Observed changes in mean temperature and increased frequency of extreme climate events have already impacted the distributions and phenologies of various organisms, including insects. Although some research has examined how parasitoids will respond to colder temperatures or experimental warming, we know relatively little about how increased variation in temperature and humidity could affect interactions between parasitoids and their hosts. Using a study system consisting of emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, and its egg parasitoid Oobius agrili, we conducted environmentally controlled laboratory experiments to investigate how increased seasonal climate variation affected the synchrony of host–parasitoid interactions. We hypothesized that increased climate variation would lead to decreases in host and parasitoid survival, host fecundity, and percent parasitism (independent of host density), while also influencing percent diapause in parasitoids. EAB was reared in environmental chambers under four climate variation treatments (standard deviations in temperature of 1.24, 3.00, 3.60, and 4.79°C), while O. agrili experiments were conducted in the same environmental chambers using a 4 × 3 design (four climate variation treatments × 3 EAB egg densities). We found that EAB fecundity was negatively associated with temperature variation and that temperature variation altered the temporal egg laying distribution of EAB. Additionally, even moderate increases in temperature variation affected parasitoid emergence times, while decreasing percent parasitism and survival. Furthermore, percent diapause in parasitoids was positively associated with humidity variation. Our findings indicate that relatively small changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climate events have the potential to phenologically isolate emerging parasitoids from host eggs, which in the absence of alternative hosts could lead to localized extinctions. More broadly, these results indicate how climate change could affect various life history parameters in insects, and have implications for consumer–resource stability and biological control.

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is an invasive beetle that has killed millions of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) since it was accidentally introduced to North America in the 1990s. Understanding how predators such as woodpeckers (Picidae) affect the population dynamics of EAB should enable us to more effectively manage the spread of this beetle, and toward this end we combined two experimental approaches to elucidate the relative importance of woodpecker predation on EAB populations. First, we examined wild populations of EAB in ash trees in New York, with each tree having a section screened to exclude woodpeckers. Second, we established experimental cohorts of EAB in ash trees in Maryland, and the cohorts on half of these trees were caged to exclude woodpeckers. The following spring these trees were debarked and the fates of the EAB larvae were determined. We found that trees from which woodpeckers were excluded consistently had significantly lower levels of predation, and that woodpecker predation comprised a greater source of mortality at sites with a more established wild infestation of EAB. Additionally, there was a considerable difference between New York and Maryland in the effect that woodpecker predation had on EAB population growth, suggesting that predation alone may not be a substantial factor in controlling EAB. In our experimental cohorts we also observed that trees from which woodpeckers were excluded had a significantly higher level of parasitism. The lower level of parasitism on EAB larvae found when exposed to woodpeckers has implications for EAB biological control, suggesting that it might be prudent to exclude woodpeckers from trees when attempting to establish parasitoid populations. Future studies may include utilizing EAB larval cohorts with a range of densities to explore the functional response of woodpeckers.

Determining the time of colonization of human or other animal remains by blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) can play an important role in criminal investigations. However, blow fly presence in a given area is strongly influenced by abiotic and biotic variables such as temperature and habitat. We wanted to assess the biodiversity of adult blow flies in New Jersey, USA, where very little is known about these taxa. Toward that end we collected adult blow flies biweekly from traps baited with bovine liver and placed across three regions in New Jersey over a 2-yr period (2011–2013). We collected and identified 9,257 adult calliphorids, comprising six genera and 12 species. Blow fly assemblages composed of these species varied by season, but community composition did not vary among regions within a given season. Three species, Lucilia coeruleiviridis (Macquart), Lucilia sericata (Meigen), and Phormia regina (Meigen) comprised 88.5% of all adult blow flies collected (42.6, 25.9, 20.0%, respectively). Combining all regions, the dominant species for both spring and summer was L. coeruleiviridis comprising 35.1% of all adults caught in spring and 64.1% in summer. P. regina was the dominant species in fall, totaling 40.1% of all adults caught and Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy) was the dominant species for winter, totaling 44.8% of all adults caught. Our findings provide the first assessment of blow fly communities in New Jersey, and these results can be applied to surrounding states where data are severely lacking for forensic application.