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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Rare insect found in Arkansas sets historic record, prompts mystery   
    Recent identification of the giant lacewing points to deeper ecological   
   questions    
      
     Date:   
         February 27, 2023   
     Source:   
         Penn State   
     Summary:   
         A giant insect found in Arkansas has set historic records. The   
         Polystoechotes punctata or giant lacewing is the first of its   
         kind recorded in eastern North America in over 50 years. The   
         giant lacewing was formerly widespread across North America,   
         but was mysteriously extirpated from eastern North America by the   
         1950s. This discovery suggests there may be relic populations of   
         this large insect yet to be discovered.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A giant insect plucked from the fac,ade of an Arkansas Walmart has set   
   historic records. The Polystoechotes punctata or giant lacewing is the   
   first of its kind recorded in eastern North America in over 50 years --   
   and the first record of the species ever in the state.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   The giant lacewing was formerly widespread across North America, but was   
   mysteriously extirpated from eastern North America by the 1950s. This   
   discovery suggests there may be relic populations of this large,   
   Jurassic-Era insect yet to be discovered, explained Michael Skvarla,   
   director of Penn State's Insect Identification Lab.   
      
   Skvarla found the specimen in 2012, but misidentified it and only   
   discovered its true identity after teaching an online course based on   
   his personal insect collection in 2020. He recently co-authored a paper   
   about the discovery in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society   
   of Washington.   
      
   "I remember it vividly, because I was walking into Walmart to get milk   
   and I saw this huge insect on the side of the building," said Skvarla,   
   who was a doctoral student at the University of Arkansas at the time. "I   
   thought it looked interesting, so I put it in my hand and did the rest   
   of my shopping with it between my fingers. I got home, mounted it,   
   and promptly forgot about it for almost a decade."  It wasn't until   
   the COVID-19 pandemic that the giant lacewing would find its time to   
   shine. In the fall of 2020, with the world in lockdown, Skvarla was   
   teaching Entomology 432: Insect Biodiversity and Evolution at Penn   
   State. He taught the lab course via Zoom, with students following   
   along remotely on loaner microscopes, and used his own personal insect   
   collection as specimen samples.   
      
   As he went to demonstrate the features of a specimen he had previously   
   labeled an "antlion," Skvarla noticed that the characteristics didn't   
   quite match those of the dragonfly-like predatory insect. Instead,   
   he thought it looked more like a lacewing. A giant lacewing has a   
   wingspan of roughly 50 millimeters, which is quite large for an insect,   
   a clear indicator that the specimen was not an antlion, as Skvarla had   
   mistakenly labeled it. The students got to work comparing features --   
   and a discovery was made, live on Zoom.   
      
   "We were watching what Dr. Skvarla saw under his microscope and he's   
   talking about the features and then just kinda stops," said Codey Mathis,   
   a doctoral candidate in entomology at Penn State. "We all realized   
   together that the insect was not what it was labeled and was in fact a   
   super-rare giant lacewing.   
      
   I still remember the feeling. It was so gratifying to know that the   
   excitement doesn't dim, the wonder isn't lost. Here we were making a   
   true discovery in the middle of an online lab course."  For additional   
   confirmation, Skvarla and his colleagues performed molecular DNA analyses   
   on the specimen. Since confirming its true identity, Skvarla has deposited   
   the insect safely in the collections of the Frost Entomological Museum   
   at Penn State, where scientists and students will have access to it for   
   further research.   
      
   "It was one of those experiences you don't expect to have in a   
   prerequisite lab course," Louis Nastasi, a doctoral candidate studying   
   entomology at Penn State.   
      
   "Here we were, just looking at specimens to identify them and all   
   of a sudden, out of nowhere, this incredible new record pops up."   
   Discovery or recovery?  The fact that a giant lacewing was spotted   
   in the urban area of Fayetteville, Arkansas may reveal a larger story   
   about biodiversity and a changing environment, Skvarla explained. He   
   said that explanations vary for the giant lacewing's disappearance from   
   North America -- and it still largely remains a mystery.   
      
   Scientists hypothesize the insect's disappearance could be due to the   
   ever- increasing amount of artificial light and pollution of urbanization;   
   suppression of forest fires in eastern North America, if the insects rely   
   on post-fire environments; the introduction of non-native predators such   
   as large ground beetles; and introduction of non-native earthworms, which   
   significantly altered the composition of forest leaf litter and soil.   
      
   "Entomology can function as a leading indicator for ecology," Skvarla   
   said.   
      
   "The fact that this insect was spotted in a region that it hasn't been   
   seen in over half a century tells us something more broadly about the   
   environment."  The researchers analyzed extensive collection records   
   of giant lacewings, including museum holdings and community science   
   submissions, and placed them into a single map to determine their   
   distribution. The records span a huge geographic range, from Alaska to   
   Panama, and include multiple ecoregions in both eastern and western   
   North America. The map revealed the Arkansas specimen was the first   
   spotted in eastern North America in over 50 years.   
      
   Fayetteville lies within the Ozark Mountains, which are a suspected   
   biodiversity hotspot, according to Skvarla and his co-author J. Ray Fisher   
   of the Mississippi Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University.   
      
   They said that dozens of endemic species, including 68 species of insects,   
   are known from the Ozarks and at least 58 species of plants and animals   
   have highly disjunct populations with representatives in the region. They   
   explain that the area is understudied compared to regions of similar   
   biodiversity, such as the Southern Appalachians.   
      
   "This combination makes the region an ideal place for a large, showy   
   insect to hide undetected," they said.   
      
   The mystery remains as to how the insect arrived on the exterior of   
   a Walmart.   
      
   The fact that it was found on the side of a well-lit building at   
   night suggests that it was likely attracted to the lights and may   
   have flown at least a few hundred meters from where it originated,   
   Skvarla explained. "It could have been 100 years since it was even in   
   this area -- and it's been years since it's been spotted anywhere near   
   it. The next closest place that they've been found was 1,200 miles away,   
   so very unlikely it would have traveled that far."  The researchers note   
   that they suspect the new specimen represents a rare, surviving eastern   
   population of giant lacewings that evaded detection and extinction.   
      
   "Discovery doesn't always hold that same kind of grasp on people that   
   maybe it did 100 years ago," said Nastasi. "But a finding like this   
   really highlights that even in a run-of-the-mill situation, there are   
   still a tremendous number of discoveries to make about insects."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # New_Species # Animals # Insects_(including_Butterflies)   
                   # Ecology_Research   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Geography # Rainforests # Ecology # Exotic_Species   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Giant_Sequoia_tree o Garter_snake o Giant_Otter o Gulf_Stream   
             o Common_Eider o Red_Wolf o Eagle o Blueberry   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Penn_State. Original written by   
   Adrienne Berard. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Michael J. Skvarla, J. Ray Fisher. Rediscovery of Polystoechotes   
      punctata   
         (Fabricius, 1793) (Neuroptera: Ithonidae) in Eastern North America.   
      
         Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 2022; 124   
         (2) DOI: 10.4289/0013-8797.124.2.332   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230227161347.htm   
      
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