Final Species Lists

This is the final update for the Middlefork Savanna BioBlitz 2008.

How is it possible this list is still growing when the "blitz" was in June? For a variety of reasons, not every subject collected during BioBlitz was positively ID-ed on site that day. As those species were determined, they were added to the official tally.

This final update includes 30 aphid species identified by David Voegtlin and Doris Lagos of the Illinois Natural History Survey and two fungal species identified by Patrick Leacock of The Field Museum, Cerrena unicolor and Cordyceps anamorph sp.1. There were also some updates made to other tables. This final report also eliminates duplicates caused by spelling errors. Final, final count: 1,105 species.

• Vertebrates (128 species)
• Invertebrates (512 species)
• Vascular Plants (386 species)
• Non-vascular Plants (79 species)

Many thanks to all who participated.

Tiny Insects Rule the Night

11 p.m. The sound of a lone coyote howl breaks the stillness as I walk back to the tally tent for an update. Mental note to make sure Canis latrans is on the list.

The tally tent is mostly quiet, save for a million mosquitoes and, ironically, the insect station. The folks from the Illinois Natural History Survey are busy emptying the evening's take into petri dishes and prepping them for ID.

To tell certain kinds of leafhoppers apart, you need a peek at ... well ... their private parts. That's no simple task when the animal is only 2 mm long. The insect must be soaked overnight in a solution of potassium hydroxide, which turns its exoskeleton transparent. Tomorrow, it'll reveal the full monty under a microscope and be added to the database.

Current species count is 201: 20 invertebrates and one vertebrate added. Many teams have yet to report.