Excerpt: To the uninitiated reader, searching for adult insects in mid-winter might seem a fruitless task at best. Yet as the List of Michigan Insects and Related Arthropods takes shape, L\u27off-season  collecting records are urgently needed by the compilers. Many species of insects thrive when we might wish to stay indoors; the Collembola are good examples, as are the species of Chionea (Diptera: Tipulidae), a genus of wingless crane-flies. We should like to know much more about the distribution of many hardy winter insects, and only increased collecting will enable this

Wilkinson, Ronald S

English

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 1 
Number 4 -- April 1967 Number 4 -- April 1967 Article 7 
April 1967 
January Collecting in Central Michigan 
Ronald S. Wilkinson 
Michigan State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Wilkinson, Ronald S. 1967. "January Collecting in Central Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 1 
(4) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/7 
This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
1967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 135 
JANUARY COLLECTING IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN 
Ronald S. Wilkinson 
The L i b r a r y ,  Michigan State  Univers i ty  
E a s t  Lans ing ,  Michigan 48823 
To the uninitiated r e a d e r ,  s e a r c h i n g  f o r  adul t  i n s e c t s  in  mid-winter  
might  s e e m  a f r u i t l e s s  t a s k  a t  bes t .  Yet  a s  the L i s t  of Michigan Insects 
and R e l a t e d  AYthvoPods t a k e s  s h a p e ,  L'off-season" col lect ing r e c o r d s  
a r e  u rgen t ly  needed by the  c o m p i l e r s .  Many s p e c i e s  of i n s e c t s  t h r i v e  
when we might  wish to s t a y  indoors ;  the Col lembola  a r e  good e x a m p l e s ,  
a s  a r e  the  s p e c i e s  of Chionea (Diptera:  T ipu l idae) ,  a genus  of wingless  
c r a n e - f l i e s .  We should l ike  to know much  m o r e  about the  d i s t r ibu t ion  
of many  hardy  winter  i n s e c t s ,  and only i n c r e a s e d  col lect ing will enable 
th i s .  
Win te r  thaws have been  tu rned  to good u s e  by s e v e r a l  Michigan ento-  
mologis t s .  An in te res t ing  P a p e r  by Newman (1945) shows  what lepidop- 
t e r i s t s  c a n  do. 'Sugaring' t r e e s  and col lect ing a t  'b lackl ight '  a r e  useful  
m e a s u r e s  when win te r  t e m p e r a t u r e s  r i s e ;  a r e c e n t  example  will  i l lus -  
t r a t e  the  product ivi ty  of t h e s e  methods.  
Abnormally high t e m p e r a t u r e s  dur ing  the  four th  week of J a n u a r y ,  1967,  
c a u s e d  a m a r k e d  i n c r e a s e  i n  i n s e c t  activity. On t h e  23rd  the t h e r m o m e t e r  
s o a r e d  to 58O F. i n  E a s t  Lans ing ,  and two lep idopte r i s t s ,  J u l i a n  P. Dona- 
hue and the  au thor ,  decided to t r y  the  r e s u l t s  of l ight  and s u g a r .  By 
evening the  m e r c u r y  had dropped to 48O, but  Noctuidae (Lepidopte ra )  
w e r e  s e e n  in f l ight  a s  we approached  o u r  co l lec t ing  s i t e  n e a r  R o s e  Lake ,  
Sh iawassee  County (T5N, R l E ,  Sec.  20). B a i t  w a s  applied and 12 noc-  
tuids  w e r e  taken. T h e s e  proved  to b e  E u p s i l i a  m o r r i s o n i  (Gro te ) ,  1 9 ,  
and Eupsilia vinulenta (Gro te ) ,  6 d d  and 599. The  BLB tube was  not a s  
p roduc t ive ,  a s  i t  a t t r a c t e d  only two noc tu ids ,  a d P y v e f e v v a  hespevidago 
( ~ u e n g e )  and a ?E. v imlen ta .  Except  f o r  two Micro lep idopte ra ,  n e i t h e r  
of which w e r e  c a p t u r e d ,  no o t h e r  i n s e c t s  of any o r d e r  w e r e  observed .  
Activity dropped s h a r p l y  about an h o u r  and a half a f t e r  nightfal l ,  and 
