The next steps

We have been using the funds from this project to assist us in getting the much needed field and lab equipment to assist us in these ongoing studies. Our first paper is coming along nicely. To honor our commitment to you -- our backers we intend to finish the final edits on our upcoming bioblitz in the Davis Mountains in August -- LINK.

On this trip we will be technology isolated at 5,000' above sea level is an amazing piece of sky island habitat. Fortunately, that means no cell phones or TV sets to distract us -- we will complete the editing of the paper while conducting our nocturnal sampling. You can see some of these results from last year here -- LINK. The key thing here is to be prepared for the flight in December of this year. We have 2 key questions that we must answer for our life history (2nd paper that you have funded) paper. 1) Do the females use all available oak species as a host plant or are they selective on Quercus minima?

2) How big is the flight - what is the estimated population size for this species in Calhoun County? The second question is really the hard one to quantify -- how do you estimate the size of the population when all you have is adult moths . We are going to use an aspect of their behavior to help us get a handle. The moths eclose (exit their subterranean pupa) in the early afternoon (usually between 1:00 - 3:00 PM) and they typically rest quietly on stem in plain view. They do this to allow their wings to harden and to prepare themselves for mating on the morning of the following day.

 

The Females begin calling (releasing pheromones) in the morning and from 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM you typically mostly see males in flight -- the females fly after they have been fertilized and begin depositing eggs -- we are hoping to stake out some survey plots (10 feet square) and collect all the adults that eclose in those plots per day for 2 - 3 days. I am hoping that this will allow us to make a decent estimate of the population size - and if so we can repeat these measurements each year for multiple years and see how the population varies.

 

The population dynamics of this colony could really shed light on the entire Hemileuca genus, simply because the numbers will be so high. This may be one of the largest colonies of Hemileuca in North America. Thank you again!