Refuge Notebook: Black widows take terminal trips to Alaska

The article, as part of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge‘s weekly Refuge Notebook series, appeared in the Peninsula Clarion and the Refuge’s website.

Peninsula Clarion version
http://peninsulaclarion.com/outdoors/2013-10-24/refuge-notebook-black-widows-take-terminal-trips-to-alaska

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge version
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Kenai/community/2013_article/10252013.html

DSCN3534_KNWR-Ento-8993

Black widow (Latrodectus sp.) specimen KNWR:Ento:8993 in the collection of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

It appears that black widows travel to Alaska quite frequently.

In addition to the Alaska black widow records mentioned in the article, Joey Slowik wrote me that several people brought him black widows obtained from the Fairbanks area while he lived there, which I think would have been in the 2000s.

Today, Bruce King, retired fisheries biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, wrote to me that he has an adult black widow specimen found in grapes from the Soldotna Fred Meyer last November.

Related media reports
Juneau Empire, August 12, 2002: Black widow spider hitches a ride to Juneau
Peninsula Clarion, May 3, 2005: Lawn chair spins scary tale
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, April 19, 2013: Alaska girl finds wandering spider in banana bunch

Specimen records
Anchorage, November 16, 2008 (UAM:Ento:94908)
Kenai, September 27, 2013 (KNWR:Ento:8993)

Northernmost occurrence of bark beetles and their hosts in the Nearctic

The article appeared in the fall 2013 issue of the American Entomologist.  The Entomological Society of America graciously granted us permission to post a copy of the article on our website, available at the URI below.

http://akentsoc.org/doc/Furniss_MM_2013.pdf

Citation:
Furniss, M. M. 2013. Northernmost occurrence of bark beetles and their hosts in the Nearctic. Am. Entomol. 59: 144–149.

Big year for yellow jackets on the Kenai Peninsula

Anecdotal information points to an especially large population of  yellow jackets on the western Kenai Peninsula this summer.  I have been receiving calls and reports about yellow jackets, workers and nests seem to be everywhere, children are being stung on the nature trails around the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge visitor center, and Soldotna Trustworthy Hardware is out of wasp spray.

Kasilof resident Matt Bowser removing a nest of Vespula alascensis using a shop vac and shovel, 6.August.2013.