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Naturalist Help the Vermont Atlas of Life Build Biodiversity Big Data in 2019
January 2, 2020From the first observation of 2019, a Barred Owl sitting on a deck submitted by naturalist extraordinaire Roy Pilcher, to a Christmas Fern laying on snow shared by Bondaley on the last day of the year, naturalists added over 100,000 biodiversity records to our rapidly growing database of life in Vermont.
Vermont Wild Bee Survey Records Over 9,000 Bees in 2019
December 8, 2019The Vermont Wild Bee Survey reached a milestone when it processed the 7,680th and final bee specimen from our 2019 survey. In just one year, this citizen science effort has amassed the largest collection of bees ever assembled in Vermont.
A Lifetime of Beetles
December 1, 2019A lifetime of work on the ground beetles of Vermont and New Hampshire, Carabidae of Vermont and New Hampshire by Ross T. Bell, Professor Emeritus of the University of Vermont with species maps produced by the Vermont Atlas of Life at VCE, is now available as a PDF.
Team Pipit’s Extraordinary Birding Feat: 150 species in all 14 Vermont Counties
November 26, 2019Fred (Pat) Pratt of Team Pipit completed an extraordinary birding feat on November 25, notching his 150th species of 2019 in Bennington County, with a pair of Northern Shovelers. This discovery earned Pat the 14th Star Award, as the first birder ever to record 150 species in all 14 Vermont counties during a single calendar year. Congratulations to Team Pipit for a truly inspiring accomplishment!
Asian Tiger Mosquito Found in Vermont
October 4, 2019State Agriculture and Health officials announced that the Asian Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has been identified for the first time in Vermont. This normally tropical/subtropical species is a known disease vector for Zika, chikungunya and dengue viruses, infecting humans in countries where these diseases are present. The mosquitoes found in Vermont do not currently carry these viruses.
iNaturalists Discover More New Moths for Vermont
October 3, 2019Over 1,475 biologists and naturalists have contributed more than 51,000 moth photo-observations to the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist. Together, we’ve discovered over 100 new species for Vermont, and iNaturalists have done it again. two species new to Vermont were discovered and one species that was only known from a historical record was rediscovered.
Fly Species New for Vermont Discovered by iNaturalist
October 1, 2019You don’t have to go far to help the Vermont Atlas of Life discover species new to Vermont. You just have to be observant. On August 12th Roy Pilcher, citizen scientist extraordinaire and recipient of the Julie Nicholson Citizen Science Award in 2009, found one in his car!
Introduced Jumping Spider Spotted in Vermont for First Time
September 17, 2019On June 10th Jasper Barnes, a wildlife biology student at the University of Vermont, snapped a photo of a tiny jumping spider near campus and shared it to the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist. It soon became recognized as the first record of this species for Vermont and the northernmost United States.
Bee Survey Says… Numerous Species Found For First Time In Vermont This Summer
August 8, 2019This summer, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies has spearheaded the Vermont Wild Bee Survey in Chittenden County. According to project coordinator Spencer Hardy, more than 320 species have been documented thus far — and nearly a dozen appear to be species of wild bees that were previously unknown to be in the state.
The Climbing Fern is Back in Vermont
August 6, 2019Last observed in Vermont in 1997, the climbing fern has been spotted again growing in the Northeast Kingdom, according to Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s botanist Bob Popp.
When a Bluet Isn’t Blue: Vermont’s “Newest” Damselfly
August 7, 2018Congratulations, Vermont. You’ve got a new damselfly. Here’s a tale about a bluet that’s defies the “blue” in its name. It becomes Vermont’s 45th known damselfly species.
European Hornet Identified For The First Time In Vermont
August 1, 2018The first Vermont specimen of the large European hornet was found in the southern part of the state and identified last month by the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. The department says it’s possible the species has been here for a while and only just now been identified.
