Diario de bkis

Great golden digger wasps are infrequently seen at Barnes Prairie, scattered native tallgrass prairie remnants, in Racine County WI. Summaries of 2019-2022 sightings follow.

Date Flowers visited by Sphex ichneumoneus

Aug. 5, 2019 Pycnanthemum virginianum, mountain mint 88F

Aug. 5, 2019 Eryngium yuccifolium, rattlesnake master

Aug. 9, 2022 Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed 78F

Aug. 12, 2022 Pycnanthemum virginianum, mountain mint

Aug. 16, 2022 Pycnanthemum virginianum, mountain mint

Aug. 24, 2022 Asclepias verticillata, whorled milkweed

Aug. 30, 2022 Solidago sp., goldenrod

Acanthepeira stellata, star bellied orbweaver spiders, were seldom found during surveys at Barnes Prairie, a group of tallgrass prairie remnants in Racine Co. WI. Surveys were conducted from 1990-2022. When found, they were in the same grassy area with common milkweed, azure aster, sneezeweed, common yarrow, and scattered goldenrod species. All spiders seen had webs on grass leaves and stems.

Date, No. of spiders seen , Weather

Aug. 12, 2000, 1 , Temperature not recorded

July 20, 2003, 1, 80F, humid, partly cloudy, breezy

Sept. 21, 2020, 1, 75F, cloudy, intermittent breeze

This greenspace in the City of Milwaukee existed prior to 1980. Plants growing there included common milkweed, whorled milkweed, brome grass, bluegrass, timothy, sweet clovers, purple clover, common yarrow, gray-headed coneflower, chicory, field bindweed, thistles, ox-eye daisy, birdsfoot trefoil, vetch, wild bergamot, Ohio spiderwort, Indian grass, asters, goldenrods, river grape, buckthorn, ash, walnut and others.

Counts of common milkweed plants were made in June of each year. Surveys of monarch caterpillars were made weekly from the second week in July through the end of August. The greatest number of caterpillars counted in a day are logged in the following table, along with the number of common milkweed plants counted in June.

Year, most caterpillars seen in a day, June count of common milkweed plants
1982, 12, -
1984, 8, -
1987, 7, 286
1988, 5, 267
1990, 10, 310
1994, 7, 325
1998, 14, -
2000, 11 , -
2004, 10, -
2005, 4, -
2008, 5, 382
2012, 4, -
2013, 1, 415
2014, 0, 349
2015, 0, 347
2017, 2, 469

Comments, 2017 Greenspace was completely mowed June 15, and again on July 18 by City of Milwaukee crews. Two small caterpillars seen on July 17, on common milkweed near the fence. One monarch was laying eggs on a common milkweed plant by the fence on July 17.

2018-2021, 0, -
2022, 0, 29

Comments: Greenspace has had paths mowed through it in June each year from 2018-2022. It is completely mowed in late August each year. Much of the area is now covered by teasel, Dipsacus fullonum (D. sylvestris), which was brought in in 2005, apparently on the large mowers that were used to cut down the plants in late August to early September.

Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI consists of several small, pre-settlement tallgrass prairie remnants. One of these remnants is bordered by a narrow hedgerow, approximately 6 feet wide. Plants in the hedgerow include, but are not limited to, bur oak, sugar maple, green ash (dead trees with sprouts at the base), snowberry, gray dogwood, Virginia creeper, river grape, common buckthorn, aster species, goldenrod species, thimbleweed, wood violet, mayapple, Solomon’s seal, starry false Solomon’s seal and enchanter’s nightshade.

Surveys for Chrysopilus thoracicus, golden-backed snipe fly, were made weekly at this hedgerow between 2015 and 2022, from mid-May through August. The earliest date this fly was observed was on May 25, and the latest it was seen was June 24. A summary by month, day and year, that this fly was observed/photographed, and the plant it was on, follows.

