A survey of the Vespidae and Pentatomoidea (Insecta) of Wilderness State Park.

Abstract

This report continues work completed during the summers of 2011-2013 by the Biology of Insects class. During the summer of 2014 the class studied six additional famlies of insects, focusing on the five families of the superfamily Pentatomoidea (Pentatomidae, Acanthosomatidae, Scutelleridae, Cormelaenidae, Cydnidae) and the family Vespidae in the Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants), of Wilderness State Park. The members of the Pentatomoidea are commonly known as the stink bugs and their relatives. Some of these species are occasionally crop pests, and some serve as potential predatory control agents. They are usually obvious in habitats and relatively easy to sample with sweep nets. The Vespidae represent the most common wasp species in both woodland and open areas. Many species are truly social, with all reproduction done by one queen with a colony of female workers that builds over the course of the summer. These insects are very important pollinators and also serve as controls for pest insects because they take them as prey for larvae. We had initial potential lists for both groups based on published regional lists and specimens at UMBS and the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ), but we expected to add significantly to these lists for both groups.