Big year for yellow jackets on the Kenai Peninsula

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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.

Defoliation event on Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

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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.

http://arctos.database.museum/saved/KNWR-2013.07-Pyle-Ento

Three more news stories on mosquitoes

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KTNA: Mosquitos Are Out For Blood
http://ktna.org/2013/06/18/mosquitos-are-out-for-blood/

Redoubt Reporter: Bugging out — Soggy spring brings swarms of mosquitoes
http://redoubtreporter.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/bugging-out-soggy-spring-brings-swarms-of-mosquitoes/

Redoubt Reporter: Science of the Seasons: Summer mosquitoes excel at surviving winter
http://redoubtreporter.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/science-of-the-seasons-summer-mosquitoes-excel-at-surviving-winter/

Three articles on high mosquito numbers in Alaska this season

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Anchorage Daily News: Mosquito invasion in Southcentral Alaska leads to run on supplies
http://www.adn.com/2013/06/17/2943159/mosquito-invasion-in-southcentral.html

Alaska Dispatch: Alaska mosquitoes: Are they really that bad this year?
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130617/alaska-mosquitoes-are-they-really-bad-year

Peninsula Clarion: Buzz off!
http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2013-06-17/buzz-off