Date, No. of flies seen, Plant flies were on

May 25, 2021, 1, aster leaf

May 29, 2021, 1, aster leaf

June 1, 2020, 2 m/f mating, not recorded

June 1, 2021, 1, not recorded

June 2, 2021, 1, not recorded

June 3, 2016, 1, goldenrod leaf

June 3, 2021, 2 m/f mating, aster or goldenrod leaf

June 3, 2021, 1, mayapple leaf

June 4, 2015, 1, aster leaf

June 4, 2021, 1, not recorded

June 4, 2022, 1, bishop’s weed leaf

June 6, 2020, 1, Virginia creeper leaf

June 7, 2017, 1, mayapple leaf

June 7, 2021, 1, goldenrod leaf

June 11, 2018, 1, Virginia creeper leaf

June 16, 2018, 1, mayapple

June 22, 2018, 1, grass leaf

June 24, 2018, 1, Virginia creeper leaf

All dogbane beetles in this survey were found on dogbane, Apocynum androsaemifolium. Surveys were made in late June through August of each year, at the same group of dogbane plants. This area has been fairly stable, plant-wise, through the years, although in the 1990's, it was becoming weedy. In the years following 1990, common buckthorn moved into parts of this prairie. This shrub, and non-native honeysuckle, have been periodically cut down.

Year, No. of beetles seen, Notes

1976, 4

1977, 7

1984, 9, area of plants, possibly clones, five by fifteen feet, two areas.

1990, 6, weeds moving into area, dogbane plants still present

2000, 2, pesticide smell in air, early August

2004, 1, A number of insects on dogbane, including one dogbane beetle (on leaf) and
on flowers, one halictid bee and many flies.
2008, 0

2012, 0, smell of pesticides in air

2014, 0,

2015, 0,

2016, 0, about 5 x 15 foot area, consisting of a number of plants in
area. No beetles seen in late July and early August.

2017, 0, five by eight foot area of plants, also some scattered
dogbane in two separate locations near here.

2019, 0

2020, 1, One beetle seen, on dogbane, Apocynum androsaemifolium, early afternoon,

August 30, 2020. Surveys for these beetles were made several times a week
from mid July until the end of August.

2021, 0, No dogbane beetles, area surveyed 2x a week July through end of august

2022, 0

Bombus fervidus, golden northern bumblebees, are one of the earliest bumblebee species that were seen on Barnes Prairie and prairie remnants, a number of small, original tallgrass prairies in southeastern Wisconsin. Several of these prairie remnants are bordered by hedgerows, consisting of several tree species including bur oak, black walnut, sugar maple, green ash, black cherry, American elm and box elder. Shrubs in the hedgerows were predominantly non-native honeysuckle, snowberry, gray dogwood and common buckthorn. Some of the understory plants in the hedgerows were Virginia waterleaf, Virginia bluebell, jack-in-the-pulpit, Solomon’s seal and trout lily.

Numerous surveys of Bombus fervidus were made in these areas each year, May through September, from 2012-2022. Flowers the bees were seen on were noted in journal logs, and photographed, when possible.

Bombus fervidus, golden northern bumblebee, was observed at a prairie remnants and adjacent hedgerows usually within a week of Virginia bluebell flowers opening, in early to mid-May. In spring, these bees were found foraging on Virginia bluebells, Virginia waterleaf, hoary puccoon, white baptisia and cream baptisia. In late spring to mid- summer, they visited Solomon’s seal, old field thistle, Canada thistle, silphium species, purple prairie clover, wild bergamot, purple coneflower (not native to the prairie, but planted in the 1970’s), gray-headed coneflower and St. Johnswort species. In late summer to late September, the bees were found on bottle gentian, white gentian, prairie gentian, black-eyed Susan, sweet black-eyed Susan and sneezeweed.

Over the years, many of the prairie remnants have become degraded, and developed to residential and commercial use. Fewer bees have been seen, especially in the last few years. In degraded areas, Bombus fervidus has been found foraging on common teasel, Dipsacus fullonum (Dipsacus sylvestris) and purple clover, Trifolium pratense.

