Maine Entomological Society Home Page

WELCOME TO THE MAINE
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY HOME PAGE!
Up and running since 30 May, 2000


	M.E.S. T-shirts and sweatshirts ARE Available for Ordering! We've reconstructed the original popular design as closely as possible, as shown at the left (click on the image for an enlargement). Shirts will be cream colored on heavy-weight 100% cotton fabric, available in S-M-L-XL sizes. Sweatshirts will be in "ash" (a very light gray). T-shirts are $13 each, sweatshirts are $17, if you pick them up. [PLUS SIZES - XXL and XXXL - are available, but will be $2 additional per shirt.] Click HERE to download an order form that will include pricing for shirts to be mailed, multiples, etc. Shirts will be ordered on October 15th and should be available by November 1st at the very latest; advance orders will ensure that we have enough of the correct sizes to fill everyone's wants!

Click here for an archive of The Maine Entomologist issues from prior years.
[ Currently up: 2007 through 2012; we're working to get older issues on-line as well. ]

The Maine Entomological Society was established by a group of insect and arachnid enthusiasts in 1997, and now has a total membership of approximately 110 individuals and groups. The Maine Entomologist, our quarterly newsletter, usually consists of 6-8 pages of Society news and entomological information. The annual meeting is held each fall, and we usually have a mid-winter workshop. The Society regularly co-sponsors an annual Entomological Bio-Blitz at the Schoodic Education and Research Center at Acadia National Park each summer, in collaboration with the National Park Service. Additional get-togethers and collecting trips are scheduled monthly when possible during the late spring, summer, and early fall. All these are announced in advance both here and in the newsletter.

(Click on any image below for an enlarged version.)
A caterpillar of the Virginia Ctenucha, Ctenucha virginica. Charlene Donahue photo
A wasp-mimicking longhorn beetle, Clytus ruricola. Larvae feed in rotting hardwoods, particularly maple. (adult length: 10-15 mm) Charlene Donahue photo
The red-shouldered pine borer, Stictoleptura canadensis, is one of our more common colorful longhorn beetles. (length: 12-16 mm) (Brandon Woo photo)
Click here for the Photo Archive web page.
MES members, young and old, gather around during a collecting trip in the 2000 season in coastal Maine. Photo by Laura Lubelczyk. (Click on the image for an enlargement!)

Membership in the Maine Entomological Society is open to anyone, whether or not a Maine resident, who has interest in the insects or terrestrial arthropods of Maine. Persons desiring to become members should contact the Treasurer, Mr. Dana Michaud, whose mailing address appears in the table of officers below. [Click here to download an MES application (as a pdf document - Adobe Acrobat Reader may be downloaded, if necessary, through a link below).] Dues are $10 per year, and may be paid up to two years in advance; dues entitle members to receive the newsletter and participate in all Society functions. Checks should be made payable to "The Maine Entomological Society" and mailed to the Treasurer. Due to increasing costs of printing and mailing the Newsletters, members in arrears for dues will be dropped from the membership list.

The Constitution and Bylaws pages (links below) are formatted in HTML, but may be downloaded in Microsoft Word from the respective pages if one desires a hard copy.

We hope to have links to a whole host of entomological sites coming along, and hope to contribute meaningfully to the knowledge of insects and terrestrial arthropods as well, while having a lot of fun doing it. Meanwhile, we invite anyone and everyone to explore freely, and watch us grow! Our logo, featuring the wasp Dipogon sayi Banks, was designed by Monica Russo, Hymenopterist, artist and author extraordinaire, one of the founding members of the Society.

M. E. S. EVENT and COLLECTING
TRIP SCHEDULE FOR 2013!
Plans are coming together now for a number of MES events and collecting trips throughout the coming year. What's shown below are those currently scheduled, most of which will also be found on the M.E.S. Calendar. Additional information on these field days, and any new collecting trips and events, will be posted both here and in the newsletter as soon as we know about them!

