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Rare, Jurassic-Era Giant Insect Discovered at Arkansas Walmart...A trip to buy milk turned into a stunning entomological find.
CNet ^ | March 1, 2023 2:37 p.m. PT | Amanda Kooser

Posted on 03/03/2023 12:33:51 PM PST by Red Badger

This giant lacewing may hint at hidden populations of the insect in Arkansas. Michael Skvarla/Penn State Back in 2012, entomologist Michael Skvarla stopped at a Walmart in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to pick up some milk. On the way in, he spotted a large, unusual insect on the side of the building. So he snagged it, took it shopping, brought it home and mounted it, thinking it was an antlion, a type of flying insect. Years later, he discovered it was something much rarer: an insect with an ancient history.

Penn State shared the story of Skvarla's find on Monday. Skvarla is director of the university's Insect Identification Lab. "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," Penn State said in a statement.

Skvarla corrected the initial misidentification while teaching a Zoom class in 2020 where he shared his personal insect collection with the students. Together, they worked out the new ID, which DNA analysis later confirmed. The results appear in a study published late last year in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington.

Researchers have found giant lacewing fossils dating back to around 165 million years ago during the Jurassic era. The one found in Arkansas has a wingspan of about 2 inches (50 millimeters).

Scientists are unsure why giant lacewings disappeared from eastern North America. Predators, urbanization or changes in the insects' forest environments may have played a role. "This discovery suggests there may be relictual populations of this large, charismatic insect yet to be discovered," the study said. Essentially, there could be hidden groups of giant lacewings flying under the radar in Arkansas. The one on the side of the Walmart may have been attracted to the store's lights at night.

This is a story of rediscovery, but also one about the joys of science. Penn State entomology doctoral student Codey Mathis remembers the class and the process of identification, saying, "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."

First published on Feb. 28, 2023 9:36 a.m. PT


TOPICS: History; Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: ggg; giantlacewing; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; insects; jurassic; paleontology; polystoechotes; punctata
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1 posted on 03/03/2023 12:33:51 PM PST by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger; SunkenCiv
Non-Trash
2 posted on 03/03/2023 12:36:03 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: Red Badger

I wonder what it tastes like.


3 posted on 03/03/2023 12:37:50 PM PST by ConservativeInPA (Stupidly is a moral problem, not an intellectual problem. )
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To: Red Badger

2” wingspan doesn’t seem that ‘giant’.


4 posted on 03/03/2023 12:38:02 PM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Red Badger
Researchers have found giant lacewing fossils dating back to around 165 million years ago during the Jurassic era. The one found in Arkansas has a wingspan of about 2 inches (50 millimeters).

I guess "giant" is a relative term in this case.

5 posted on 03/03/2023 12:38:57 PM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: ConservativeInPA

Don’t get your hopes up. It will be declared an endangered species before you get a chance at it.


6 posted on 03/03/2023 12:43:06 PM PST by sphinx
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To: Red Badger

There you go, way to save the Walmart closures in Portland.
Walmarts are Endangered Species habitat.


7 posted on 03/03/2023 12:44:26 PM PST by Cold Heart
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To: Red Badger

How it will be recorded in Scientific American..
“ The last surviving member of a 168 million year old species was killed by a MAGA wearing insect hunter denier. He didn’t know what he had, typical of a Walmart shopper who votes republican while reciting Bible verses. People on the internet were aghast when they realized the significance of what he was showing off as his trophy with a large pin still sticking through the body. Gaia is crying today, and we hope he/she/they sticks a large pin into this species exterminator.
Harvard has received a 200 million dollar research grant to study the possibility of cloning and repopulating this species.


8 posted on 03/03/2023 12:44:34 PM PST by Waverunner
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To: Jamestown1630

To a flea, it would be like a 727...


9 posted on 03/03/2023 12:44:41 PM PST by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Red Badger

Dragonfly (2002)
When Dr. Joe Darrow (Kevin Costner) loses his wife Emily in a tragic bus accident in Venezuela, Joe begins to notice signs that she is trying to communicate with him from the grave. Since Emily had a penchant for dragonflies, the graceful insects symbolize and mark Emily’s efforts to reach Joe.


10 posted on 03/03/2023 12:45:10 PM PST by redshawk ( I want my red balloon. https://youtu.be/VexKSRKoWQY)
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To: Red Badger

During Jurassic they would have had 2 Foot wingspan (not 2”) to be considered giant.

Air pressures were at least 4 times higher than today, with higher oxygen levels that made huge flying insects possible.


11 posted on 03/03/2023 12:45:28 PM PST by UNGN
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To: Army Air Corps

But to a Dobson Fly...


12 posted on 03/03/2023 12:45:50 PM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Cold Heart

“Walmarts are Endangered Species habitat.”

Among other things...

Walmart also gives credence to the saying that “truth is stranger than fiction.”

I’ve seen them websites...


13 posted on 03/03/2023 12:50:26 PM PST by Clutch Martin ("The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right." )
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To: Red Badger

Could it be another variation of China spy flying?


14 posted on 03/03/2023 12:54:09 PM PST by Brandonmark (November 2024 cannot come soon enough!)
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To: Brandonmark

The idea of spying insects is already under development...............


15 posted on 03/03/2023 12:58:12 PM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

This is just the fallout of liberal control of a state as it breeds Jurassic insects to go along with Jurassic intellect of people and how to treat “educated” people of the state. The rest are approved to feed the insects.

wy69


16 posted on 03/03/2023 1:01:13 PM PST by whitney69
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To: Red Badger

There are probably a lot of bugs and insects that scientists believe are extinct but which actually thrive in some habitat that is not commonly known. Of course, I wouldn’t think to look in an Arkansas Wal-mart for them either. Sometimes “experts” look for evidence of animals in the most convenient places for the scientists, not the most likely location of the animal. And sometimes they are surprised when they locate an animal to find it is thriving in a place which experts had previously thought would not support them (like Walmart).


17 posted on 03/03/2023 1:08:49 PM PST by CFW (old and retired)
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To: CFW

Like a Spotted Owl, living in a K-Mart sign.

Environmentalists swore it could only live in ‘old growth forests’ so stop teh logging now!..............................


18 posted on 03/03/2023 1:12:43 PM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: UNGN

That, a 2 foot wingspan, is what I was expecting to read about. Even with 2 inches, this man sees a fairly large dead(?) bug stuck to a wall. So he pulls it off with bare hands and just puts it in his pocket? Well, at least it wasn’t one of those furry catepillars with painfully toxic bristles.


19 posted on 03/03/2023 1:13:20 PM PST by lee martell
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To: Jamestown1630

a snack.


20 posted on 03/03/2023 1:14:59 PM PST by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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