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

Abstract

The beetle-hunting habits of ground nesting wasps in the genus Cerceris Latreille have been recently exploited as a survey technique for exotic and native Buprestidae, particularly Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (the emerald ash-borer). While such methods have been developed for the wide-ranging eastern Cerceris fumipennis Say, the survey potential of western buprestid-hunting Cerceris spp. has not been explored. Cerceris californica Cresson is the most well-studied of the western buprestid feeders, and the only one known to occur in Washington state. Here we report the results of surveys conducted in Washington in 2012-2013 for C. californica colonies, and numbers of buprestid beetles collected from monitored colonies. Eight C. californica colonies were found through visual search of 228 baseball fields and sandy clearings, but only four were large enough to monitor. Fifty-four beetles were recovered from the four colonies, comprising five native species. Four of these are new prey records for C. californica, and one (Chrysobothris quadriimpressa Gory & Laporte) is newly recorded from Washington. Cerceris californica colonies do not appear to be large or common enough in Washington to be a significant exotic buprestid survey strategy. However, even the limited monitoring resulted in more buprestid captures than nearby purple sticky traps, and monitoring C. californica nests may be a locally useful supplement for general buprestid surveys.

Colony distribution and prey diversity of Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) in British Columbia

“…Chrysobothris leechi was not only the most common intact beetle collected, but on average it was the largest species at 10.5 mm. In comparison, Phaenops intrusa comprised over 70% of the prey taken by Cerceris californica Cresson in southcentral Washington (Looney et al 2014). In New York State, C. fumipennis captured prey ranging in size from 4.1 to 18.9 mm (Hellman and Fierke 2014); the latter is 57% larger than the C. leechi found at the Merritt colony.…”

“…The annual number of degree days above 5 °C in Lillooet is 2387.8 compared to 1702.4 in Beatrice, ON, which is the weather station closest to Parry Sound . As colonies can occur at (Looney et al 2014) or C. fumipennis in eastern North America (Nalepa et al 2012;Careless et al 2014), none of the BC colonies were discovered in baseball fields. Most baseball fields in southwestern BC are comprised of red shale containing many rock fragments which is likely a poor nesting substrate for C. fumipennis (Fig.…”

“…Agrilus granulatus populi) are new prey records for this wasp. Agrilus granulatus populi and P. intrusa are also prey of C. californica in Washington state (Looney et al 2014). Based on the list of prey species it is almost certain that female C. fumipennis forage on shrubs, conifers, deciduous trees and possibly flowers in BC (Table 5).…”

Comparison of Buprestidae collected by Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) with those collected by purple prism traps

“…Similar conclusions were reached by Looney et al . (), who compared Buprestidae captured by PPTs with those captured by Cerceris californica Cresson in Washington state.…”

The Stages of Invasion

“…However, Ryall ( 2015 ) noted that the wasp's relatively short fl ight season may limit its use. Parallels have been assessed in western North America: Cerceris californica in Washington state was considered only marginally suitable as a reliable monitoring device, because colonies are generally not large or common (Looney et al 2014 ), but may have value in more general buprestid surveys.…”