<html><head></head><body><div class="ydp4453c225yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family: courier new, courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span><p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>SLF Research Questions and Summation
October 25, 2018</b></p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>Richard Gardner </b></p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>Berks County, PA</b></p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoNormal"><u>Questions</u></p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>Ailanthus
altissima</i> is obviously the favorite SLF food. However, it apparently uses
many other woody plants as food sources. Are these plants such as wild grape
toxic to the SLF in the same way many foods human consume are toxic yet still
consumed? Human examples are the relationship between high fructose corn syrup
and diabetes 2 or ethanol, liver cirrhosis and ethanol poisoning. Dogs and cats
drink ethylene glycol and become very ill because of it.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Why am I seeing few egg masses compared to the
number of adult SLF?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->a.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->A skewed gender ratio with more males than
females?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->b.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->A few queens with the rest of the females being
non-breeders?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->c.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Is there a high number of sterile/infertile
males/females?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->d.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are infertile males impregnating females,
causing infertile eggs?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->e.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Am I missing the breeding timing either because
the egg laying timing is later than I expect, or eggs need time to incubate
inside the female before being laid?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space:auto"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Is <i>Ailanthus
altissima</i> necessary for survival and/or reproduction?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->What is the hierarchy of foods? <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> is obviously the top
food with apparently wild grape being the second.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Are the three size classes I am seeing due to
age, gender or both?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Do the smallest size adults overwinter?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->What causes breeding and egg deposition?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->a.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Days from start of adulthood?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->b.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Environmental conditions such as day length or
air temperature?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space:auto"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->8.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->At what air temperature does SLF die?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->9.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->What caused the explosive growth of the SLF
outbreak?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->a.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Two exceptionally wet summers?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->b.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The end of the lag time and movement to log growth
on the Gaussian curve as a normal part of invasions regardless of weather conditions?</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"> </p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoNormal"><u>What I know</u></p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->There appears to be a large difference in SLF
behavior between urban/suburban and rural locations. I do most of my research
in a rural ecology which is a mixture of forests, fields maintained for
wildlife and agriculture. Therefore, my data will have some distinct
differences with urban/suburban ecologies.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>Ailanthus
altissima</i> is the preferred food with wild grapes apparently being second,
followed by other vines and trees.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Size of the trunk/vine diameter matters. Small <i>Ailanthus </i>clones and free-standing trees
have no SLF on them. The same applies in a lesser degree to wild grape and
possibly Oriental bittersweet, <i>Celastrus
orbiculatus</i>.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->I am seeing at least 3 distinct sizes of SLF
with the largest apparently being gravid females, but with some apparently
males being in the largest size class.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Eggs appear to be laid then a protective
cement-like coating applied.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->There are very few egg masses in relationship to
number of adults.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->SLF has a high tolerance to lower temperatures,
a huge competitive advantage.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->8.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Egg laying is somewhat food surface oriented.
However, some of the egg laying appears to be random on non-food surfaces such
as birch trees, box elder and pignut hickory. This may help explain the spread
of SLF because it sometimes lays eggs on random surfaces which get transported
elsewhere.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->9.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->There appears to be wasps, bees, yellow jackets,
flies and fruit flies tapping the sap wounds from SLF and possibly the waste of
SLF.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->10.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->At the present time, the largest clusters of SLF
are at the base of <i>Ailanthus</i> trees.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->11.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Wild grape has a few SLF clustering together, usually
at most 4 or 5 individuals, as opposed to the clusters of 30+ often found on <i>Ailanthus</i>. This may be due to vine
diameter.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->12.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Apparently, nymphs hide in foliage regardless of
the size of the <i>Ailanthus</i> tree.
Adults are found in plain sight on the trunks of trees and vines. This lack of
predator avoidance may be like<i> Atteva
aurea</i> which has no defensive flight patterns when flying. My assumption is
that this is due to the obnoxious chemicals it consumed from <i>Ailanthus</i> as larvae. This is similar to
monarch butterflies and milkweed.</p>
<p class="ydp8fb14d48MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><!--[if !supportLists]-->13.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The PA Game Commission is a primary factor for
the spread of SLF, in addition to other non-natives, because they do not wash
their vehicles between the locations they do work.</p>
<div>14.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Be wary of type 1 and type 2 errors. An SLF
resting on a plant is very different than feeding or depositing eggs on one.</div><div><br></div><div>PHOTOS POSTED AT <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Ailanthusresearch/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/Ailanthusresearch/</a> .</div></span></div></body></html>