when the  t e m p e r a t u r e  r e a c h e d  40' we c e a s e d  o u r  e f for t s .  S e v e r a l  noc-  
tu ids  w e r e  s e e n  on the  wing a s  we le f t  the  a r e a .  
On 24  January  the  t e m p e r a t u r e  i n c r e a s e d  s tead i ly  d u r i n g t h e  day ,  and 
had r e a c h e d  the middle f i f t i es  a t  dusk ,  when we applied o u r  ba i t  a t  the 
s a m e  local i ty .  Noctuidae w e r e  found to b e  m o r e  n u m e r o u s  than on the  
prev ious  night. Spec ies  t aken  a t  ba i t  were:  Eupsilia s i d u s  ( ~ u e n g e ) ,  
I d ;  Eupsilia t r i s i g n a t a  (Gro te)  , 399 ; Eupsilia vinulenta (Grote)  , 7 d d  and 
799. Eupsilia m o v r i s o n i  was e x t r e m e l y  c o m m o n  a t  ba i t ,  and s e v e r a l  
w e r e  cap tured  on twigs f a r  f r o m  the  s u g a r .  l l d d a n d  14?? w e r e  taken  to 
i n c r e a s e  o u r  s e r i e s ,  and o t h e r s  w e r e  purpose ly  s t a r t l e d  to o b s e r v e  t h e i r  
reac t ion .  Invariably they dropped d i r e c t l y  f r o m  the ba i t  into t h e  dead 
l e a v e s  and l i t t e r  beneath,  w h e r e  t h e i r  c o l o r  h a r m o n i z e d  perfect ly .  T h e s e  
moths  m a d e  no f u r t h e r  a t t empt  to e s c a p e ,  andcould  b e  bot t led e a s i l y  o r  
e v e n  picked up  with the  f ingers .  OnedLi thophane  be thune iGro te  & Robin- 
1
Wilkinson: January Collecting in Central Michigan
Published by ValpoScholar, 1967
136 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 4 
70 - 
65 - 
60 - 
55 - 
50 - 
M A X I M U M  
M I N I M U M  
0 - 
- 5  - 
-10 - 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 
JANUARY 
Dafly temperatures for January 1967, recorded by U.S. Weather Bureau, Lansing. Michigan, 12 d e s  WSW 
of collecting site. 
s o n  was taken on a twig,  an unde te rmined  i m m a t u r e  phalangid was  
found on  a t r e e ,  and two unde te rmined  s p i d e r s  w e r e  taken i n  s i m i l a r  
s i tuat ions.  
L igh t  was a l s o  m o r e  product ive on 24 J a n u a r y ,  although i t  did not  
c o m p a r e  with bait.  A BLB tube was u s e d  again,  and i t  a t t r a c t e d  a d  E.  
vinulenta and a f E .  sidus, a s  well a s  a n  unexpected s u r p r i s e .  About 9:00 
P.M., desp i te  a stiff cool 15-20mph b r e e z e ,  the noctuid Homoglaea hi+- 
Gina M o r r i s o n  began  to f ly ,  and f o u r d d w e r e  c a p t u r e d  a t  l igh t  i n  quick 
success ion .  An unde te rmined  t r i c h o c e r i d  (Diptera)  and an o le threu t id  
(Lepidoptera)  w e r e  a l s o  taken  a t  the B L B  tube. 
Collect ing i n  the  s a m e  loca l i ty ,  Mogens C. Nielsen had s i m i l a r  
s u c c e s s .  His  unsexed Lepidopte ra  included 12E.  movrisoni, 2 E. 
nata and 3 E. vinulenta, a l l  a t  ba i t ;  h e  a l s o  benefi ted f r o m  the  f l ight  o f .  
H. hivcina, taking 6 a t  B L  a f t e r  9:00 P.M. No one took H. hivcina a t  
s u g a r ,  although a l a t e  s u r v e y  o f t h e b a i t e d t r e e s  was made.  The  t e m p e r -  
a t u r e  had r i s e n  s l ight ly and had  p a s s e d  60°when we a l l  ended o u r  e f f o r t s  
a t  10:OO P.M. 
The  r e s u l t s  a r e  a t  l e a s t  indicat ive of w h a t c a n  b e  done if the  c o l l e c t o r  
c a n  o v e r c o m e  the  q u e e r  s e n s a t i o n  of s e a r c h i n g  f o r  moths  on t r e e s  s u r -  
rounded by  dr i f t ed  snow,  o r  waiting a t  a l ight-sheet  while S i r i u s  s h i n e s  
high o v e r  the  foggy f o r e s t  path. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Newman,  John H. 1945. Midwinter  collectingofLepidopterain Michigan. 
E n t o m o l .  News 56: 7-9. 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 4 [1967], Art. 7
ttps://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/7