Eparygyrus clarus, silver spotted skipper, is a commonly found on Barnes Prairie, which consists of a number of small tallgrass prairie remnants. According to my observations over the past 50 years, silver spotted skippers have been one of the most abundant butterflies on these remnants. In the last 20 years, as many of these prairie areas have been developed to housing and commercial businesses, the skippers have found new nectar sources on purple clover, Trifolium pratense, queen Ann’s lace, Daucus carota,and teasel, Dipsacus fullonum (D. sylvestrus) flowers.

The following is a summary of forage plants that silver spotted skippers were seen on, by month and year, from 2020 through 2022.

Date Forage plants

August 8, 2020, wild bergamot
August 10, 2020, teasel, purple coneflower
August 13, 2020, false sunflower, rough blazing star, sneezeweed, goldenrod sp.
August 19, 2020, rough blazing star
September 22, 2020, goldenrod sp.

August 2, 2021, mountain mint, wild bergamot, queen Ann’s lace, black-eyed Susan
August 11, 2021, purple coneflower

June 16, 2022, purple clover
July 10, 2022, purple clover
July 30, 2022, wild bergamot
August 3, 2022, wild bergamot

Barnes Prairie and remnants consist of scattered small tallgrass prairie remnants in Racine County, WI. Between 2019 and 2022, surveys of Phidippus clarus and their prey were conducted. The table below is a summary of sightings by date and prey these spiders were seen with.

Date, Prey

July 15, 2019, Sitochroa palealis, carrot seed moth

July 9, 2020, Sitochroa palealis, carrot seed moth

July 16, 2020, Graphocephala coccinea, red and blue leafhopper

July 16, 2020, Cicadellidae, unidentified brown/tan leafhopper

July 2, 2021, Cicadellidae, unidentified immature leafhopper

July 21, 2021, Sitochroa palealis, carrot seed moth

July 23, 2021, Opiliones, harvestman

July 26, 2021, Hesperiidae, unidentified skipper

July 30, 2021, Euschistus sp., tan stinkbug

July 27, 2022, Cicadellidae, unidentified immature leafhopper

Phidippus princeps, grayish jumping spiders, were commonly seen on Barnes tallgrass prairie remnants in Racine County, WI. Remnant 1 had been burned prior to 1970, and is hand weeded and sections mowed to control invasive weeds. It is a fine quality native prairie, with over 80 species of native plants. Remnant 2 was periodically mowed in late September or October. It is a degraded prairie, formerly intermittently grazed, with over 40 species of native plants. Shrubs on these prairies are gray dogwood, new Jersey tea, dogbane (A. androsaemifolium) and scattered non-native invasive shrubs, including buckthorn, Japanese honeysuckle and multflora rose.

Surveys for grayish jumping spiders were conducted during several weeks in September, 2019-2022. During the surveys, two persons looked for P. princeps on the prairie plants for a couple of hours. I photographed the spiders and the plants they were found on. Although many species of prairie plants are found on these remnants, we found P. princeps on three species: common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca; wild bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, and goldenrod, Solidago sp. These plants were located at or near the highest parts of these prairie remnants.

September 2019
Remnant no., Size, No. of P. princeps seen, Plant species they were seen on
1, 4 ½ acres, 2, wild bergamot leaves

September 2020
Remnant no., Size, No. of P. princeps seen, Plant species they were seen on
1, 4 ½ acres, 1, wild bergamot leaf

2, 10 acres, 2, common milkweed leaf and stem

September 2021
Remnant no., Size, No. of P. princeps seen, Plant species they were seen on
1, 4 ½ acres, 3, wild bergamot leaf, goldenrod sp.
leaf, common milkweed leaf and stem

2, 10 acres, 3, goldenrod sp. leaf, common
milkweed leaf and stem

September 2022
Remnant no., Size, No. of P. princeps seen, Plant species they were seen on
1, 4 ½ acres, 4, goldenrod sp. leaf, common
milkweed leaves and stem

2, 10 acres, 5, common milkweed leaves and stem