BugStock

Zack's Bugstock # 9 report

2010-06-22T10:04:00.003-05:00

My wife joined me for a rather hot 3 days just north of Opelousas for what was my first Bugstock since #s 1 & 2 back in the summer of 2007. I had been to the Barney Farm since then (I think), but not for one of the “big gatherings.” What fun! The number of people who flitted in and out – only able to stay for windows of time ranging from a few hours to a day or so – was dizzying. I believe most were more inclined towards the musical end of Bugstock than the entomological one, but that hardly mattered; everyone was cool and happy to be there.

Aside from having an air-conditioned house in which to sleep, the highlights for me were mainly from field excursions. We arrived late (dinner-ish) on Friday, so my forays consisted of: 1) Two nights of checking on light traps/sheets, of which we rigged 3 on Friday and 4 on Saturday, 2) A drive to the “famous” gas stations at LeCompte, and 3) Three separate trail walks (2 on Sat. and 1 on Sun.). I can’t possibly list everything we saw, so I will include here my personal highlights.

Some of what I observed was just that – observation only. In other cases, I collected insects that I hope to have in a pinned collection one day; I took some insects for other folks (researchers, colleagues); and the living arthropods I brought home were either destined for Audubon Insectarium or my house. I was pleased to keep: 15 ox beetles, 1 triceratops beetle, about 8 medium-sized, brown click beetles, 7 fiery searchers, a few predacious diving beetles and a pair of water scavenger beetles, 6 red-lined carrion beetles, 9 giant water bugs, 4 mole crickets, 15 or so field crickets, 3 black widows, and a nice group of velvet ants. From the lights (dead stock) I brought home cicadas, owlflies, and stink bugs in good numbers.

Good to see purse web spiders still on site! Robber fly and odonate diversity (in addition to spiders) is notably good, and exciting, as always. Luna and promethea moths came to the lights in good numbers, too. So did spotted grapevine beetles. Not sure what the butterfly species count was, but it seemed to be hovering in the 25-30 range from what I recall. We found a clerid beetle that is a fantastic velvet ant mimic. Our velvet ant species count was 4...all collected in a hour’s time! And also on Sunday morning (that’s when we got the mutillids), we saw 2 different species of pompilid wasps walking along with paralyzed prey. The former was hauling a six-spotted fishing spider that was very big by comparison to the wasp herself, and the latter (which itself resembles a paper wasp quite a lot) had an orb weaver. Neat stuff!

I am surely forgetting other things we spotted, but fatigue is wearing in. So, here endeth the report!

- Zack

Saturday June 20th

2009-06-26T08:39:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday night - James, Travis and I ventured up to central Louisiana to check out the scene. On the way up, James and I had fun thinking of people to call that might be able to look online and tell us what the moon phase was going to be. We got up there and introduced ourselves to yet another surprised Chevron employee. Travis arrived a little later in the "silver bullet". Michael didn't join us because he wasn't answering his phone for some reason.

We first went over to a friend's house kinda near the zoo to setup a light in his back yard (James had known him for years). After we setup we went back out to check the parking lots again. For the night we found: one Pelidnota, one female Dynastes and maybe about 15 Strategus. The light rig didn't really bring in much but the evening was fun anyway.

Bugstock #6 Report - May 22nd - 24th, 2009

2009-06-26T08:37:00.005-05:00

Bugstock #6 report: May 22nd - 24th, 2009

Thursday (5/21) after work, Michael, Pete and I stayed out at the Farm until around 10:30. We were mowing, cleaning the porch and organizing the first floor of the cabin. We stacked the lumber into a stage for sleeping and playing music.

On Friday I arrived at the Farm around 2:00. The weather forecast for the whole weekend was bad, which discouraged a few folks, but we were determined to have a good time even if it rained. Michael and I brought equipment so that we could all watch ento. videos all weekend if we had to. I did more mowing and shoveled some of the new gravel into spots that needed it. It started raining so Michael, Travis and I sat on the porch with the Stricklands for a while until it stopped.

After the rain I needed to walk to the middle of the pasture so that I could get a cell signal. On my way out I met Linda and Shane coming in. Not long after that I met Allyn, Victoria and Christopher on their way in. A bit later David, and Jeanne then Pete and Tanya all arrived. The Rodriguez family decided to try out a night in the new cabin, so we set them up on the second floor. As it got dark we started a fire and David grilled up some hotdogs. A few of us took trips around the pond to see what we could find and Michael led a “no lights” hike down the Wagon Rut trail.