January Collecting in Central Michigan

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 1 Number 4 -- April 1967 Number 4 -- April 1967 Article 7 April 1967 January Collecting in Central Michigan Ronald S. Wilkinson Michigan State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Wilkinson, Ronald S. 1967. "January Collecting in Central Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 1 (4) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/7 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 135 JANUARY COLLECTING IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN Ronald S. Wilkinson The L i b r a r y ,  Michigan State  Univers i ty  E a s t  Lans ing ,  Michigan 48823 To the uninitiated r e a d e r ,  s e a r c h i n g  f o r  adul t  i n s e c t s  in  mid-winter  might  s e e m  a f r u i t l e s s  t a s k  a t  bes t .  Yet  a s  the L i s t  of Michigan Insects and R e l a t e d  AYthvoPods t a k e s  s h a p e ,  L'off-season" col lect ing r e c o r d s  a r e  u rgen t ly  needed by the  c o m p i l e r s .  Many s p e c i e s  of i n s e c t s  t h r i v e  when we might  wish to s t a y  indoors ;  the Col lembola  a r e  good e x a m p l e s ,  a s  a r e  the  s p e c i e s  of Chionea (Diptera:  T ipu l idae) ,  a genus  of wingless  c r a n e - f l i e s .  We should l ike  to know much  m o r e  about the  d i s t r ibu t ion  of many  hardy  winter  i n s e c t s ,  and only i n c r e a s e d  col lect ing will enable th i s .  Win te r  thaws have been  tu rned  to good u s e  by s e v e r a l  Michigan ento-  mologis t s .  An in te res t ing  P a p e r  by Newman (1945) shows  what lepidop- t e r i s t s  c a n  do. 'Sugaring' t r e e s  and col lect ing a t  'b lackl ight '  a r e  useful  m e a s u r e s  when win te r  t e m p e r a t u r e s  r i s e ;  a r e c e n t  example  will  i l lus -  t r a t e  the  product ivi ty  of t h e s e  methods.  Abnormally high t e m p e r a t u r e s  dur ing  the  four th  week of J a n u a r y ,  1967,  c a u s e d  a m a r k e d  i n c r e a s e  i n  i n s e c t  activity. On t h e  23rd  the t h e r m o m e t e r  s o a r e d  to 58O F. i n  E a s t  Lans ing ,  and two lep idopte r i s t s ,  J u l i a n  P. Dona- hue and the  au thor ,  decided to t r y  the  r e s u l t s  of l ight  and s u g a r .  By evening the  m e r c u r y  had dropped to 48O, but  Noctuidae (Lepidopte ra )  w e r e  s e e n  in f l ight  a s  we approached  o u r  co l lec t ing  s i t e  n e a r  R o s e  Lake ,  Sh iawassee  County (T5N, R l E ,  Sec.  20). B a i t  w a s  applied and 12 noc-  tuids  w e r e  taken. T h e s e  proved  to b e  E u p s i l i a  m o r r i s o n i  (Gro te ) ,  1 9 ,  and Eupsilia vinulenta (Gro te ) ,  6 d d  and 599. The  BLB tube was  not a s  p roduc t ive ,  a s  i t  a t t r a c t e d  only two noc tu ids ,  a d P y v e f e v v a  hespevidago ( ~ u e n g e )  and a ?E. v imlen ta .  Except  f o r  two Micro lep idopte ra ,  n e i t h e r  of which w e r e  c a p t u r e d ,  no o t h e r  i n s e c t s  of any o r d e r  w e r e  observed .  Activity dropped s h a r p l y  about an h o u r  and a half a f t e r  nightfal l ,  and when the  t e m p e r a t u r e  r e a c h e d  40' we c e a s e d  o u r  e f for t s .  S e v e r a l  noc-  tu ids  w e r e  s e e n  on the  wing a s  we le f t  the  a r e a .  On 24  January  the  t e m p e r a t u r e  i n c r e a s e d  s tead i ly  d u r i n g t h e  day ,  and had r e a c h e d  the middle f i f t i es  a t  dusk ,  when we applied o u r  ba i t  a t  the s a m e  local i ty .  