Rib Mountain State Park

4200 Park Road

Wausau, WI 54401

July 2, 2007

Marathon County

(click here for short video of view from top of tower)

Rib Mountain is a beautiful place in central Wisconsin. The rock formations that rear up along the trails are beautiful and impressive. It seems that I was here during the low season, as there were few other visitors.  But the extensive skiing facilities seemed to indicate that this place is very popular in the winter.  The observation tower offered an impressive view of the surrounding countryside.  It was undergoing some repair work (especially on the first level) but most of the tower was accessible. The tower felt a bit more scary at the top than the tower at Lapham Peak that I visited yesterday, but the surroundings seemed much more "wild".  I was especially happy to collect a couple of specimens of Emblemasoma albicoma at the top of the tower (this species is a parasite of cicadas).  The specimen of Calliphora latifrons that I collected along the trails is very common in the western U.S., but uncommonly seen this far east.

Rib Mountain is west of Interstate 39/U.S. Highway 51, southwest of Wausau

• Sarcophagidae (Miltogramminae)
  • Macronychia spp.
• Sarcophagidae (Paramacronychiinae)
  • Brachicoma sarcophagina (Townsend)
• Sarcophagidae (Sarcophaginae)
  • Blaesoxipha (Servaisia) uncata (Wulp)
  • Boettcheria latisterna Parker
  • Emblemasoma albicoma Reinhard
  • Ravinia querula (Walker)
  • Ravinia stimulans (Walker)
  • Sarcophaga (Bercaeopsis) idonea Aldrich
  • Sarcophaga (Bercaeopsis) morosa Aldrich
  • Sarcophaga (Liopygia) argyrostoma (Rob.-Desv.)
  • Sarcophaga (Robineaulla) nearctica Parker
  • Sarcophaga (Wohlfahrtiopsis) utilis Aldrich

• Calliphoridae

  • Calliphora latifrons Hough

  • Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy

  • Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus)

  • Phormia regina (Meigen)

(View of the surrounding countryside from a rock cliff along hiking trail)

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