Early Saturday morning I was woken by the sound of a car horn and crazy, loud music. Travis had arrived with about 8 dozen donuts. Another surprise was that a tent had sprouted up over night. We discovered a bit later that the tent belonged to Billy and Clay. Linda and Shane spent the morning catching Zebra Swallowtails. Michael, Aidan and Alden then James and Eric drove up.

A large group of us hiked down Wagon Rut and over the new bridge and up to Michael’s hill. The group split up into three parts and somewhere in the split the little dog Daisy decided to do some exploring of her own. After everyone but Daisy made it back to the cabin, a search part was dispatched to look for her. She was found happily hiking on her own.

During the afternoon there was no rain to speak of but we had a flood of people: Christian, Faren, Anik, Dr. Ray, Uncle Bill, Andrew, Jeremy, Jared, Juan, Stephanie, Katherine, Mitch, Jen, Renee, Greg, Caroline, Heather, Susan, David, Ingrid, Nicki and Emma. Nicki set about cooking red beans and rice over the fire while Andrew and Heather gave a rare dual-flint-knapping demo –not often seen in the wild. Linda broke out some of her now famous brownies. After a while we were all treated to Nicki’s wonderful dinner then Linda and I setup our light rigs. Michael and James unveiled their secret weapons: a new type of blacklight bulb. The kids had fun playing on Emma’s “sand dune”.

The activity at the lights was pretty good, like: luna moths, giant water bugs, a bess beetle and a Phileurus valgus. After dinner we had a nice jam in the cabin and would periodically step out to check the lights.

Sunday was pretty relaxed, as usual. A few groups went on hikes and the rain that we had all been worried about visited only briefly that afternoon. Lind spotted a Black Swallowtail laying eggs on a native parsley plant. The groups slowly dispersed until it was down to Michael and I. The two of us took one last hike down the perimeter trail to look for phasmids and to look for a tree that Travis had mentioned seeing.

It was another fun weekend and the rain didn’t bother us very much at all. We also had a Bugstock First: our first engagement during Bugstock! Congratulations David and Jeanne!

Bugstock #5 Report - Oct 24th - 26th, 2008

2009-01-01T11:48:00.003-06:00

Hurricane Gustav - September 1, 2008

2009-01-01T11:47:00.001-06:00

Bugstock #4 Report - Aug 8th - 10th, 2008

2009-01-01T11:39:00.005-06:00

I took Friday off to prepare things for Bugstock 4. We started driving up at about 11am and all was fine until we were just south of Opelousas where we were confronted by a wall of water in the form of rain. We got to the farm in the down pour and almost didn't make it up the hill in the pasture where we started to slide backwards. We made it to the cabin and unloaded what we could and began straightening up the cabin and hoping the rain would stop. I had a new idea for the sleeping area that involved partitioning off areas of the room into separate sleeping quarters by hanging sheets on bamboo poles.

After a while the rain stopped. Nicki walked down to the front gate to try to shovel gravel into the drive so people wouldn't get stuck while Emma and I mowed. We got quite a bit done but the belt came off of the mower and we were forced to change chores (for some reason, just driving over the tall grass does not have the same effect as when the blades are spinning). Emma got a trip in the wheel-barrow down to the front gate to meet Nicki. I hung the Bugstock sign on the fence post. It was good to see Gayle and Jeanell drive up while we were down there. We stayed for a bit longer then abandoned out lithic-relocation program and headed back to the cabin. I put the walking planks out so everyone could stay out of the mud. Linda setup her rig and we had a small jam around 1:00 A.M.

Sat: Aug 9th: Got up early and checked the Lost Tooth trail then put sign up for Magnolia Mound trail. Mike helped me put the belt back on the mower so I could fix up the camping area and some of the trails. Mike and Logan’s was setup near there and featured electricity, an air conditioner and a microwave. Andrew knapped flint for a bit in the afternoon while a few groups went on hikes. In the evening Linda got her rig warmed up and James and I tried to break the record for largest light rig ever (see photos in gallery). We had a big jam around 7:30 with banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bagpipes, bodhran and guitar. Michael cooked some boudin over the fire. The Luna moths came out later in the evening and some were sill waiting for us the next morning.