Saturday, 19 January, 2013 -

The 2013 MES Winter Workshop topic was Coleoptera - the beetles - a favorite order for many, and took place at the Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Bolton Hill Facility in Augusta at 14 Conservation Drive. Over thirty people turned out for the learning experience, which offered something new and interesting for everyone who participated, from the relative novices to the more experienced.

Dr. Don Chandler, from the University of New Hampshire, once again led the workshop with style and grace, and a seemingly boundless well of knowledge. If you have not attended one of Don's workshops you have missed an opportunity to learn a great deal from a superb teacher.

Part of the large contingent that turned out for the 2013 M.E.S. Winter Workshop on Coleoptera; Don Chandler (standing, left) is explaining some of the fine points of discriminating between the common families of Maine beetles.

Saturday, 23 March, 2013 - M.E.S. Field Day, Whitefield (Lincoln County)

MAPLE SYRUPING (and MOTHING) DAY

10:00 a.m.

You never know how a field day is going to turn out, other than that it will be good to get together with others who love bugs. Thirteen people came out on a cold morning in hopes of doing some collecting, observing, learning and maple syrup boiling. We did a little of the first two, more of the third and none of the last. It had been too cold the previous week for the sap to run so there was none to boil on Saturday, but people did get a tour of my backyard operation and a maple syrup sundae.

We took a walk in the woods down to the Sheepscot River, faster then usual - it was pretty chill for the usual snail's pace of an insect walk, and found a few early spring insects such as springtails and stoneflies. We also discussed signs of other insects, pest problems as well as other animals and plants. Then we headed back to the house to warm up. Everyone crammed into Charlene's kitchen for lunch and an amazing slide show provided by Brandon Woo.

Brandon had recently returned from Belize where he had attended a week-long insect photography class. Not only were the tropical insects fascinating to see, but Brandon's discussion of his evolving photo techniques was interesting as well. Of course he and Domenica (his mother went with him) also regaled us with tales of their experiences in Belize.

Overall it was a great way to stave off cabin fever during mud season!

Saturday, 1 June, 2013 - M.E.S. Field Day in Winter Harbor (Hancock County).

The leadoff field day of the summer 2013 M.E.S. collecting season was held on Saturday, June 1st, in Winter Harbor, in the Schoodic Peninsula portion of Acadia National Park (ANP).

A group of dedicated M.E.S. members met in the Frazer Point parking lot (shown in the Google Earth image above). After David Manski advised us as to the ground rules and appropriate Park etiquette, we fanned out to focus our attentions on taxa that could be present now but may have escaped detection in the annual Blitzes, which have been held later in the season. Though data are still being gathered, a significant number of new additions to the Park fauna were discovered!

Saturday, 22 June, 2013 - M.E.S. Field day in Embden (Somerset County).

The second field day of the 2013 M.E.S. summer collecting season was held on Saturday, June 22nd, in Embden. Despite threatening weather forecasts, we met at 10:00 a.m. at the entrance to the farm access road off the Kennebec River Road (Maine Routes 8 and 16; U.S. Route 201A) at 44 degrees 54'27"N, 69 degrees 51'58"W., shown above.

Despite a couple light sprinkles in the morning that encouraged us to have lunch on the covered porch of our host's home, the afternoon was dry and collecting was good across a wide diversity of orders. Most folks also got to see a flock of 6-8 wild turkeys in one of the two worked-out sand pits on the property. After the collecting was done later in the afternoon, most of us dropped by Thompson's Restaurant in Bingham for a light repast before heading home.

Friday, 12 July, through Monday, 15 July, 2013 - Acadia Entomological BioBlitz

at Schoodic Point Science Education and Research Center (SERC), Acadia National Park.

The 11th annual BioBlitz at Acadia National Park on July 12-15, 2013, targeted the Coleoptera - beetles. As in the past, the event was based at the park's Schoodic Education and Research Center. Lead taxonomist for the event was the indefatigueable Dr. Don Chandler from the University of New Hampshire.

Some 75 people turned up to sweep, beat, tread, intercept in flight, pan trap, check flowers, and do everything else possible to document the greatest diversity possible from one of the two largest orders of insects. Though many had participated in Blitzes in the Park before, there were fifteen or twenty people for whom this was their first Entomological Blitz at Acadia.

