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Hi David
Have been getting a bump in horntail referals at the Museum during the last month.
- mostly Tremex columba. They seem to be associated with relatively solid wood... another of those mechanical decomposers that are early on in the decomposition process. Had a couple referred last year that emerged from freshly milled stud-wood ... taken from some salvage harvested timber (post fire).
So those would have been, I assume, spruce/pine.
Andrew
A Hebda
NSM Collections (Zoology)
________________________________________
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] on behalf of David & Alison Webster [dwebster@glinx.com]
Sent: September-19-12 9:51 PM
To: NatureNS@chebucto.ns.ca; Hebda, Andrew J
Subject: [NatureNS] Horntails again
Hi All, Sept 19, 2012
On Sept 17, while working in North Alton within 30 paces of the Sept 13
Horntail, I saw three Horntails (or perhaps one Horntail 3 times). These
were all flying so I saw just enough for general ID; no color and just a
glinting of polished wings and fairly weak flight. I don't recall having
seen them elsewhere in these woods in a span of 31 years so wonder if this
little patch has some special attraction.
This site is a bit unusual; a seepy slope with Sphagnum in the low
areas and shallow rooted trees that tend to fall over, but especially the
deep accumulation of windfalls at all stages of decomposition from early
decay to readily compressed sponge.
I could not find anything about wood preferences on the internet and am
wondering if they prefer fairly rotten wood that is soft enough to allow
easy insertion of the ovipositor.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
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