A 2012 trip to a Fayetteville, Arkansas, Walmart to pick up some milk turned out to be one for the history books.” Yes, you read that right, a trip to Walmart to pick up some milk ended up being a significant historical event. Well, not in the traditional sense of the word, but for Michael Skvarla, director of Penn State University’s Insect Identification Lab, it certainly was.
As Skvarla walked into the Walmart, he saw a massive bug on the side of the building. Being the curious scientist he is, he promptly squished it, put it in his hand and carried it with him as he did the rest of his shopping. Imagine doing your weekly grocery shopping while holding a giant bug between your fingers – not exactly what most people would consider an enjoyable experience. But most people aren’t scientists.Â
Once he got home, Skvarla mounted the bug and promptly forgot about it for almost a decade. It wasn’t until fall of 2020 when he was teaching an online course on insect biodiversity and evolution that Skvarla realized it wasn’t what he originally thought. As he showed the bug to his students on a Zoom call, they figured out that it was, in fact, a super-rare giant lacewing.
“We were watching what Dr. Skvarla saw under his microscope, and he’s talking about the features, and then just kinda stops,” one of his students, Codey Mathis, said. “We all realized together that the insect was not what it was labeled and was, in fact, a super-rare giant lacewing.”
The bug that Skvarla had found at Walmart turned out to be a rare Jurassic-era flying insect, a giant lacewing known as Polystoechotes punctata. The bug’s wingspan was about 50 millimeters – nearly 2 inches, a span that made it clear that the insect was not an antlion, as Skvarla had originally thought.
Skvarla and his team conducted molecular analyses on the bug and published their research on the specimen in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington in November 2020. The discovery of the Arkansas specimen “represents a new state record and the first specimen recorded in Arkansas,” Skvarla wrote in the paper.
Giant lacewings were once found across the entire continent, but by the 1950s, the insect had disappeared in the eastern part of North America. The reasons for their disappearance are still unknown, with some theories suggesting that it may have been due to increasing light pollution or new predators, and others speculating that new earthworms introduced into the environment may have changed the soil’s composition.
Skvarla’s discovery of the Arkansas specimen provides new insight into the species and its distribution, shedding light on what has remained a mystery for many years. The discovery also highlights the importance of being observant and curious, even in the most mundane of places. Who knows what other historical discoveries may be waiting for us in the aisles of our local Walmart?
In conclusion, who would have thought that a trip to Walmart to buy milk could lead to such a significant discovery? Skvarla’s experience shows us that even the most unexpected places can hold secrets waiting to be uncovered. So next time you find yourself in a mundane situation, take a moment to look around and observe – who knows what you may discover?
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