Sun: Another lazy Bugstock Sunday morning. We started slowly cleaning up and went on hikes. Linda’s group came back with the first Phanaeus ever found on the Farm. Billy came back with a speckled King Snake. After sifting through the nights catch Linda broke down the light rig and Lep tent. Folks started grudgingly heading back to civilization. Another fun Bugstock weekend!

Insectarium Grand Opening Gala - June 3rd

2008-09-22T13:39:00.004-05:00

Dave's Bugstock #3 Report

2008-09-22T13:38:00.008-05:00

      In case you’re up for the long version: as soon as I got even the most preliminary word about the show, I started compiling notes about everything I knew in the insect scene in this country. I had grand ideas of a tour through several states in different regions. A lot of those notes centered in Louisiana, and the three items that most interested the TV decision-makers were: Bugstock, the Audubon Insectarium, and Fluker Farms. Zack had first told me about Bugstock and maybe even sent me the link, or maybe I’d learned about it through reading Bugguide, or even somewhere else like Insectnet; doesn’t matter. What matters is that I really wanted to go.
      We’d pulled into a hotel about 20 miles away just after sunset on Thursday. The next day was the official start of Bugstock, but I was eager to have a look as soon as I could. One phone call later and I was on my way, though I got lost soon after leaving the highway. I called Steven, who with typical graciousness came out to get me. Travis was there as well, and we met at the local gas station before proceeding through ever-more-modest roads, leading to the grassy hills above the pond and the lights, where I met Shane, Linda, Dorothea and a bunch of others.
      The first other thing I remember was Michael throwing bits of bread or crackers into the pond. I asked him what he was feeding: “Gambusia,” he said, and I knew that that meant Killifish and that there might not be so many mosquitoes around, which sounded pretty good. The lights were doing well: beetles mostly, some big moths, and a whole lot of random insect life. There were also a few bins full of empty plastic containers that were filling up, as Linda’s collection of future kids’ insect specimen boxes came into being. Cha ching!!
      I realized pretty quickly that filming the next night, with bright, mobile lights necessary for the cameras, would be problematic for the crew but kind of amusing for me… after all, they’d had a few laughs at my expense about my insect diet, which had kept me from enjoying the local cuisine.
      I stayed until tiredness took over then managed to get back to the hotel. I returned with the crew in morning’s light, and was able to appreciate that wonderful place: a circular pond framed by virgin-looking forest; a house skeleton reigning over; and a scattering of amenities – sculpture, food pit, music, coolers. The day was warm but not hot. I caught a gorgeous water snake, snared tiger beetle larvae, hung out with Emma, talked with a lot of people, and generally had a fantastic time.
      BS3 was one of the highlights of last summer, during a trip that was full of highlights. You all were wonderful hosts, and there is something about that pond and the circle of land around it that was perfect for the festivities. There is such a particular energy about your place, and the way it sits in Nature, that even now [it feels as though it’s been three years since I was there, but it’s been about four months] I get a little warm thinking about it. I’d never seen an Imperial moth alive before nor had I ever seen such a blizzard of insects coming into a light – and yeah, I know that what had come might not have been nearly as good as some of the other nights you folks have been out after the bugs, but you don’t need to rub that in. I also enjoyed the beetle grub hunt; though it didn’t yield a lot of booty, it let me see a bit more of your landscape.
      But as great as all that was, the part I’ll probably remember until I die were those frogs. Some of them acted as though they liked us, or at least didn’t fear us at all. I figure that it was the rainstorm that triggered them to come down in such numbers, but that doesn’t quite explain their friendliness. It’s not just that I think tree frogs are cool because I hardly ever see them. It’s a lot ore than that. They were willing to hang out with us, as though they’d picked up the spirit of Bugstock themselves, it was magic. I’d imagine that some who read this wouldn’t think it’s such a big deal, the way that I do, but that’s because you have that wealth and diversity of life, a kind of environmental generosity around you, that’s just not here in Providence, where it’s already getting cold out.
      Then there was the mealtime, at which my own edible bugs were a somewhat bigger hit than I’d expected they’d be; that was very cool. My main regret is that I left with the crew, pretty early in the evening, so I missed just about all of the music. But I was dog tired by then. I would absolutely love to come back and do it all again… the right way.

