A set of fungus-killed leafhoppers are on their way to @lovettbr, overnight delivery. I'm really looking forward to hearing what Dr. Brian Lovett and the folks in the Kasson Laboratory at West Virginia University are able to learn with them!
I was relieved to find specimens. My initial sightings of the outbreak were on Oct 11. When I posted those observations Oct 13, @malisaspring quickly tagged in @lovettbr (98116877) and quite a process began.
I called Butler County Metroparks and learned that they require a permit for specimen collection. Download the form, fill it out, print, sign, scan, email back... and they have 30 days to respond! I was able to get the request in on Oct 14, communicating the urgency and purpose in the email subject line just as I had in the initial call. (My 34 year engineering career paid off there.) Butler County's Amy Pellman managed to shepherd the request through in 7 days vs. 30. It's good until Nov 25, so if additional specimens are needed we have a bit of time yet.
Oct 21, permit in hand, I got sick. Arrgh! So the hunt didn't begin until Oct 23 - 12 days after the initial sighting. But as Brian predicted, the outbreak was still in progress. (I feel just a little guilty being happy about that; the leafhoppers surely aren't.)
Hunt day 1 brought 4 late-stage specimens; day 2 revealed 5 more specimens including earlier stages. To my engineering eyes, it appeared that there might be up to 3 different species of leafhoppers involved. (Brian's entomologist eyes will know better.) That could be interesting because apparently these fungi can be fairly species-specific. There were certainly other types of plant bugs - planthoppers (99181203), spittlebugs (99419325), etc. - on the same plants but not closely related, and no sign that they were affected.
Also interesting was that I only found specimens in one pretty small area. On Day 1, not wanting to literally walk by opportunities, I scoured the park from entry on in and found nothing until I reached that area. (On Day 2 I was sneaking in between storms and just headed straight to the hot zone.) What makes that spot special, I don't know. Topography, geology, the plants growing there, sun/ shade, proximity to the construction going on in the park...? There are too many variables and I know too little about these insects and their fungus.
This all illustrates why iNaturalist is so special: the connectedness of the community. Without @malisaspring, Dr. Lovett wouldn't get these specimens and I wouldn't get to learn about this phenomenon.
Thank you, MaLisa and Brian, for the opportunity to be part of this!
PS: Bonus - I noticed a tiny critter under one of the specimens (99178816) and got to learn from @ryneboi about springtails eating fungi. The connections keep growing, not unlike the web of life.