Noctuidae w e r e  found to b e  m o r e  n u m e r o u s  than on the  prev ious  night. Spec ies  t aken  a t  ba i t  were:  Eupsilia s i d u s  ( ~ u e n g e ) ,  I d ;  Eupsilia t r i s i g n a t a  (Gro te)  , 399 ; Eupsilia vinulenta (Grote)  , 7 d d  and 799. Eupsilia m o v r i s o n i  was e x t r e m e l y  c o m m o n  a t  ba i t ,  and s e v e r a l  w e r e  cap tured  on twigs f a r  f r o m  the  s u g a r .  l l d d a n d  14?? w e r e  taken  to i n c r e a s e  o u r  s e r i e s ,  and o t h e r s  w e r e  purpose ly  s t a r t l e d  to o b s e r v e  t h e i r  reac t ion .  Invariably they dropped d i r e c t l y  f r o m  the ba i t  into t h e  dead l e a v e s  and l i t t e r  beneath,  w h e r e  t h e i r  c o l o r  h a r m o n i z e d  perfect ly .  T h e s e  moths  m a d e  no f u r t h e r  a t t empt  to e s c a p e ,  andcould  b e  bot t led e a s i l y  o r  e v e n  picked up  with the  f ingers .  OnedLi thophane  be thune iGro te  & Robin- 1Wilkinson: January Collecting in Central MichiganPublished by ValpoScholar, 1967136 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 4 70 - 65 - 60 - 55 - 50 - M A X I M U M  M I N I M U M  0 - - 5  - -10 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 JANUARY Dafly temperatures for January 1967, recorded by U.S. Weather Bureau, Lansing. Michigan, 12 d e s  WSW of collecting site. s o n  was taken on a twig,  an unde te rmined  i m m a t u r e  phalangid was  found on  a t r e e ,  and two unde te rmined  s p i d e r s  w e r e  taken i n  s i m i l a r  s i tuat ions.  L igh t  was a l s o  m o r e  product ive on 24 J a n u a r y ,  although i t  did not  c o m p a r e  with bait.  A BLB tube was u s e d  again,  and i t  a t t r a c t e d  a d  E.  vinulenta and a f E .  sidus, a s  well a s  a n  unexpected s u r p r i s e .  About 9:00 P.M., desp i te  a stiff cool 15-20mph b r e e z e ,  the noctuid Homoglaea hi+- Gina M o r r i s o n  began  to f ly ,  and f o u r d d w e r e  c a p t u r e d  a t  l igh t  i n  quick success ion .  An unde te rmined  t r i c h o c e r i d  (Diptera)  and an o le threu t id  (Lepidoptera)  w e r e  a l s o  taken  a t  the B L B  tube. Collect ing i n  the  s a m e  loca l i ty ,  Mogens C. Nielsen had s i m i l a r  s u c c e s s .  His  unsexed Lepidopte ra  included 12E.  movrisoni, 2 E. nata and 3 E. vinulenta, a l l  a t  ba i t ;  h e  a l s o  benefi ted f r o m  the  f l ight  o f .  H. hivcina, taking 6 a t  B L  a f t e r  9:00 P.M. No one took H. hivcina a t  s u g a r ,  although a l a t e  s u r v e y  o f t h e b a i t e d t r e e s  was made.  The  t e m p e r -  a t u r e  had r i s e n  s l ight ly and had  p a s s e d  60°when we a l l  ended o u r  e f f o r t s  a t  10:OO P.M. The  r e s u l t s  a r e  a t  l e a s t  indicat ive of w h a t c a n  b e  done if the  c o l l e c t o r  c a n  o v e r c o m e  the  q u e e r  s e n s a t i o n  of s e a r c h i n g  f o r  moths  on t r e e s  s u r -  rounded by  dr i f t ed  snow,  o r  waiting a t  a l ight-sheet  while S i r i u s  s h i n e s  high o v e r  the  foggy f o r e s t  path. LITERATURE CITED Newman,  John H. 1945. Midwinter  collectingofLepidopterain Michigan. E n t o m o l .  News 56: 7-9. 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 4 [1967], Art. 7ttps://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/7

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January Collecting in Central Michigan

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