Five teams, each accompanied by a uniformed Park Ranger, spread out on Saturday morning to collect from pre-identified priority areas around Duck Brook, Canon Brook, the Great Meadow, the Western Mountain and Bass Harbor portions of the park on Mount Desert Island. That evening, a veritable army worked at sorting, pinning and pointing, and labeling specimens in the lab, under Charlene Donahue's eagle eye - with an elite team of hardy souls working well after midnight, eventually with the hardest of the hard-core finishing up the job at about 4:00 a.m. On Sunday morning, people dispersed to collect at additional sites on Schoodic Peninsula and the lab work continued.

It was estimated that some 200 species had been identified by noon on Sunday, though not only were there specimens remaining to be identified, but the large array of various aerial traps that Steve Bonstedt and colleagues had set around Mount Desert Island had not yet been returned to the lab.

A publication with the results of previous BioBlitzes (through 2011) is available for download as a pdf file (click here to download a copy in pdf format); David Manski (David_Manski@nps.gov) may still have a few printed, bound copies available.

Saturday, 3 August, 2013 - M. E. S. Field Day, Norway (Oxford County).

CANCELLED

so that M.E.S. members may attend the special remembrance of Bill Urquhart, long-time M.E.S. member and key member of the Maine Forest Service entomology team.

Details of the service are being sent out via e-mail to all M.E.S. members for whom we have e-mail addresses.

Wednesday, 11 September, 2013 - Bug Maine-ia, Maine State Museum, Augusta (Kennebec County), from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Contact person: Joanna Torow [207-287-6608 or Joanna.Torow@maine.gov].

Bug Maine-ia is one of the Maine State Museum's most successful events and a personal favorite of the museum's education division. We can't wait to see the museum galleries transformed with tables ready for presenters, directional signs, large inflatable insects, and our famous ant trail ready to guide the students throughout the museum. It is wonderful to watch crowds of students looking through microscopes, tearing apart galls, pushing their faces up against an aquarium full of water insects, or delicately holding a moth with tweezers as they examined the life of insects from every possible angle.

With schools already calling and making reservations, the museum education staff is in full event-planning mode - rushing around e-mailing new presenters, making pleading phone calls, whipping up draft schedules and designing flyers to be sent out to teachers, homeschoolers, and the general public. And we are hopeful you all will take the time to check out this amazing event!

We are very thankful to all of the Maine entomologists who fill the museum with amazing displays and hands-on activities featuring insects of all sizes, shapes, and colors. A big thank you to all of our presenters and volunteers who help make this day a success! We are always looking for new presenters, so if you have a great idea for a display, activity, or just want to help, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Joanna Torow at 287-6608 or by e-mail at joanna.torow@maine.gov.

Join the fun! Help us make Bug Maine-ia 2013 sensational by volunteering!

Saturday, 14 September, 2013 - Annual Meeting, Clinton (Kennebec County).

Bob and Nettie Nelson (426-9629 or BeetleBob2003@yahoo.com) invite one and all to their home at Rock Ridge, for the annual M.E.S. business meeting. Please do let us know if you're planning to attend!

Signs directing you to the meeting will be posted beginning at the end of both the northbound and southbound Clinton off-ramps from Interstate 95. Contact Bob if you need specific directions on how to get to the site if Interstate 95 isn't a realistic route for you, or you just want to come via "the back roads."

The formal meeting will begin at 1:30, with lunch beforehand featuring savory oven-roasted chicken and a vegetarian (vegan, even!) chili, and all the pot-luck dishes brought by attendees. Those who've attended any previous annual meeting know the food is always diverse, abundant, and most of all, really good! Come as early as 10:00 a.m. for some pre-meeting collecting in a diversity of habitats!

The agenda will be published in the August newsletter and posted here as it is developed.

Collecting and a pot-luck lunch will precede the business session.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The MES can only appeal to a wide variety of members if officers and board members are made aware of your opinions. Please let us know what you think and would like to see us doing!

