The amazing Amorpha Borer strikes again!

A "weedy" unkempt bank of the mighty Ohio River, in Adams County, Ohio. That's Kentucky on the far side. I was down in the hill country for the past four days, much of which was spent attending a fabulous workshop on the singing insects (Orthoptera), taught by Wil Hershberger and Lisa Rainsong. More on that later.

We had some time on either end of the workshop to do some exploring, and we didn't let any grass grow under our feet. Some amazing finds were made, including the animal featured in this post. John Howard and I were riding together, and when we pulled into this site and saw the habitat, one animal was on our minds: the world's greatest beetle, the amazing Amorpha Borer!

Our party fanned out onto the riverbank and began the hunt, and it wasn't long before a mighty shout went up from Laura Hughes - she had spotted an Amorpha Borer, Megacyllene decora! We rushed to the spot, and marveled over the tangerine and black beast as it ran roughshod over the flowers of Late-flowering Thoroughwort, Eupatorium serotinum. Soon Laura saw another, and before we left a third beetle had been tallied. That was a record for us. John and I, especially, have searched for these beetles for at least six or seven years, and the best we had ever done was two in a day. After stopping at another site in Scioto County, where we added two additional beetles, our day's total came to an incredible five (5) Amorpha Borers.

Laura quickly learned that these large brutish beetles are not to be trifled with. She deftly snagged one with her bare hands, and received a blood-inducing nip in the process.

The jaws of the Amorpha Borer are large and powerful, as is the case with many longhorned beetles.

The Amorpha Borer is a striking insect, and appears to be a hornet mimic. Note the bold black and yellow banding. In flight, especially, they really do look like a yellowjacket or some such stinging insect.

From our experience, and we have spent a fair bit of time seeking this beetle, the Amorpha Borer is rare and local. It does not seem to range away from the banks of the Ohio River (in Ohio), and its flight period seems to be from August into September. We have never found them far from their host plant, which is False Indigo, Amorpha fruticosa. The beetle larvae feed internally on the stems of these plants. When the adults do emerge, they seek nectar avidly, but always (?) in close proximity to the host plants. A decided favorite is the aforementioned Late-flowering Thoroughwort, but we have also found beetles on goldenrods.

So those are the ingredients for finding Amorpha Borers in Ohio: an overgrown bank of the Ohio River, plenty of False Indigo, and blooming thoroughworts and goldenrods.

As befits their good looks, the beetles are always meticulously groomed.This one is running one of its antennae through its mouthparts, to keep everything clean and in good working order.

Once the beetle had completed the task of antenna-scrubbing, it set about washing its feet. One never knows when the paparazzi might arrive on the scene, I suppose.

In order to better capture the beetle's true magnificence, we temporarily detained one and shot images on foliage affixed to that picnic table. John Howard (left) assists David Hughes (seated), while Laura Hughes (left) and Lisa Rainsong look on. Wendy Partridge is in the backdrop, and Wil Hershberger was off looking at something elsewhere.

Based on our searches, John and I believe that Megacyllene decora is probably an uncommon and local, if not downright rare, beetle in Ohio. We would love to learn of other populations, but so far no one has alerted us to any. A check of the massive Ohio State University insect collection (courtesy of George Keeney) revealed no specimens, either. Such a large flashy beetle would surely draw the attention of collectors, and if they were at all plentiful, I suspect specimens would reside in OSU's collection.

Perhaps the Amorpha Borer deserves to be state-listed as threatened or endangered.

The Great Borer Expedition II

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while may recall my fascination with a certain beetle that we call the "amorpha borer", Megacyllene decora. I first laid eyes on the bug three summers ago, and instantly became fascinated with the gorgeous insect. I was with some topnotch field people, and none of us knew what it was in spite of the animal's extremely showy and distinctive appearance.

In an effort to learn more about the beetle, we organized The Great Borer Expedition I, last summer. Success came our way, and we found two of the beetles. But only two, and that was after several hours of searching appropriate habitat.

Flash forward to the banks of the Ohio River between Portsmouth and Cincinnati, and The Great Borer Expedition II, which took place last Sunday. Eight hardcore beetle enthusiasts gathered near what we now know to be Ground Zero for Ohio amorpha borer sightings, briefings were had, and out we set.

We believe that this beetle is rather rare in Ohio, and possibly even rarer than "rather rare". Other than Eric Eaton, who first identified our beetle for us after we couldn't find it in any books, I don't know of anyone outside of our expedition members who has actually seen one of these things in the wild, in Ohio. Eric lived in the Ohio River town of Cincinnati for eleven years, yet only saw one of these beetles in that time.

Anyway, Megacyllene decora is quite host-specific, apparently, using only plants in the genus Amorpha, which are part of the pea family (Fabaceae). In Ohio, that leaves only the plant in this photo, false indigo, Amorpha fruticosa. It reaches its NATIVE northern limits along the banks of the Ohio, although it is widely introduced and established northward. So, one must look for good-sized stands of this stuff on or near the Ohio's river banks, then start searching flowering patches of late-flowering thoroughwort, Eupatorium serotinum, and early goldenrod, Solidago juncea. The adult beetles come to these plants to seek nectar.

