?

First thing Monday morning on a hot, dry, beautiful summer day, we were off and it was perfect weather for pursuing Cerceris fumipennis or the smoky-winged wasp. This small wasp loves to prey upon buprestid beetles in order to raise their young and can be key to EAB early detection. We were searching for the females, because they build their nests in dry, sandy areas and are the ones that do the actual searching for beetles to provide food to their young.

 

And let me tell you, these are some hard working ladies. When we arrived almost all of the nests were empty; they were already out hunting for borers and beetles. After about 30 minutes of looking at nests and becoming familiar with the wasp homes, some Cerceris began to return to their nests with their fresh prey.

 

I felt like I was 8 years old again. It was fascinating how many different borers we were able to collect. In a little under an hour we caught 10 beetles. Not so bad for first timers! We were even able to catch an Agrilus species borer, which is in the same family as EAB and the genus that Wasp Watchers are really interested in finding. Total score. What more could we ask for?

 

Fortunately, this was not the only time that we’ll be able to adventure into the Berkshires and search for these beetles. Sean and I are going to be able to survey about once a week and we will make sure to keep you posted on any exciting finds we have in the future. Can’t wait to feel the wind in my hair, with my net in my hand, while monitoring for invasive bugs!

 

Resources:

https://massnrc.org/pests/blog/2012/06/wasp-watchers-wanted-2.html

 

Editor's note:

The remarkable effectiveness of wasp monitoring was underscored by the recent discovery of emerald ash borer in Connecticut by state wasp monitoring efforts. To learn more, visit this press release: https://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?Q=508244&A=4173

 

In the next of our series of blogs from the Don't Move Firewood summer interns, Natalie marauds around the gorgeous gardens at Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls as Esmeralda the Emerald Ash Borer.

 

Deerfield River Festival – EAB Invasion of the Bridge of Flowers

by Natalie Garcia

 

What’s 5’3”, has 2 antennae, is metallic green, and loves to run around on the Bridge of Flowers? That’s what a lot of people were trying to figure out in Shelburne Falls a couple of weeks ago when we were on our way to Deerfield River Festival. Well the answer is ME! I suited up, not as Natalie Garcia, but as Esmeralda the Emerald Ash Borer—a sassy borer with a big agenda–because what EAB doesn’t have a big agenda?

 

 

If you haven’t heard, these borers are bad news. They’ve been described by the USDA Forest Service as the “most destructive forest insect introduced into North America in recent history” having infested trees in 16 states as well as parts of Canada. In Michigan alone the EAB has killed more than 30 million ash trees. Pretty darn impressive for a bug that’s smaller than a penny!

So back to the point of this post, the Bridge of Flowers visitors were having a lot of fun speculating on what I was. Many people appeared to be alarmed by my presence, which they should be because I was there to stir up some trouble, but they listened to Sean and me tell them about invasive insects and the threats they pose.

 

After this escapade, it was finally time to go to Deerfield Fest. It turned out to be a friendly festival, filled with lots of whitewater lovers that luckily for us, also loved the idea of not moving firewood. It was also a great time for Sean and me to show off our sick Frisbee skills to everyone, needless to say we killed it… but not really.

 

Until next time, if you’re enjoying a nice walk through the forest, the Bridge of Flowers, or your favorite outdoor spot, keep your eyes out for signs of the not-so-big real emerald ash borer.

 

Resources:

https://na.fs.fed.us/pubs/eab/eab_strategy.pdf

https://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/pest_al/eab/eab04.htm

https://www.emeraldashborer.info/michiganinfo.cfm

Are you spreading the word about invasive insects at events this summer or fall? You should consider borrowing our fantastic insect costumes!

 

What? As part of our international outreach program, Don’t Move Firewood, we offer a selection of three different forest pest related costumes for use at any well attended appropriate educational opportunity.

 

Where? Our emerald ash borer, Asian longhorned beetle, and “piece of firewood” costumes show up in some amazing places: “green” expos in Colorado, campfire chats in New Hampshire, parades in Ontario Canada, and public meetings in Ohio. Our emerald ash borer costume is especially popular at Minor League Baseball games—and we are proud to say that the EAB is already booked for the Little League World Championship this fall in Pennsylvania—a fun first for our costume share program.

 

Why? We run the costume share program because it is cost efficient, educational, and it builds partnerships. As Don’t Move Firewood expands as a campaign, we are constantly seeking to make long term connections other groups that are motivated to educate the public on the issue of forest pest movement on firewood.

 

How? Any non-profit entity can simply book one of our cool costumes by emailing our team (info@dontmovefirewood.org) with the type of event, dates needed, and contact information. From there, the team at Don’t Move Firewood takes care of all the logistics. The only cost to the costume borrower is one-way insured shipping. And in return, we merely ask for photos of the costume in use.

 

So spread the word! Become our friend on Facebook to see lots of funny pictures of our costumes in action, and if you have an event that could benefit from an eye catching four foot high firewood costume, a bright green funny emerald ash borer costume, or a (roughly) scientifically accurate Asian longhorned beetle costume, send us an email.

