Entomology – Peoria Academy of Science

We spent the morning of May 18, 2013 walking various trails from the Red Fox Run picnic area at Jubilee State Park (Illinois). Here are some of the photos Mark took during the trip. We hope ou enjoy these and look forward to seeing you at one of our future field trips. If you have questions about any of these photos, please contact us.

On Saturday, April 27, 2013, we visited the Revis Ridge Nature Preserve (near Springfield, Illinois). Here are some of the photos Mark DuBois took during the excursion. To view more, click on any photo. You will be taken to Mark’s Flickr site where you can view the entire set as a slide show (or as a series of larger images). We were seeking zebra swallowtail butterflies to photograph, but did not encounter any. It was rather overcast and threatening rain most of the time we were there. We hope you enjoy these photos. Consider joining our group on our next excursion.

We are proud to announce the beginning of another season of meetings of the Entomology Section. Our main goal is to encourage participation in the study of the insect world around us. This is accomplished through field trips, educational programs, sharing experiences, insect collecting, and photography. Meetings are usually field trips on the third Saturday of every month. If you are interested in knowing more about the group, please feel free to join us at one of our meetings.

• February 16, 2013 – 10 a.m. Illinois Central College (room TC 317). The Technology Center is adjacent to the visitor parking lot. We will review the current website and discuss improvements (perhaps a photo gallery). We will also review who has access and can make changes to our website (and provide additional training if needed).
• March 23, 2013 – 9 a.m. Funk’s Grove Nature Center. Leave from old Lakeview parking lot at 9 a.m.
• April 27, 2013 – 9 a.m. Revis Ridge field trip. Leave from old Lakeview parking lot at 9 a.m.
• May 18, 2013 – 9 a.m. Jubilee field trip. Leave from old Lakeview parking lot at 9 a.m.
• June 15, 2013 – 9 a.m. Henry Gleason field trip. Leave from old Lakeview parking lot at 9 a.m.
• July 20, 2013 – 8 p.m. Jubilee night collecting. Meet at Jubilee Park at 8 p.m.
• August 17, 2013 – 9 a.m. Wildlife Prairie Park. Meet at Wildlife Prairie Park at 9 a.m.
• September 21, 2013 – 5 p.m. Picnic and night collecting at Jubilee Park. Meet at Jubilee Park at 5 p.m.
• October 19, 2013 – 9 a.m. Singing Woods field trip. Meet at Frank’s house at 9 a.m.
• November, 2013 – fumigate Riverfront Museum insect collection (date and time to be determined).
• No December meeting

This is our tentative schedule of meetings for the year. We invite anyone interested in entomology to participate in our meetings. The schedule may change over the year, so we encourage you to contact us or check the site for updates. For field trips, we often leave at 8 a.m. from the Lakeview Museum parking lot.

All meetings are held (or start) at Lakeview Museum (1125 W. Lake, Peoria, IL). Generally, we start at 9 a.m. (usually on the third Saturday of the month). There is no December meeting due to the proximity to the holidays.

• January 21, 2012 – planning meeting
• February  18, 2012 – Frank Hitchell collection (meet at Frank’s house at 9 a.m.)
• March 24, 2012 – St. Louis Butterfly House field trip (leave at 8 a.m. from Lakeview)
• April 28, 2012 – Revis Ridge field trip (leave at 8 a.m. from Lakeview)
• May 19, 2012 – Rocky Glen field trip (leave at 9 a.m. from Lakeview)
• June 16, 2012 - Banner river walk field trip (leave at 9 a.m. from Lakeview)
• July 21, 2012 – Jubilee night collecting field trip (meet at 8 p.m. at Jubilee State Park)
• August 18, 2012 – Midewin Natural Tallgrass Prairie field trip (leave at 8 a.m. from Lakeview)
• September 15, 2012 - Jubilee picnic and night collecting (meet at 5 p.m. at Jubilee State Park)
• October 20, 2012 – Singing Woods field trip (leave at 9 a.m. from Lakeview)
• November 17, 2012 – fumigate Lakeview Museum insect collection

This is our tentative schedule of meetings for the year. We invite anyone interested in entomology to participate in our meetings. The schedule may change over the year, so we encourage you to contact us or check the site for updates. For field trips, we often leave at 8 a.m. from the Lakeview Museum parking lot.

