Last week, the U.S. Forest Service, Alaska Region posted a news release on this season’s defoliation events (URI below).
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r10/news-events/?cid=STELPRDB5433150
Rediscovered at last: a new enigmatic genus of Axymyiidae (Diptera) from western North America
Published June 26 in the journal Zootaxa, an unusual and undescribed genus and species of Axymyiidae known from a single specimen collected more than 50 years ago in Alaska is rediscovered in Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington.
Redoubt Reporter: Red alert, seeing yellow — Summer abuzz with stinging bugs
ADN: Invasive sawfly moves into Southeast Alaska
The article focuses on the green alder sawfly (Monsoma pulveratum) in southeast Alaska.
http://www.adn.com/2013/08/12/3020348/invasive-sawfly-identified-in.html
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.
Kodiak Dialy Mirror: Cyclical insect infestation returns to Kodiak’s south side
I cannot read the article due to the website’s subscription requirement, but for those who have a subscription, I think the URI below should work.
ADN: Surprising answers to questions about Alaska bugs
Notable in this Anchorage Daily News article is the mention of unusually high numbers of grasshoppers in the Anchorage area.
http://www.adn.com/2013/07/24/2989735/omalley-surprising-answers-to.html
Defoliation event on Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge
Bill Pyle, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist at Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, sent photos and specimens from a large defoliation event on deciduous trees and shrubs on western Kodiak Island.
Defoliated hillside, Uyak Bay, Harvester Island vicinity, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Photo taken on 6.July.2013 by Stacy Studebaker (USFWS).
Geometrid caterpillar, Uyak Bay, Harvester Island vicinity, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Photo taken on July 9, 2013 by Stacy Studebaker (USFWS).
Defoliated hill side, Uyak Bay, Harvester Island vicinity, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Photo taken on July 8, 2013 by Stacy Studebaker (USFWS).
He wrote, “this event apparently encompasses tens of thousands of acres of mixed deciduous forest and woodland of north and east aspect mountain slopes between sea level and treeline limit (~1,800′ elevation span) of western Kodiak Island. Primary tree species affected include Sitka alder, Kenai birch, and black cottonwood.
[The photos] generally characterize the visual aspect of the infestation adjacent to south shore of mid Zachar Bay. Similarly extensive infestations have been observed on north and east slopes of other bays and headlands of western Kodiak Island.”
A few records for specimens collected are available at the URI below.
KCAW: Invasive alert! Alder-eating sawfly discovered in Sitka
Robert Woolsey of Sitka’s KCAW reported on green alder sawfly in the area. The report is available at the URI below.
http://www.kcaw.org/2013/07/12/invasive-alert-alder-eating-sawfly-discovered-in-sitka/
New Alaskan Mecopteran species
Derek Sikes and Jill Stockbridge (UAM) described a new species of Mecopteran in the journal ZooKeys.