Well, I know you've been eagerly waiting to know if we were successful. The answer is a big fat YES! After poking about for a bit, John Howard excitedly called us over, and there she was. The group was elated, and with good cause. It was a life beetle for everyone, save seasoned borer veterans John and I, but this is much more than a new tick on a list. Here our quarry peeks coyly from a wreath of tall ironweed, Vernonia gigantea, flowers. I mean, just look at that thing! What's not to like?

Despite close searches over a few hours, we could only locate this one beetle. We think that it is the females that visit the flowers for nectar, perhaps to gather an infusion of energy and nutrients to help them complete their reproductive cycle. Most of this borer's life is lived as a grub, boring through the tissue of its host plant. Good luck finding one at that stage. The adults, we think, only emerge briefly in late summer, so one's search window is rather narrow.

Even the fabled Bug Guide website has but eight photos of this beauty, which is circumstantial evidence of how rare the beetle may be. If it were widespread and frequently seen, I can about guarantee that there would be plenty of other photos. And of those eight photos, one is mine, and two are of pinned specimens.

As the amazing amorpha borer clambered about, allowing the paparazzi some photo ops, I was able to make this photo showing the prominent tigerlike striping of the abdomen. This beetle is apparently yet another wasp mimic, and even resembles a big wasp or hornet when in flight.

At one point, the beetle got all up in my grill, letting me see its formidable mandibles. We didn't handle it, but had we, whoever was doing the holding would have felt the power of the incredible amorpha borer's jaws as it would have certainly put the pinch on them.

A great many photos were made of the bug, and there may be other images emerging on the Internet that are better than mine. Megacyllene decora is particularly appealing aesthetically in part, I think, because its dominant color is a very interesting shade of tangerine. I am hard pressed to cite another beast, bird or otherwise, that matches this hue. The black markings provide fascinating and artistic contrast, and the overall effect is quite striking. Couple the beetle's showiness with its apparent rarity and you've got an animal that captivates people. At least strange people such as myself and some of the company that I keep.

Expedition members display their elation at discovering this chitinous pot of gold at the end of the Amorpha rainbow. From left, we've got the always searching John Howard, David Hughes, Laura Stalder, Heather Aubke, Derek Hennen, John's son Andy who has had his fill with the beetle-hunting by this time, and Nina Harfmann.

I appreciate everyone who participated in this year's Borer Expedition. And of course, we didn't just see the borer - scads of other interesting life forms were noted and photographed. I could probably make 20 blog posts from trips like this and all of the stuff that we find.

If you know anything, anything at all, about Megacyllene decora the amorpha borer, especially based on firsthand field experience, please let me know.

The Great Borer Expedition

The marina at Shawnee State Park, Scioto County, Ohio. May not look like the most exotic locale in the world, but as we shall see, there are some very interesting critters to be found here. This is Ohio's Deep South; as far as one can move towards the equator and not dip their toes into the Ohio River. In fact, the marina is on our mightiest stream; the one that separates us from neighboring Kentucky. And a number of plants and animals reach the northern limits of their ranges in the Ohio River Valley.

Last year, John Howard and I were exploring here when we encountered one of the most magnificent beetles I had ever laid eyes on. John, who lives in the area and explores Ohio River habitats all of the time, had only seen it once, a few years prior. He took photos, but was unable to pin a name on the beast as it wasn't in any of his books or easily findable on Internet resources. Finally, I posted one of my photos to BugGuide.net and was rewarded with a quick reply - Amorpha Borer, Megacyllene decora.

The gentleman who provided the answer was none other than Eric Eaton, and he reported that he had seen but one despite living in Cincinnati for eleven years. By now, I was consumed with interest in this seemingly exotic bug, and we began plotting out an expedition to find more of these beetles in 2010. Last Sunday was the fateful day.

This insect will offer a suggestion of the showiness of our quarry. It is a Hickory Borer, Megacyllene caryae, which can be locally abundant in spring. Like other beetles in the genus Megacyllene, it is an apparent hornet mimic.

You may have seen this one - it often is found seeking nectar on goldenrod flowers from about now through fall. It's the Locust Borer, Megacyllene robiniae, another nice-looking bug. Still, it holds no candle to our quest beetle; the object of the chase of what may to date be the world's only Amorpha Borer Expedition.

Were we successful? You bet your longhorned beetle we were! Here it is - the dashing Amorpha borer, Megacyllene decora. What a bug! Even a beetle-hater would like it. Large and tinted in the most beautiful hue of orange-yellow imaginable, this black-dashed stunner inflames the passions of all who see it, and upon discovery some of our party were rolling on the ground in fits of rapturous ecstacy.