In the second of our series of blogs from the Don't Move Firewood summer interns, Sean ponders the meaning of yoga, donuts, purple traps, and the lack of open coffee shops at 6:30am.

 

Wanderlust: Slackasana and Purple Trap Roadtrips
by Sean Mahoney

 

This past weekend did involve a road trip to the great north woods, but nothing of the Jack Kerouac or Easy Rider sort of interactions took place. Instead the day started as most road days start for our outreach crew.

 

6am: On the road with no breakfast to be found in the sleepy towns along Route 7, but the chance to enjoy all the beauty of Vermont is all I need at this moment.

 

6:30am: Ok. All of that wishy-washy poetics about the open road and the beauty of Vermont is out the window. I’m so hungry, and why is there no food on the only highway to Vermont from western Massachusetts for 30 miles?

 

Purple Trap…

 

7am: Off in the distance a glimmer of hope emerges in the soft morning mist rising off the lake. Could it be? Yes! The sweet savory deliciousness of Donut Man off in the distance. Soon my hunger will be vanquished by a red velvet cake donut accompanied by an orange juice of exceptional temperature and quality.

 

8am: Cross the border to Vermont, the land of Ben and Jerry’s and real maple syrup.

 

Purple Trap…

 

Double Purple Trap…

 

What are these Purple Traps, you might ask? For those of you who are not among the dedicated band of forest entomologists who keep up with the happenings of Don’t Move Firewood on their lunch hour, I have included a picture of one. Perhaps you’ve seen them on your local roads?

The secret of the emerald ash borer monitoring trap is thought to be the purple coloration. Just as I was attracted to Donut Man this morning due to my hunger, an emerald ash borer is probably attracted to the purple coloration.

 

Look at the photograph below and compare it to the color of the trap above. See how the lower abdomen is a glistening purple?

 

 

The idea is the beetles are attracted to that same purple- and hence the purple traps set up in 47 states to map the spread of the EAB outbreak. If you see a purple trap in your neighborhood, you can post a picture of it on https://www.facebook.com/hungrypests.

 

Wait, where was I? Wanderlust… oh right Wanderlust.

 

Imagine this:

•  
• A ski hill with no snow
• Beautiful views of the Green Mountains
• Peace and relaxation with yoga classes running all day for an entire weekend
• Slackasana (yoga on a slackline)
• Acro Yoga (aka holding 120 to 200 plus pounds of yogi above your head while you both simultaneously move together)
• A dome of Gongs that seemed to bring rain and thunder at the same point in the afternoon every day
• A human sized emerald ash borer spreading the word about looking out for signs of invasive insects and not moving firewood
• Some of the kindest free spirits who want to do all that they can to keep mother earth healthy including not moving firewood when they are not doing yoga

 

Natalie and I summed up the experience like this:

 

Namaste

 

-Sean

Don’t Move Firewood Outreach Interns, Natalie and Sean are back in action!  They are travelling New York and New England – camped out at festivals and fairs – educating the public about how to keep America’s forests safe from invasive insects. Here’s the first chapter in their summer adventure!

 

Clearwater: Great Hudson River Revival – Overcoming the Outreach Hangover
by Natalie Garcia

 

Outreach is hard. Continuously relaying information and travelling long hours adds some wear and tear onto a summer. Needless to say, even after a year off from the Don’t Move Firewood campaign, Sean and I had a little bit of an outreach hangover – or as Sean described it, an unawareness of just how much work we would be doing and how much greasy, gross festival food we would be eating. Don’t get me wrong I am thrilled to be back, but an outreach hangover is no joke.

 

The first event was Clearwater: Great Hudson River Revival and I was eager to get the ball rolling. Our morning went as follows:

 

5:00am – Alarms goes off… “I’m getting too old for this”

5:30am – Somehow leave the house in one piece without forgetting anything

5:35am – Realize that absolutely nothing in the Berkshires (rural Western Massachusetts) is open at 5:35am

5:36am – post realization that I won’t be having any coffee – complain to Sean for the next 2 hours that I can’t believe that nothing is open*

 

As you can see, this was just the beginning of my now very large outreach hangover, but once I finally had some food and coffee I was determined to get over this hurdle. And Clearwater did not disappoint.

 

 

Over the two day event we were able to talk to more than 2,000 people about invasive pests, specifically the emerald ash borer (EAB) and the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), and how carrying firewood with you when go camping or for any other reason can risk the health of forests and trees everywhere. Many of the festival attendees were aware of the issues, having heard us at events last year or from billboards and other PSAs. But there were many folks that we were able to talk to that hadn’t heard our message before, which is always fun, refreshing, and very exciting.

 

In addition to informing the people of Clearwater about invasive pests, I was able to hear a fantastic live swing band called Swingology, talk to some very cool and passionate individuals, and was not so disappointed by the fact that there was a great Indian food tent—not as greasy and gross as I thought!

 

So what’s the cure to an outreach hangover, you may ask? Other than having great co-workers to push you through it, enjoying the day, the people, and the events that we go to is a big part of effectively conveying an important message. Enduring Saturday’s rough morning was well worth the reward.

 

*  Yes I’ve been spoiled by the Bronx; there are 24 hour establishments there.