Connecticut State The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

Chris T. Maier

Chris T. Maier

Department of Entomology
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
123 Huntington Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Voice: (203) 974-8476 Fax: (203) 974-8502
E-mail: Chris.Maier@ct.gov

Expertise:

Dr. Maier studies how invasive insects live and how to manage them, especially those that harm fruit trees and forests. He is an expert on leafminers and leafrollers, which are insects that damage fruit trees. He also specializes in finding wood‑boring beetles and understanding which trees and shrubs they prefer to attack.

Education:
B.S. in Zoology, University of Michigan 1971
M.S. in Entomology, University of Illinois 1973
Ph.D. in Entomology, University of Illinois 1977

Station career:
Assistant Scientist 1977-1982
Associate Scientist 1982-1995
Scientist 1995-2019
Emeritus Scientist 2019-current

Past research:

Orchard workers, foresters, and landscapers face many challenges when trying to control insect pests while using as few insecticides as possible. Dr. Maier’s research focuses on how leafminers and leafrollers behave, what plants they prefer, and how they use pheromones in fruit orchards. He has also studied ways to detect and collect forest insects, especially wood‑boring insects and insects that eat leaves. In addition, he has researched new invasive pests found in Connecticut forests, including what trees they prefer and the damage they cause. In 2004, he and his team completed a color guide to help identify caterpillars that live on conifer trees.

 

Current research:
Dr. Maier studies how to find, understand, and track several invasive insects that affect orchards and forests. In orchards, he works on ways to control apple leafminers, studies where the brown marmorated stink bug is found and how much damage it causes, and tests new types of traps for insects. In forests, he researches better trapping methods, what types of trees wood‑boring beetles prefer, and when these beetles are active during the year, especially longhorned beetles. He also helps run surveys that look for new invasive insects that may be present in Connecticut.

Dr. Maier is a member of the Entomological Society of America, the Entomological Society of Canada, the Entomological Society of Washington, and the Coleopterists’ Society. He has been President of the Connecticut Entomological Society three times. He currently serves on the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Advisory Committee and on the Invertebrate Subcommittee of Connecticut ’s Endangered Species Committee. He is a Curatorial Affiliate of the Yale Peabody Museum.

Selected publications available from author, Chris.Maier@ct.gov

  • Maier, C. T.  (2002).  Exotic lepidopteran leafminers in North American apple orchards: rise to prominence, management, and future threats. Biological Invasions, 3, 283-293.
  • Maier, C. T.  (2003).  Distribution, hosts, abundance, and seasonal flight activity of the exotic leafroller, Archips fuscocupreanus Walsingham (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in the northeastern United States. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 96, 660-666.
  • Maier, C. T.  (2005).  Hosts, pattern of seasonal emergence and flight, and new distributional records of palearctic Pasiphila rectangulata (L.) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in the northeastern United States. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 98, 214-218.
  • Maier, C. T. and C. R. Lemmon.  (2000).  Discovery of the small Japanese cedar longhorned beetle, Callidiellum rufipenne (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), in live arborvitae in Connecticut. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 102, 747-754.
  • Maier, C. T., C. R. Lemmon, J. M. Fengler, D. F. Schweitzer, and R. C. Reardon.  (2004). Caterpillars on the foliage of conifers in the northeastern United States.  Technology Transfer Bulletin FHTET–2004-01.  Morgantown, WV: USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team. 151 pp.
  • Maier, C. T.  (2005).  First records of alien insects in Connecticut (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Coleoptera: Buprestidae, Chrysomelidae; Diptera: Rhagionidae, Tephritidae; Hymenoptera: Megachilidae).  Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 107, 947-959.
  • Maier, C. T. (2007).  Distribution and hosts of Callidiellum rufipenne (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), an Asian cedar borer established in the eastern United States. Journal of Economic Entomology, 100, 1291-1297.
  • Maier, C. T.  (2008).  Emergence, trapping, and seasonal abundance of adult Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) associated with Cupressaceae in Connecticut.  Journal of Economic Entomology, 101, 430-437.
  • Maier, C. T. (2009). Distributional and host records of Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) associated with Cupressaceae in New England, New York, and New Jersey. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 111, 438-453.
  • Maier, C. T. (2009). New distributional records of three alien species of Megachilidae (Hymenoptera) from Connecticut and nearby states. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 111, 775-784.