David Gracer
www.slshrimp.com

Bugstock #3 Report - May 30th - June 1st, 2008

2008-09-22T13:37:00.006-05:00

May 30th - June 1st

      The last weekend in May was another great weekend at the farm. This was the third Bugstock and the first one of 2008. We left the house at around 11 on Friday and drove north. When we rounded the corner after the bridge we came across the Stricklands collecting by roadside. We said hello and continued on to the farm. The cabin now had electricity, AC units and a working toilet, which were all wondrous things compared to Bugstock last year. The rest of the day was spent mowing grass and getting things ready around the cabin. Most of the core group showed up and a few groups went out on hikes before dark.
      That night we had three light rigs burning. Collecting was enjoyable and Dave came out for a while to meet us. There were tons of frogs calling and Shane was able to snag a huge bull frog (which we kept in a tub for everyone to see, then released). A few groups went on night hikes and James searched for snakes around the pond. We walked around and visited far into the night until we were no longer able to move (probably around 2 AM). Four of us slept in the cabin that night.
      I woke up early and got the tables ready for breakfast. Nicki and Emma drove up with some goodies and Travis brought donuts. After we ate and visited for a while I mowed more of the camping area and a few other spots on the other side of the pond.
      Although the Magnolia Mound trail was not 100% complete we were happy to unveil the new section of the Lost Tooth trail which makes it much easier to get from the cabin to the RRRS Pecan Bridge.
      Saturday was a busy day. We had a lot of new folks that had never been to Bugstock before, like: Eric, Jayme, Andrew, Billy and Brian from New Orleans / Thibodaux area. Dave and crew set a new record for distance traveled to attend Bugstock. They came down from New York and Rhode Island to film for an upcoming TV show for Animal Planet (more info after the release).
      Most of the day was spent hiking. Michael collected the first Euphoria fulgida we had ever seen at the farm. The weather had been wonderful but it did rain for a bit that afternoon.
      We had two light rigs going that night: Linda's was near the pond and I set mine up in the field to try to attract stink bugs for Dave. Paul (of: "La Haye's All The Way Cajun Seasoning"!) cooked wonderful gumbo for everyone over an open fire. The food didn't last long as we had all worked up an appetite walking around all day.
      There was a smaller pot made for Dave to add insects to (he was on a strict, insect-protein-only diet). Dave also brought other things for us to taste including crickets and leaf-cutter ants.
      I had some friends from work show up (Josh, Sam and Kellie's group) as did Michael (Faren, Anik, Paul and Pete). We spent the rest of the evening checking the lights. Shane found the first Dynastes (a male) ever spotted at the farm at the lights that night. Travis and Michael took a trip up to the beetle hunting area 30 minutes north of Bugstock but didn’t find very much (still too early in the year). We also had a very late jam session on the porch. It included two guitars, a banjo, bodhran, darbuka and a plastic bucket. When Michael and Travis got back Michael broke out the bagpipes and joined the jam.
      On Sunday we had more hiking excursions. Andrew gave a nice presentation on flint knapping and the use of the atlatl which everyone loved. We also started to clean things up around the cabin. Slowly the party broke up as the groups started heading back to their homes and another successful Bugstock came to a close.

Steven

Bugstock 3 Gallery Posted

2008-06-28T13:41:00.002-05:00

You can now view many of the photos from Bugstock #3 here:
www.bugstock.com/main-gallery.htm

Check back because there are more photos and the full report on the way!

THE NEW ORLEANS AREA REPORT:

2008-04-21T13:47:00.002-05:00

February saw the usual spike in crane flies (and the not so big but still lovely "spike" in red admirals). This was followed, by the third weekend in March, with what was, for me, the first sightings this calendar year of several of the more noticeable butterfly species (cloudless sulphur, giant swallowtail, others I already have forgotten). And now...the buck moth caterpillars are upon us, and in some areas they are difficult to avoid; unfortunately, one such place is the zoo!