OK, maybe no one got quite that excited but we were pleased as punch to successfully score the beetle. Actually, the group was rather displeased with me soon after the first beetle was found. I spotted it nectaring on some Giant Goldenrod, Solidago gigantea, and demanded that the net be turned over to me. I took a clumsy swipe and whiffed, the beetle escaped, not to be seen again and before any photos of substance could be made.

But the expedition's greatest success was yet to come. Stumbling somewhat dejectedly over to the aforementioned marina, it didn't take long before Janet Creamer found our target. This beetle, which proved to be far bigger and better looking than the one that I scared off, was quite cooperative. Scores of photos were made, and the group was able to fawn over the Amorpha Borer for quite some time.

There are some essential botanical ingredients required for this beetle, it appears. One, its host plant, False Indigo, Amorpha fruticosa. This small woody shrub occurs sporadically along the bank of the Ohio River, and the river bank may be the only Ohio locale for the plant in its native range (False Indigo has spread far to the north as a weed). The beetle lays its eggs in False Indigo and the beetle grubs bore their way around in the tissue.

When the adults emerge, they seem to stay in the immediate proximity of the False Indigo plants from which they were spawned. At least the females seek nectar and they definitely have a taste for Late-flowering Thoroughwort, Eupatorium serotinum, which is the plant in the photo above. They'll also use goldenrods but few of those are in bloom in this habitat this early in the season. Find these plants growing together on the banks of the Ohio River in August, and you may have a decent shot at discovering this splashy insect.

Janet eventually captured the Amorpha Borer and it didn't take kindly to being fondled. Here, it attempts to rasp off her flesh with those formidable mandibles. The black triangular mark on the thorax isn't typical - usually there are black stripes that band this region. I think some of the orangish pubescence may have rubbed off, exposing the shiny shell underneath.

The bold members of our Amorpha Borer Expedition (L to R): Ned Keller, Janet Creamer, John Howard, Tricia West, Cheryl Harner, Kathy McDonald, Debbie Wolterman. Your narrator was made to take the photo and thus couldn't be in the photo.

I love stuff like this. Finding some bizarre new animal that no one seems to know much about, figuring out at least the basics of its life history and successfully finding more of them. I'd love to know more about Megacyllene decora if anyone, anywhere, who might stumble across this knows something of the beetle. Who knows, there may be some place they are common as dirt and slapped away like offending mosquitoes. I doubt it, though.

Thanks to my fellow expedition members for their bravery and hard work in seeking the Amorpha Borer.

A stinger and a looker

A recent foray to southernmost Ohio resulted in many nice finds of both animal and vegetable matter. Two organisms that fall in the former category are detailed below.

Impossibly cute, as caterpillars go, is the Saddleback Caterpillar, Acharia stimulea. Looking like a tiny sea slug draped in a lime-green horse blanket, the little beasts march about the foliage boldly, even in broad daylight.

You see, they have an effective defense, and know it. All of those columns of bristles may look cool, but this is heavy artillery. The bristles are called urticating hairs (Urtica = a genus of stinging nettle), and they pack a whallop. Handle one of these things and you'll get a big dose of experiential learning that'll probably stick - you won't grab another one. Should you suffer this fate, it is allegedly a good idea to find some sticky tape and plaster it over the stinging hairs that are lodged within your flesh. Then rip the tape off and with it perhaps the hairs. The tape-ripping process will hurt, too.

Anyway you slice it, this little 2 cm bag of colorful goo will cause pain should you molest it.

We were very excited to find this orange and black beauty. It's a long-horned beetle, but we all were flummoxed by its identity. And I was with some people that have long explored the haunts that we were in, and only one of us had ever seen one and then only once, but had not figured out what it was.

Searching my guides yielded no good answer, so finally in desperation I tossed a photo out to the boys on Bug Guide.net. The answer came back quickly - we had found a beautiful specimen of the Amorpha Borer, Megacyllene decora. The specific epithet, decora, means showy and the moniker is well deserved.

The borer was feeding on the nectar of Late-flowering Thoroughwort, Eupatorium serotinum. I have always thought of this native plant is rather coarse and weedy, but have revised my opinion. It formed a large stand on the banks of the Ohio River, which is where we found the beetle, and the collective blossoms emitted a pleasant, sweet-smelling aroma. The odor must be a good lure, because the patch was lousy with bugs drawn in by the fragrance.

The first part of the common name of this borer, Amorpha, refers to its host plant, False Indigo, Amorpha fruticosa. This woody shrub reaches its northern limits in Ohio, and is thought to only be native along the banks of the Ohio in our state. Populations to the north of that mighty stream are non-native, spread from cultivation or otherwise introduced.

So it makes sense that the beetle would occur where we found it. But I wonder how rare it might be, as it seems hardly anyone has seen one, at least in these parts. It may be that their span as an adult is a short one, and the window is short to go out and find one. Or perhaps they truly are rare here, scattered populations at their northernmost outposts, living where the scattered patches of indigo grow.