Entomologist Michael Skvarla was walking into a Walmart in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to buy milk in 2012, when he spotted a large, unusual insect on the side of the building. He caught this insect, carried it with him while shopping, took it home and mounted it on a frame, thinking it was an antlion, a flying insect. The insect was exhibited in his home for a long time. Years later, he discovered that it was something much rarer: an ancient insect with an ancient history.
The story of Skvarla’s find was shared by Penn State last Monday. Skvarla is the director of the university’s Insect Identification Laboratory. “The Polistoecots punctata, or giant Lacewing, is the first of its kind recorded in the northeastern United States in over 50 years, and the first record in the state,” Penn State said in a statement.
Skvarla corrected the initial misidentification while teaching in a Zoom class in 2020, during which he shared his personal collection of insects, including a specimen with a wingspan of about 50 millimeters. Together they tried to find the new identity, which was later confirmed by DNA analysis. The results were published in a study published late last year in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington.
Previously, researchers had found giant Lacewing fossils dating back to the Jurassic period, about 165 million years ago. So the history of this species dates back to ancient times.
Scientists aren’t sure why giant lacewings disappeared from eastern North America. Predators, urbanization or changes in the forest environments of insects are thought to have played a role in the extinction of this species. “This discovery shows that reliable yet undiscovered populations of this large, charismatic insect may still be in the area,” the study says. In other words, there may be giant bands of lacewings sneaking up on Arkansas until now undetected. The specimen found may have been drawn to the nighttime lights of the store next door to Walmart.
This story of rediscovery is also an example of happy moments in science. Penn State Entomology PhD student Codey Mathis, as one of the students who remembered the lesson and the identification process, said, “It was very pleasing to know that the excitement did not decrease and the sense of curiosity did not fade. “There, in the middle of an online lab class, we were making a real discovery,” he says.
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