I got to observe some of another common early spring caterpillar, those of the white-marked tussock moth. I like those a lot. And the big "wow" for me thus far in our still-young '08 bug season came Sunday morning. I saw a caterpillar hanging by silk from a river birch and went over to it. It appears to be the larva of the curve-lined owlet, Phyprosopus callitrichoides. Quite spectacular, and already pupated. (Too bad, the larva is much neater than the adult.)

An Insectarium foray in March to the Pearl River WMA yielded a single small species of velvet ant. This was a pleasant surprise for me. In addition to that individual, I have one of similar size collected last summer in Broussard near the home of one James Beck, and I have a pair of Dasymutilla occidentalis from LA and a pair of D. magnifica from AZ, also from last Aug./Sept.

My adult milkweed leaf beetles, about 75 total, spent about 3-4 months eating and laying not one egg. Then something turned on the proverbial faucet, and things are going great guns.

Finally, Audubon Insectarium staff is heading to Houma and Des Allemends this Fri./Sat. for a collecting trip (along with a presentation during Sat. morning and early afternoon). Hoping for all manner of aquatics plus velvet ants (if they are out) and fiery searchers. The stuff in the lab is doing well. There is a lot there, including a bunch of Malaysian beetles that just arrived. These are cool, to be sure, but getting out in the field right here in Louisiana is also great!

- Zack

Photos from James

2007-12-19T22:57:00.002-06:00

Bugstock article

2007-11-03T17:14:00.000-05:00

Bugstock article posted in Times of Acadiana:
http://www.louisianabugs.com/news

Pleasing fungus beetle - 8/3/07

2007-08-05T15:41:00.000-05:00

Add another species to the Bugstock list: Megalodacne heros: "Pleasing fungus beetle":

I found this while Travis and I were searching the bottom area near the front pasture in the dark; looking for dung to feed my beetles. I spotted the end of it poking out from under a bracket fungi. We also drove up to Big L but did not find very much. We did find a Phileurus truncatus as we were leaving.
Steven

Bugstock summary

2007-07-09T13:48:00.000-05:00

Bugstock summary

All those who attended Bugstock, 2007 owe a huge thanks to our host, Steven Barney, his entire family, and Travis Huval! After a lot of work on a house whose construction is still underway and an equal amount of work on trail-making, these folks got “The Farm” in Washington, LA ready for this first time event.

The idea - originally Steven’s - was to gather people from Louisiana with an interest in insects and other arthropods for a couple of days and nights during which time we could socialize and observe and collect critters. The 130 acres we had access to presented a terrific mix of hardwood forest, open fields, and aquatic habitats (and one cannot discount the house itself, for under what other structure would we have found ant lions?).

Some attendees (totaling around 20) arrived on Friday and had to leave on Saturday, some came Saturday and left on Sunday, and still others made a 3-day weekend out of it. Both the house on the Barney property and in-town lodging were used, but sleeping was a minor concern, really... we were after bugs!

Both day and night collecting were very productive, and regardless of any given person’s area of interest, I think it’s safe to say everyone was pretty pleased with what was found. In terms of overall diversity, here is a sampling of what we found: 36 spider species, 48 beetle species, 22 butterfly species, 11 odonate species, 24 fly and mosquito species, 24 hymenopterans, and 15 species of true bugs. This is certainly only a fraction of what is out there; neither was this an attempt to catalogue every arthropod nor did our group have the expertise to do so. Even with this in mind let me reiterate, as one who has poked around plenty for bugs in Louisiana, that this was a good couple of days!

Numerically, there were some insects that were collected in good numbers on account of varying desires: water scorpions, fiery searchers, carrion beetles, predaceous diving beetles, water scavenger beetles, spotted pelidnota beetles, giant water bugs, and whirligig beetles were among these. There was also a Saturday night trip about 40 miles north that landed us about 80-90 ox beetles (!) as well a trio each of unicorn beetles and stag beetles (a small number of at least 2 of these 3 species were collected at The Farm as well). That was a late night!

Speaking of nights, the three light rigs set up each night were quite productive. In fact, a lot of the aforementioned haul was from beetles, in particular, flying to said lights. We used a combination of UV and mercury vapor lights at each station. This is probably a good time to note that no one tracked all the microleps on our sheets, but we had plenty. There were also an unavoidable number small dung beetles, rice beetles, and (on Saturday) mayflies. We also saw a lot of nice moths, though nothing in extraordinary numbers. We had 5 saturniid species and a few pretty tiger moths and sphinx moths as well. During our relatively brief sleep on Friday and Saturday evenings, the frog and cricket choruses were exceptional in their volume.