All meetings are held (or start) at Lakeview Museum (1125 W. Lake, Peoria, IL). Generally, we start at 9 a.m. (usually on the third Saturday of the month). There is no December meeting due to the proximity to the holidays.

• January 15, 2011 – planning meeting
• February  19, 2011 – Rob Bell photo show
• March 19, 2011 – Gordon Adams photo show
• April 16, 2011 – Revis Ridge field trip (leave at 8 a.m. from Lakeview)
• May 21, 2011 – Funk’s Grove field trip (leave at 8 a.m. from Lakeview)
• June 18, 2011 - Bridget’s Woods field trip (leave at 9 a.m. from Lakeview)
• July 9, 2011 – Audubon butterfly count contact Tracy Fox for more information)
• August 20, 2011 – Mattheissen field trip (leave at 8 a.m. from Lakeview)
• September 17, 2011 - Jubilee night collecting (meet at 5 p.m. at Jubilee State Park)
• October 15, 2011 – Singing Woods field trip
• November 19, 2011 – fumigate Lakeview Museum insect collection

Frank is also planning some night collecting field trips to Banner Marsh (call him if you are interested). These trips are highly dependent on the weather conditions at that time.

• May 20 or 21
• June 10 or 11
• June 24 or 25
• July 8 or 9
• July 22 or 23
• August 5 or 6
• August 19 or 20
• September 9 or 10

This is our tentative schedule of meetings for the year. We invite anyone interested in entomology to participate in our meetings. The schedule may change over the year, so we encourage you to contact us or check the site for updates. For field trips, we often leave at 8 a.m. from the Lakeview Museum parking lot.

All meetings are held (or start) at Lakeview Museum (1125 W. Lake, Peoria, IL). Generally, we start at 9 a.m. (usually on the third Saturday of the month). There is no December meeting due to the proximity to the holidays.

• January 16, 2010 – organizational planning meeting
• February 20, 2010 – forensic entomology program
• March 20, 2010 – undecided program at this point
• April17, 2010 – field trip to Horseshow Lake State Park (leave at 8 a.m.)
• May 15, 2010 – field trip to Matthiessen State Park (leave at 8 a.m.)
• June 19, 2010 – field trip to Sand Ridge State Park (leave at 9 a.m.)
• July 10, 2010 – annual butterfly count (call Tracy Fox)
• August 14, 2010 – field trip to Bridget’s Woods (leave at 9 a.m.)
• September 18, 2010 – field trip to Jubilee State Park (night collecting) (meet at Jubilee State Park at 5 p.m.)
• October 16, 2010 – Banner Marsh walk
• November 20, 2010 – fumigate Lakeview Museum insect collection
• No December meeting – Happy Holidays

Below is a possible list of the weekends we may have outings to Banner Marsh for night collecting/ observations. These depend on weather conditions – contact Frank Hitchell if you plan to participate.

• May 21 or 22
• June 11 or 12
• June 25 or 26
• July 10 or 11
• July 23 or 24
• August 6 or 7
• August 20 or 21
• September 10 or 11
• September 24 or 25

This paper wasp (Polistes fuscatus) was photographed by our member Gordon Adams. Paper wasps are members of the insect family Vespidae in the order Hymenoptera. Their nests consist of a horizontal comb of paper cells supported by a slender stalk. These wasps make paper by mixing bits of wood with their saliva.

This photo of a soldier beetle (Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus) was taken by Gordon Adams. Soldier beetles are members of the beetle family Cantharidae and the adults are usually found on flowers.

This photo of a Chinese Mantid (Tenodera aridifolia) was taken by Gordon Adams (a member of our group). There are roughly 2,300 described species of the insect order Mantodea. This particular species was introduced into the area near Philadelphia around 1900 and has become widely distributed.

This photograph og a large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) was taken by our member Gordon Adams. Members of this family (Lygaeidae) of the insect order Heteroptera are commonly called seed bugs. As yu can see, they are conspiculously marked. Typically, such markings warn predators that the insect in not very tasty.