Michael Ferro

Collection Manager
Plant and Environmental Sciences Department

Office: 307 Long Hall
Phone: 864-656-3105

Email: MFERRO@clemson.edu
Personal Website: http://spongymesophyll.com

Educational Background

Ph.D. Entomology
Louisiana State University 2011

M.S. Entomology
University of Missouri- Columbia 2004

B.S. Biology
Central Missouri State University 2001

Profile

My earliest research was on dragonflies (Odonata) in Missouri, and this resulted in later research opportunities in Thailand.

My masters at the University of Missouri was chiefly a survey of the Mayflies, Stoneflies, and Caddisflies (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) of Missouri State Parks.

Presently my research is centered on beetles in rotting wood (saproxylic Coleoptera). See below for publications on completed projects.

I'm currently Collection Manager at Clemson University Arthropod Museum.

Research Interests

Beetles in rotting wood (especially twigs) and leaf litter. Staphylinidae, especially Pselaphinae.

Extension and Outreach

First Detector Entomology Training Project: http://wiki.bugwood.org/FD-ENT

Publications

Ferro, M. L., and A. J. Flick. 2015. “Collection bias” and the importance of natural history collections in species habitat modeling: a case study using Thoracophorus costalis Erichson (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Osoriinae), with a critique of GBIF.org. The Coleopterists Bulletin 69(3): 415–425.

Ferro, M. L., M. K. Thayer, A. F. Newton, Jr., and J-S. Park. 2015. Key to North American Staphylinidae subfamilies. Available from: http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/nastaphylinidae (20 March 2015).

Ferro, M. L. 2015. Review of the genus Thoracophorus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Osoriinae) in North America north of Mexico, with a key to species. The Coleopterists Bulletin 69(1): 1–10.

Bowles, D. E., A. Contreras-Ramos, M. A. Sarmiento-Cordero, and M. L. Ferro. 2015. New distributional records for pleasing lacewings (Neuroptera: Dilaridae, Nallachius spp.) in the Americas. Insecta Mundi 406: 1–10.

Ferro, M. L., and M. L. Gimmel. 2014. Season of fine woody debris death affects colonization of saproxylic Coleoptera. The Coleopterists Bulletin 68(4): 681–685.

Ferro, M. L. 2014. A cultural and entomological review of the Osage orange (Maclura pomifera (Raf.) Schneid.) (Moraceae) and the origin and early spread of "hedge apple" folklore. Southeastern Naturalist. 13 (Monograph 7): 1–34.

Ferro, M. L., and A. J. Flick. 2014. “Advertising” biodiversity to the public: designing graphics to encourage active discovery and engagement. American Entomologist 60(2): 116-120.

Ferro, M. L., and C. E. Carlton. 2014. Two new species of Batrisodes Reitter (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from eastern North America. Insecta Mundi 0380: 1–21.

Ferro, M. L., N. H. Nguyen, A. Tishechkin, J-S. Park, V. Bayless, and C. E. Carlton. 2013. Coleoptera collected from rotting fishhook barrel cacti (Ferocactus wislizeni (Engelm.) Britton and Rose), with a review of Nearctic Coleoptera associated with succulent necrosis. Coleopterists Bulletin 67: 419–443.

Ferro, M. L., and J-S. Park. 2013. Effect of propylene glycol concentration on mid-term DNA preservation of Coleoptera. Coleopterists Bulletin 67: 581–586.

Ferro, M. L. 2013. Common name selection in the Internet age: a crazy case study. American Entomologist 59(3): 136–137.

Ferro, M. L., M. L. Gimmel, K. E. Harms, and C. E. Carlton. 2012. Comparison of the Coleoptera communities in leaf litter and rotten wood in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Insecta Mundi 0259: 1–58.

Ferro, M. L., M. L. Gimmel, K. E. Harms, and C. E. Carlton. 2012. Comparison of Coleoptera emergent from various decay classes of downed coarse woody debris in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Insecta Mundi 0260: 1–80.

Ferro, M. L., M. L. Gimmel, K. E. Harms, and C. E. Carlton. 2012. Comparison of three collection techniques for capture of Coleoptera, with an emphasis on saproxylic species, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Insecta Mundi 0261: 1–31.

Klepzig, K. D., M. L. Ferro, M. D. Ulyshen, M. L. Gimmel, J. B. Mahfouz, A. E. Tiarks, and C. E. Carlton. 2012. Effects of Small-Scale Dead Wood Additions on Beetles in
Southeastern U.S. Pine Forests. Forests 3: 632–652.

Ferro, M. L., and M. L. Gimmel. 2011. First record of Scolytogenes jalapae (Letzner) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Louisiana, U.S.A. The Coleopterists Bulletin 65: 363.

Ferro, M. L., and M. L. Gimmel. 2011. New synonymies and range extension for North American Thoracophorus Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Osoriinae). The Coleopterists Bulletin 65: 403–404.

Ferro, M. L., and C. E. Carlton. 2011. A practical emergence chamber for collecting Coleoptera from rotting wood, with a review of emergence chamber designs to collect saproxylic insects. The Coleopterists Bulletin 65: 115–124.

Dragonflies and Damselflies of Louisiana. 2010. Photography by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland, edited by M. L. Ferro, K. A. Parys, and M. L. Gimmel.

Park, J-S., C. E. Carlton, and M. L. Ferro. 2010. Diversity and taxonomic review of Leptusa Kraatz (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A., with descriptions of four new species. Zootaxa 2662: 1–27.

Ferro, M. L., and C. E. Carlton. 2010. Fifteen new species of Sonoma Casey from the eastern United States and a description of the male of Sonoma tolulae (LeConte) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae). Insecta Mundi 0137: 1–44.

Gimmel, M. L., and M. L. Ferro. 2010. “To Finish is to Win”: The First Annual Louisiana State Arthropod Museum Mad Dog Marathon. American Entomologist 56(2): 74–77.

Ferro, M. L., R. W. Sites, and A. Vitheepradit. 2009. Contributions to the faunistics of Odonata in Thailand. Insecta Mundi 0104: 1–24.

Ferro, M. L., M. L. Gimmel, K. E. Harms, and C. E. Carlton. 2009. The beetle community of small oak twigs in Louisiana, with a literature review of Coleoptera from fine woody debris. The Coleopterists Bulletin 63: 239–263.

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