Several insects were conspicuous during daylight and depending on where you were hanging out: paper wasps, tiger beetles, male velvet ants, and immature golden silk spiders were some of these. Finally, there were the neat surprises, and here I would have to include: purse web spiders (one established web that we assumed was of an adult female, one wandering adult male who was “introduced” to the web just cited), a live mourning cloak female and a dead one (not sexed), an as-yet unidentified cobweb weaver found under bark, a trio of thread-legged bugs, and several neat flies and wasps.

We were not without neat vertebrate sightings, too. A young cottonmouth made a Saturday appearance. The water snake activity along the edge of the pond was impressive, if for no other reason than they were so numerous in such a small body of water and their lack of shyness allowed for good viewing. Plenty of frogs around the pond, too.

To sum it up, this was a wonderful weekend of relaxed, productive “bugging.” We ate well, listened to a real quality bagpipe player in Michael Barney, and enjoyed great company. The subtropics in summer may be a tad hot, but there is a lot to be found!

SHORT VERSION:

Bugstock, 2007 was a success! Steven Barney and his “crew” did a lot of prep work in order to host about 20 Louisiana entomophiles at “The Farm” during the weekend of June 16th and 17th. The 125-acre tract in Washington, LA has good field, forest, and aquatic habitats, and we took advantage of this by collecting during the day (by hand and with nets) and night (with 3 lights used both Fri. and Sat.).

It would be hard to list all the neat stuff we saw - and there would be plenty of debate about what ought to be on the “neat” list - but the diversity of arthropods was quite good. We ate well and a lot of fun socializing, too. Let’s do it again!

Zack

Prophetic collecting forcast..

2007-06-29T14:56:00.000-05:00

I think Michael saw into the future:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/120650

collecting forcast

2007-06-08T21:05:00.000-05:00

I'm going to make the prediction that any bug collecting done during the upcoming "bugstock" weekend, will be rewarded with unusually large numbers of insects!
=As everyone knows, we've been spending all of our free time trying to get the farm ready for the big event. I was out there last weekend, and I managed to collect about 20 chiggers! Needless to say, I brought all of them home with me, and incubated them. (I KNOW!! 20 CHIGGERS!!!) And that was without even trying!! Imagine what I would have made off with if I had made any sort of attempt!! I'm sure this is a good sign!=

Michael

"Big L" Run - 6/1/07

2007-06-07T12:03:00.001-05:00

Michael, Travis, Emma and I traveled up to "Big L" again last Friday. We had started out just planning on setting up a light at the farm, but... you know how the farm is 1/2 way there.. (we were almost there anyway), plus I have a soft spot for "Big L" that got pushed on by the guys.

We setup at the farm then went for food (of course we couldn't just visit ONE drive through). We were all in the car with the flashlights and containers anyway; so we left from there. We had to gas-up on the way so we stopped by Pseudo-Sammy's. There were so many back-swimmers and other things flying around that there was a fog or cloud around the pumps. We sat at a safe distance for a moment, while I searched for charged batteries for my camera, and watched people attempting to fuel their vehicles: wiggling, swatting and cursing the air. We took some photos of the swarm (will post soon), then drove to real-Sammy's (I wasn't going to get out of the car in the middle of THAT storm). Sammy's was a little less infested.

Once there we hit: Lupé's, Chevron, "that one place where James found that huge Ox beetle" and the gas station that is over by Lee's. We found four Ox beetles (S. aloeus), mostly males, and some nice, big moths (after my run-in with "out of focus moth" I didn't try to take any pictures of them). We did not go to "tiger truck stop" but the furthest station had quite a few water beetles. Surprisingly, Lupé's didn't offer anything except for four or five Strategus that were the victims of hit-and-run accidents and an attendant that was wondering what we were doing; she must be new.

