Vermont Buprestidae Survey

The solitary parasitoid wasp Cerceris fumipennis provisions its nests with beetles from the Family Buprestidae. Nests formed by these solitary wasps are often located in non-social colonies within hard-packed, sandy, and exposed soils. Female wasps forage for prey on sunny summer days when many species of buprestid beetles are active. Taking buprestid beetle prey from wasps intercepted as they approached their nests is used to survey for the presence of many buprestid species. Biologists and citizen science volunteers surveyed C. fumipennis colonies for Buprestidae from 2009-2016. Additionally, native buprestids were taken from Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) purple traps and Green Lindgren funnel traps deployed around the state from 2008 - 2016. Historical records were also recorded from collections at the University of Vermont and the Vermont Forest, Parks and Recreation collections.