FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

by Jamie Fussell

SFA Entomologist discovers endangered beetle 

A Stephen F. Austin State University biology grant director and entomologist will be spending a lot of time this summer on some groundbreaking work — he’s looking for a beetle.

However, this isn’t any ordinary beetle. Dr. William Godwin helped discover the first reliable Texas finding of nicrophorus americanus, an endangered species also known as the American burying beetle, on an Army and National Guard infantry training base called Camp Maxey near Paris, Texas.

Godwin found the beetle in December 2003, during a planning level insect survey he was conducting for the base.

The beetle was listed on the federal endangered species list in 1989, and Godwin has petitioned to have it included in the Texas endangered species list.

“Finding this shows that the people at the base are doing a good job of maintaining the habitat,” Godwin said. “We are possibly the last people to add an endangered species to the list in Texas for a very long time, possibly forever, given our current climate for science and environmental issues.”

The group will set traps until August at Camp Maxey and in other locations to look for more of these beetles.

“We will lay out a grid of pitfall traps with five-gallon buckets and baby food jars with rotten chicken, which is a lot cleaner than just laying a dead animal in there,” Godwin said. “It’s still kind of a stinky job. You have to go out late in the afternoon, pick the lid off your pitfall, put your bait in there and let it run all night. If you have a layer of moist soil in there, when you check it, it will be full of beetles. We will count them, probably mark them with some tiny dots of paint, and release them.”

Godwin said if they find this beetle in places other than Camp Maxey, their case for receiving funding through grants will improve.

“Texas Army and National Guard will fund our work on Camp Maxey, but we’ll do other areas on our own,” he said.

Four SFA students will be assisting Godwin in his surveys this summer: April Harkness, Nacogdoches freshman; Ryan Lawrence, Helotes freshman; Corinne Hughes, Austin freshman; and Nathan Woodward, Columbus junior.

“They brought me résumés that had jobs from restaurants, lawn mowing and stuff,” Godwin said. “I told them at the end of the summer that you can have your résumé show that you worked with nature conservancy professionals, Texas Army and National Guard natural resources managers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and the Forest Service. So, they will benefit greatly from this. They’ll have a fabulous résumé.”

Godwin is one of three people in Texas who is permitted to work with this beetle. The others are Dr. Craig Rudolph, who works for the Southern Research Station, and Dr. Steve Clarke, U.S. Forest Service.

Godwin said the surveys will go on for at least two seasons, and the research will help draw interest into SFA’s insect collection. He is still looking for five more students to assist him this summer.

-30-

This story was written by Jamie Fussell, editor of SFA’s student newspaper, The Pine Log. Fussell is a senior journalism major from Alvin. Photo by Mindy Arendt of Gainesville, Pine Log photographer. Beetle drawing by Barry Flahey.