Back at the farm the sheet was nearly covered but there was nothing that we kept. The rig was so full of insects that we turned the lights off (Travis figured out a quick way to turn all the lights off at once) and left it there. I found out later that the quickest way to take down a rig is to run it over with a lawn mower (it was like the magic trick where you pull the table cloth out from under the stuff on the table: gone in a flash)

Steven

Farm Visit

2007-06-05T15:55:00.000-05:00

We recently had a great visit to the Farm. We met Steven’s parents who were hard at work clearing undergrowth around the cabin. Enjoyed socializing with their two fine dogs. The pond hosted numerous Odonata, including the uncommon Arigomphus maxwelli (Bayou Clubtail).
Value of having a bug on your shirt: When we left, we stopped at a eating place near Washington, and while we were selecting our food, I heard a quiet voice behind me, "Gayle?", I looked around and there was Steven whom we had not previously met. He had spotted the Dragonfly (picture) on Jeanell’s shirt, and guessed who we were.
To see our photos of creatures from the Farm, open BugGuide http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740 and enter Barney Farm in the search window.
Gayle & Jeanell

St. Landry Par. LA, Barney Farm, near Washington LA 19 May 2007
9:30 AM-12:30 PM, Clear, Temp 75-85.

Asilidae:
Efferia aestuans male (images on BugGuide)
Promachus bastardi
Atomosia pusilla

Only Salticids - couple of Anasaitis canosa
Other spiders: Pair of Neoscona, probably arabesca (images on BugGuide)

Odonata:
Ischnura hastata- 4
Ischnura posita- 2
Argia tibialis- 10 (at Bayou Cortableau)
Arigomphus maxwelli- 4 (images on BugGuide)
Erythemis simplicicollis- 8
Pachydiplax longipennis- 20+
Pantala hymenaea- 1 (early LA flight date, previous 11 Jun.)
Perithemis tenera- 15+
Plathemis lydia- 40+
Tramea lacerata- 15+

No Crane flies!!

Several Tabanids, 2 or 3 probably new to our collection (images on BugGuide)

Long-horned Beetles: (images on BugGuide, see comments at dorsal view of each)
Strangalia luteicornis female
Strangalia famelica male (08 June 2007: After considerable discussion on BugGuide, make that S. solitaria)

Caterpillar, Geometrid, Nematocampa, probably resistaria (image on BugGuide)

Other:
Several Ribbon Snakes, some busily chasing frogs, also a very musical Bullfrog. Based on the volume of his reveberating song, not worried about any predator short of an Anaconda.

2007-05-24T19:56:00.000-05:00

Contrary to what everyone is saying about our last "Big L" run, there was at least ONE great find! Quickly overlooked by both Steven, and Travis, I found this little "gem" on the ground right as I exited the vehicle. Here's the photographic evidence to backup my story. Look for yourself!!

By: Michael

Where are the photos? Yabb.

2007-05-21T17:32:00.000-05:00

Hey ! Where are the Photographs of the all the progress you have made at the Farm ? Like: "Fish with Gun _ _ _ _ _ _ " , "Bloody Foot _ _ _ _ _ _ " and so on.

Umm! I'm pretty sure that the Moth was in focus. Possibly it may have been an "operator error" that caused such a strange phenomena. Or, perhaps a "mechanical error" within the camera. I'll go with the later explanation. Just don't blame the Moth. NOT NICE.

"Big L" - Fri.- May 18

2007-05-20T23:27:00.000-05:00

Well, Michael, Travis, Emma and I journeyed up to "Big L" Fri. evening. We all had a fun trip but didn't find much. Michael found something that he will post about and all I got was a photo I like to call "out of focus moth".

Steven

Last Weekend... (5/13/07)

2007-05-16T19:01:00.000-05:00

    Last Sunday Travis and I smoothed out the rough edges on the bridge that crosses over to Michael's hill. Basically, we flattened the top of a log with: a chain-saw, a hammer and two adzes. Boy was that easy! I wish we could do that once a week. Anyway, the bridge is quite a bit easier to cross now.
    We also finished the short trail to the portable restroom. It will be a nice, meandering hike through the woods. Oh, while cutting the beginning of this trail (two Sundays ago) I discovered two phasmids (D.femorata). The first was by accident while chopping through short brush. The second was by joke when I told Travis to shake the small tree he was standing next to. After that we went around shaking trees but didn't find any more.

