aubreymoore's blog
Rhino beetles take aim at new palm species
KUAM News Story by Janjeera Hail
Originally posted at http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=11746032
Guam - It seems the coconut rhinoceros beetle has developed some expensive taste. According to Roland Quitugua, Eradication Project Logistics Manager for the Department of Agriculture, the pests that are threatening Guam's coconut palms have begun attacking a new palm species.
"The foxtail palm, which is a high-value palm," he said, "we have had confirmation of rhino beetles now attacking these fox tail palms and so we have landscapers and homeowners very concerned about their high-value palm."
If you believe you've found a rhino beetle you can notify the eradication project at 475-1426. Quitugua is also asking that callers keep the beetle samples they find, even if they're dead, so that the specimens can be positively identified.
Possible Rhino Beetle Sighting on Saipan
Report Prepared by Dallas Berringer
December 18, 2009
REPORT OF COCONUT RHINOCEROS BEETLE SIGHTING ON SAIPAN
Two Guam residents visiting Saipan during the week of December 13
found a live adult beetle in the Garapan vicinity on Beach Road. The
insect was believed to be a Coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) by the
two visitors and a waitress at the scene concurred based upon her
familiarity of the beetle in the Philippines. The incident was
reported to the Guam CRB Incident Command on December 16, 2009.
Incident personnel met with the residents making the report on
December 17 and showed them an adult CRB, which the observers
acknowledged as the same insect they had destroyed on Saipan.
The sighting was reported to the Department of Lands and Natural
Resources (DLNR) and Northern Marianas College (NMC) on December 18.
Plans to confirm if CRB may be established and to deal with a
potential incident are being worked on. The Guam CRB Incident is
providing lures to assist NMC in placing additional traps near the
area of the sighting. NMC and DLNR began trapping and survey work for
CRB after the beetle was discovered on Guam in 2007 but has had no
confirmation of CRB being present in the CNMI to date.
Guam CRB Incident Command considers the report as being credible but
not authenticated.
Yellow Pan Traps
Here are some cool videos on use of pan traps for collecting insects.
Mantids on Guam
19 November, 2009 - 12:43 — aubreymooreTaxonomic List from Kevan & Vickery (1997)[1]
Superfamily Mantodea
Family Orthoderidae
Subfamily Orthoderinae
Orthodera burmeisteri Wood-Mason, 1889
Family Mantidae
Subfamily Mantinae
Hierodula patellifera (Audinet-Serville, 1838)
Polyspilota aeruginosa (Goeze, 1778) (recent introduction-probably did not establish)
Statilia pallida Werner, 1922 (most common mantid in Marianas; Philippine species)
Tenodera angustipennis Saussure, 1869
Tenodera australasiae (Leach, 1814)
Family Sibyllidae
Subfamily Sibyllinae
Sibylla pretisoa Stal, 1856 (recent, deliberate introduction-probably did not establish; African species)
Biocontrol Introductions
Three mantids, [i]Polyspilota aeruginosa[/i] (Goeze), [i]Sibylla pretiosa[/i] Stal, and [i]Spodromantis[/i] sp., were released in 1972. None of these mantids has been collected since, and we feel that they di not establish (Nafus & Schreiner (1989)[2]).
Additional Information
Beir[3] published an article on Mantodea in Insects of Micronesia. It is available only in German.
References
- . 1997. An annotated provisional list of non-saltatorial orthopteroid insects of Micronesia, compiled mainly from the literature. Micronesica. 30(2):269-353.
- . 1989. Biological control activities in the Mariana Islands from 1911 to 1988. Micronesica. 22:65-106.
- . 1972. Mantodea. Insects of Micronesia. 5(2):173-175.
Interagency Biosecurity Task Force Work Plan for Guam Announced
11 November, 2009 - 08:54 — aubreymooreSummary
Industry stakeholders expressed concern to their representatives that there was a need to improve the biosecurity of Guam, especially port of entry inspections. Guam's Northern and Southern Soil and Water Conservation Districts established a committee with Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency, Guam Department of Agriculture, Guam Department of Homeland Security, and USDA APHIS PPQ. Efforts of this committee resulted in a framework plan to provide a comprehensive biosecurity program. A key component of
that plan is to create a partnership task force between USDA APHIS PPQ, Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency, and Guam Department of Agriculture that establishes a seamless connection between port of entry inspections, exotic pest surveys, and the ability to respond to a disease or pest introduction. Implementation and success of the plan is dependent upon legislative action to establish certain service fees and authorities.
Click here for full text of the plan.
Link to News Stories About the Plan
Guam Background Map for Garmin GPS Receivers
oregon550-map
Updated January 3, 2012.
Our new Garmin Oregon 550 GPS units appear as mass memory devices when connected to a computer via a USB cable. In other words, each GPS unit looks like an external hard drive. It is not necessary to load any drivers and it is very easy to transfer waypoints and maps simply by using the file manager. Unfortunately, GPS background maps for Guam are not readily available. The following steps can be used to install a very detailed background map for Guam using data from the OpenStreetmap project. These instructions were developed for the Windows XP operating system.
Tephritidae maybe
6 November, 2009 - 18:06 — aubreymoore
Small fly collected from upper surface of Cycas micronesica leaves on Rota. Behaved like a tephritid at a lekking site. Wing display etc. Very numerous.
Identified by Dr. Richard Zack from images as Trypetomima solitaria Cresson (Diptera: Ephydridae).
Lauxaniidae
Nuisance fly collected in a restaurent. Images of a single specimen in poor condition submitted by pest control company. More specimens collected. Better images soon.
Plumose arista; 3.1 mm body length; note dark pigmentation at base of hairs on top of thorax.
According to Dr. Richard Zack, this is a member of the family Lauxaniidae. The larvae of these flies occur in decaying vegetation.
