A giant insect is found in a very unique way. Not through archeological excavation or exploration expedition in nature, this ancient insects were found in supermarkets. How come?
Michael Skvarla, Director of the Insect Identification Laboratory at Penn State University, found the insect when he was going to shop at the Walmart supermarket in 2012. The experience was very memorable so he still remembered it very clearly.
"I was walking to Walmart to buy milk and I saw this big insect on the side of the building, I thought it looked interesting, so I put it in my hand and returned to shopping," Skvarla said in an interview with CBS News.
"After arriving home, I displayed the insect, and forgot it for almost a decade," he continued.
Initially, Skvarla thought the insects he took in Walmart were a kind of retreat. The Missouri Conservation Department said that this insect looked like Damselflies with an elongated body, four veined wings, brown spots and black, and had a curved antenna along the head and chest.
Then, in the fall of 2020, when he taught online courses about biodiversity and insect evolution, Skvarla showed the insect to his students and suddenly realized that the insects were not what he thought. He and his students then find out about what species of the insect.
"We witnessed what Dr. Skvarla was seen under his microscope and he talked about his features, then suddenly stopped," said one of his students named Codey Mathis.
"We all realize that insects are not as labeled and actually the insect is a giant lacewing that is very rare," explained the student.
Extinct species
This insect turns out to be a polystoechotes Punctata or often called a giant lacewing or giant lace. A clear indicator of the identification of this species is the wing of the insect wings. The size is about 5 cm, the range which according to the research team clarifies that the insect is not a retreat as previously expected.
Skvarla then works with a team to conduct molecular analysis of the insect. In November, his research on the specimen was published in the Entomological Society of Washington Proceedings.
Giant lacewing was found throughout the continent, but in the 1950s, this insect was extinct in the eastern part of North America. The cause of their extinction is still mysterious. Some theories say, they might be extinct due to increased light pollution, new predators, even the possibility of new earthworms that enter the environment that changes the composition of the soil.
"The fact that giant lacewing is seen in the urban area of Fayetteville, Arkansas can reveal a bigger story about biodiversity and changing the environment," Skvarla explained as quoted by Eurekalert.
The researchers analyzed the extensive collection records of giant lacewings, including museum ownership and submission of community science, and placed it into one map to determine its distribution.
The record includes a very broad geographical range, from Alaska to Panama, and includes many ectegions in eastern North America. The map revealed that Arkansas specimens were the first seen in eastern North America in more than 50 years.
There are still other mysteries about how the insects can be on the Walmart wall. The fact that insects were found on the side of the building that was bright enough at night showed that the animal might be attracted to light and may have flown at least a few hundred meters from its place of origin.
"It could be 100 years since then in this area, and for years since it was seen nearby," Skvarla suspected.
The researchers noted that they suspected that the new specimen represented the rare and survival and survival of Eastern Giant Lace, which avoided detection and extinction.
"The discovery does not always have the same understanding of people like what might have happened 100 years ago. But findings like this really highlighted that even in situations like this, there are still many discoveries about insects," said Skvarla.
