It’s the last weekend of the 2024 Spot Invasive Insects BioBlitz! Now is a great time to take 5-10 minutes to head outside, enjoy the fall weather (in between the rain!), and make some observations. If you’re having trouble finding anything on your plants, here are a few tips on where and how to look:

1. Try looking at the plant from different angles. Sometimes this helps things stand out more from their background.
2. Check behind bark, under leaves, and in moss and lichen. Insects and spiders sometimes use them as shelter.
3. Give yourself time. There’s a good chance you won’t notice everything on the first pass. Try setting a timer and letting your eyes wander on the plant. You’d be surprised what you might find!
4. If you don’t find anything, that’s still valuable information! Post a picture of the tree you checked and make a note that you didn’t see anything else in the comments section.

We can’t wait to see what you find!

Hi everyone! As we enter the second half of the Spot Invasive Insects BioBlitz, we just wanted to take a moment to point you to two resources with tips on how to identify holes in trees and what causes them:

• Give Your Trees A Checkup!
• A Birdwatcher's Guide to Holes in Trees
from The Nature Conservancy's Don't Move Firewood program

Thank you to everyone for keeping us busy with all of these observations. We hope you all have a chance to get outside this weekend to either re-check your trees or to visit a new site where you can submit more observations!

Hello everyone!

It looks like it’s going to be beautiful weather in most of the state this weekend. If you haven’t had a chance yet, now would be a great time to head outside and make some observations. We’ve already had 198 observations submitted! A few highlights include:
Beech leaf disease - An invasive species that’s been moving rapidly through Massachusetts.
Marbled orb weaver - These beautiful spiders are also known as pumpkin spiders!
Common picture-winged fly - Check out the cool patterns on its wings!

Who knows what you might find when you make your observations!

Happy October 1st everyone! The Massachusetts Spot Invasive Insects BioBlitz starts today. If you cannot get outside on this beautiful fall day, you have between now and October 15 to get outside, finds some trees, and take a bunch of photos of anything in, on, or around those trees!

To get you started, below is a link to our pest blog's guide to tree-of-heaven id. If the area you adopt to make your observations has tree-of-heaven nearby, please be sure to check it for signs of spotted lanternfly! Also, if you have friends who you think would like to participate, there is a link to our BioBlitz blog post below as well:

• Tree-of-heaven id guide
• Share a link to our BioBlitz

Happy hunting!

-- Jenn

Hello to everyone who has already joined the project. We have a blog post up that makes it easy for you to let people who you think might be interested know about the October BioBlitz.

Please feel free to share, copy, adapt, etc. the info at this link: https://massnrc.org/pests/blog/?p=3464

You can also grab the text below. We need as many people as possible to join the project so they will get a reminder to submit observations this October.

Massachusetts residents! Join us this October 1 through 15 for our Spot Invasive Insects BioBlitz!

This year’s event will focus on spotted lanternfly and Asian longhorned beetle. All you need to do is

1. Pick a spot where trees are growing
2. From October 1 through 15, record all the living things you see on or near those trees using the iNaturalist website.

More info, including how to register for a free iNaturalist account and what to look for, can be found over at our pest blog: https://massnrc.org/pests/blog/?p=3464

Or, point iNat users directly to the project page: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/spot-invasive-insects-a-massachusetts-bioblitz

• Jenn (questions or ideas? email me at jennifer.forman-orth@mass.gov or message me on iNat)