Further information on all scheduled meetings and trips will be posted as arrangements are made and confirmed!

2013 OFFICERS OF THE MAINE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY
President	Charlene Donahue	Maine Forest Service Insect and Disease Laboratory	*Location address:* 50 Hospital Street Augusta, Maine	*Mailing address:* 168 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0168
Contact the President for changes of address, general information, etc. E-mail address: Charlene.Donahue@maine.gov Telephone: 207-287-3244
Vice-President	Karen Hopkins	21 Division Street Apt. 2	Bangor, ME 04401	e-mail: mothy_77@yahoo.com
Treasurer	(Mr.) Dana Michaud	3 Halde Street	Waterville, ME 04901	.
Newsletter Editor and Webmaster	Bob Nelson	Dept. of Geology Colby College 5804 Mayflower Hill	Waterville, ME 04901-8858	e-mail: BeetleBob2003@yahoo.com
Member-At-Large of the Executive Committee	Brandon Woo	.	.	e-mail: dvacca6@roadrunner.com
Member-At-Large of the Executive Committee	David Bourque	323 Augusta Road	Winslow, ME 04901	e-mail: djbourq@roadrunner.com

Information & Links Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free, which is needed to read pdf files including the digital M.E.S. newsletters.
M. E. S. Information and Membership Applications
Maine Entomological Society Constitution	Maine Entomological Society Bylaws	Maine Entomological Society Membership Application (pdf)	Maine Entomological Society Membership Application (html)
Educational Sites and Web Sites for Identification of Unknowns
K-12 Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Curricula for Teachers (from Maine Dept. of Agriculture)	Got Bugs? A guide to identification for citizens (from Maine Dept. of Agriculture)	Maine Insect and Disease Fact Sheets	Maine Forest Service Insect Collection Home Page
BugGuide, an on-line source for information and identification help for any insects from the U.S. and Canada	Collecting and Preserving Insects and Mites (A 68-page guide from the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.)		Maine Forest Service Publications home page
Web Sites for Information on Specific Groups
Maine Ticks (from the Maine Medical Center Research Institute)	Maine Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey	Odonata of Maine (from the USGS)	Mayflies of Maine (from the USGS)
Stoneflies of Maine	Butterflies and Moths of Maine	Caterpillars of Eastern Forests	Maine Butterfly Survey Web Site
Maine Butterfly Checklist - 2005 [html]	Maine Butterfly Checklist - 2005 [in Microsoft Word]	Mosquitoes of Maine	Table of mosquito species in Maine
Maine Carabid photo pages	eButterfly (an international butterfly site)	Zombee Watch (a site on parasitized honeybees)	Tiger Beetles of Maine
Insect Home Page at the Tree of Life web site, University of Arizona		Arachnid Home Page at the Tree of Life web site, University of Arizona
Research Resources, Institutes, Publications, etc.
Entomological Bio-Blitzes at Acadia	Maine Nature News	Research Guide to Entomology at the Fogler Library, University of Maine
Delta Institute of Natural History in Canton, Maine	Humboldt Field Research Institute in Steuben, Maine	Calendar of Summer Seminars, Workshops and Courses at Eagle Hill [ Humboldt Field Research Institute ]
Publications on Insects from the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station		Forestry Images, for outstanding photographs of predominantly forest insects
Other Entomological Societies
Acadian Entomological Society	Entomological Society of Canada Home Page	Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes
Vermont Entomological Society	American Entomological Society Home Page	Young Entomologists Society	Other Entomological Societies (via the Association for Tropical Lepidoptera)

The MES web pages are maintained by R. E. Nelson (BeetleBob2003@yahoo.com). Please e-mail any questions,
comments or suggestions you may have, especially if you encounter difficulties.

You are visitor number to the Maine Entomological Society Home Page since May 30, 2000.

Entire contents copyright � 2013 by the Maine Entomological Society, except as noted.
Rights to specific photographs are retained by the respective photographers.
[ This page last modified on 30 September, 2013. ]