  Steven

Residual Austin images

2007-05-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

Emma, Travis, Katherine and I took a trip over to Ft. Polk yesterday. Not very
many insects out but here are a few pics from the trip:

BL in BR - May 10

2007-05-10T17:50:00.000-05:00

Last night we did a little blacklighting at the Aquaculture Research Station in Baton Rouge, after having a nice dinner at Casa Maria. It was a nice night with very little wind, unlike the last time I was there in 2004 when the wind brought down my light rig.

Emma had a great time with the whole night and I enjoyed finding some juvenile lubbers in the weeds. We had two lights going at two different spots. Here are some pics:

- Steven
------------------------------------
Given the number of people, the varied collecting techniques, the perfect weather conditions, and the diurnal/nocturnal combination of collecting time, I am surprised at how little we got volume-wise. Variety was good, though, and included:

wolf spider
long-jawed orb weavers
orb weavers
jumping spiders of at least 3 species
leaf beetles
scarab beetles
hydrophilids of at least 2 species
dytiscids of at least 3 species
backswimmers
water boatmen
whirligig beetles
dragonflies and damselflies of at least 9 species
giant water bugs
water scorpions
leaf-footed bugs
lubber grasshoppers
mud daubers of at least 2 species
crane flies
horse flies
moths of at least 6 families
mole crickets
various homopterans
eastern subterranean termites
fire ants
crawfish (duh!)
and things with backbones

- Zack

Bugstock fever

2007-05-03T17:27:00.000-05:00

OK, since I can in fact post - no small feat for us Neandertals - I want to plug Bugstock in this way: for those reading who are not aware, south Louisiana has a terrific diversity of arthropods which, in the summer and fall, are hard to miss! As such, Steven Barney has taken it upon himself to plan and organize a gathering for insect and spider enthusiasts from the state (though I suppose anyone can come!) and host it on some family property. This should be a really fun day and night of collecting, meeting folks with similar interests, talking, and learning. This is a first-time event, so nothing's too fancy - the best way to make it great is to register to come and show up!

- Zack

Southeast LA report

2007-05-03T16:55:00.000-05:00

I am new enough to "blogging" that I hope this post finds its way to the right site! Several things from the New Orleans area:
1) A late March black lighting trip to Des Allemends yielded a few neat beetles and moths. Of note: fiery searchers (6 or so) and large hydrophilids and dytiscids (12 in all, of thereabouts), hundreds of medium-sized dynastine scarabs (Dyscinetus morator), good number of fishflies, and a lot smaller moths that were nicely patterned.
2) Audubon Louisiana Nature Center was done wrong by Katrina - blackberry and tallow are far too prevalent, and nearly all the mature trees were killed. There are still good bugs out there, but there is no more understory for lack of big trees, and what was once passable ground is now impenetrable.
3) Spring sprung here a while back - my benchmarks for the closing of cooler temperatures are: crane fly mas emergence, thistle bloom, Eastern subterranena termite swarming (saw almost none this year), and reports of buck moth eggs hatching. This is followed by larger buck moth caterpillars, a few calls about honey bee swarms (which is better than mite infestations causing bee mortality to the point that one gets NO such calls), and Mexican primrose blooms along roadsides. Finally - and this has begun - the Formosan termites start swarming...and then you know it'll be hot enough for all manner of arthropods to start moving about.
4) Bugstock is coming!

Wed 25th..

2007-05-02T19:21:00.000-05:00

On Wed. we went to Wild Basin for more hiking and more wondering why we decided to go on such a long hike when we get to the difficult and less-shady spot near the end of the loop. Here are some more photos:

Steven

2007-05-02T19:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Travs...!!
but don't call me wart....

2007-04-29T17:22:00.000-05:00

nice spider wart

Mon 23rd - Enchanted Rock

2007-04-27T17:31:00.000-05:00

On Monday we drove two hours out to Enchanted Rock. This would more easily expressed as a series of pictures.

Austin, 21-22

2007-04-25T13:40:00.000-05:00

We drove over to Austin on Sat:

On Sunday we went to the "Austin Nature and Science Center" and went on a hike:

Steven

TX

2007-04-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

Hello folks,

We are heading to Austin for a week starting this Sat. I will try to post from there to keep you updated on any insects I meet.

Steven

BugStock 2007

2007-04-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

This year's BugStock will be held in Washington, St. Landry Parish, June 16th. Please e-mail Steven Barney at info@beetle-experience.com for more information.

More details to come!

-James