Coming Soon!

This post was supposed to come way sooner, but you can't rush perfection.

I have in the works an interview with Brendan Morris, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who had a hand in describing a recent genus of Treehopper! 

He's going to answer some questions and give us some cool resources for endangered hoppers in Illinois and what we can do to help! 

For now, here's a few links to the work Brendan just had a hand in: 

Moniker won't bug him: Treehopper insect named after ESU biology professor

New genus of treehopper named after Selena Quintanilla, the queen of Tejano music

Pretty cool stuff, and even cooler people to know ;)

Video: Carol Freeman photographs threatened and endangered species in Illinois

Credit: Brushwood Center at Ryerson Wood, Deerfield IL

Video of a Karner Blue Butterfly in action!!

Credit: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Lycaeides melissa samuelis (The Karner Blue Butterfly)

The Karner Blue butterfly is one of the most well-known butterflies in the United States!

Public Domain

Through the Butterfly Conservation Initiative, zoos and other nature institutions have been able to join together to help conserve this and many other species of butterfly that are endangered in the United States (Binder Park Zoo, n.d.). The Karner Blue butterfly was the subject of very first state-wide Habitat Conservation Plan in Wisconsin (Karner Blue Butterfly, 2015)! 

The Karner Blue Butterfly is in danger for various reasons, most noteworthy of which being habitat destruction (Swengel 2001). Luckily for the butterfly and those trying to conserve it, this particular species requires its habitat to be disturbed (Karner Blue Butterfly 2015). This makes it very easy for landowners, conservationists and farmers to help by disturbing the land in their typical ways that also help the butterfly life cycle. 

Additionally, this butterfly has been the subject of a lot of conservation efforts -- they have been reared in the lab since 1996 and are released periodically into natural areas (Hems et al. 1996). Luckily, this species breeds twice in a year, once in April and another in July (Semko, 2008). 

This butterfly can be seen in various places in the state of Illinois, and the city of Chicago has a great location list of areas this butterfly can be seen in its natural habitat! Also, check out the Peggy Notabaert Nature Musuem to see it in its wonderful butterfly garden! 

What Can You Do??? 

Here is a list of workdays where the Karner Blue Butterfly lives! 

Dupage County, IL 

Cook County, IL

Click here to become a volunteer at the Peggy Notabaert Nature Museum! 

REFERENCES: 

Binder Park Zoo. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.binderparkzoo.org/conservation/butterfly.php 

Herms, Catherine Papps; McCullough, Deborah G.; Miller, Deborah L.; Bauer, Leah S.; Haack, Robert A. 1996. Laboratory rearing of Lycaeides melissa samuelis (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), an endangered butterfly in Michigan. The Great Lakes Entomologist 29(2):63-75

Karner Blue Butterfly. (2015, April 14). Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/kbb/kbbhcpfs.html

Swengel, A. (2001). A literature review of insect responses to fire, compared to other conservation managements of open habitat. Biodiversity & Conservation,10(7), 1141-1169.

Calephelis muticum (The Swamp Metalmark)

The Swamp Metalmark is a butterfly that is found in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, and of course, Illinois!

Photo © Mike Reese

While this species isn't considered endangered or threatened federally, it is extremely rare to find in Illinois. The reason for this is a lack of its host plant, Cirsium muticum, which has been found in few places, but is mostly sequestered to the northeastern part of the state (Endangered Species Protection Board 2016). Because of its endangered status in the state of Illinois, it is prohibited to collect it for insect collections or any other reason without a special scientific permit from the state (Can I Keep It? 2009).

Because it relies heavily on wetland species of plants, there are very few places for it to live and thrive. That said, there are areas that are protected for it to live, such as the Nelson Lake Marsh in Kane County.

What can you do?? 

Here are workdays for conservation of Kane County forest preserves and wetlands in 2016. 

Discussion time!! Comment with your thoughts! 

Do you think the restrictions on collections of C. muticum are fair, considering it isn't listed as an endangered species federally? What do you think can be done to prevent further habitat loss? Do you think this is a fair assessment -- have you seen this species close to where you live?

If you have, I'd love to source some workdays for those areas too!



REFERENCES 

United States Of America, Department of Natural Resources. (2009). Can I Keep It? (p. 20). Outdoor Illinois.

Endangered Species Protection Board. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/ESPB/Pages/default.aspx

Nyboer, R.W., J.R. Herkert, and J.E. Ebinger, editors. 2006.
Endangered and Threatened Species of Illinois: Status and Distribution, Volume 2 - Animals.
Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, Springfield, Illinois. 181 pp.

Somatochlora hineana (Hines Emerald Dragonfly)

Public Domain

The Hines Emerald Dragonfly is a species that was originally found and described in Ohio, but was thought to have gone extinct. It was soon rediscovered in small patches in Illinois, but was put on the U.S. List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants on January 26, 1995 (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2015). That said, it is illegal to collect, threaten or injure this species without a permit from the US Department of Fish And Wildlife.  Like all dragonflies, S. hineana larvae are aquatic. The adults live in wetlands, prairies and along the banks of rivers. 

You may have heard of the recent controversy in Lockport, IL where the city wanted to dig for water but the DNR wouldn't allow them. Here's a link to that article in the Chicago Tribune if you're interested. In short, the city of Lockport was blocked to dig collapsed wells for city water due to the range of a small ecosystem of S. hineana. This has stirred up a lot of feelings between both conversationalists and humanitarians alike. Some thought that the city should find new avenues to dig for water, or start a coalition with other local townships to get water from other nearby rivers. Others thought that the dragonflies could deal with the city digging for water, and thought that human activities wouldn't impact the dragonflies at all. I'll leave my personal feelings on this one aside.

The Hines Emerald Dragonfly is one of the most well known dragonflies in the United States and has quite a few conservation efforts behind it. in 2009, Richard Wronski wrote in the Los Angeles times that funds from Illinois tolls were going toward research and conservation for the Dragonfly (Wronski, 2009). Even in 1993, before the dragonfly was formally on the Endangered Species list, Elizabeth Birge wrote about how conservation efforts for this species may have barred an expansion for I-355 (Birge, 1993). From what I can tell, the expansion still happened, though it's nice that the consideration was there.

Despite all these efforts, the Hines Emerald Dragonfly still is a critically endangered insect (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2016). The reasons for this are as follows:

• Habitat Destruction. Much of the wetlands and prairies in Illinois are considered endangered themselves, and therefore the animals that rely on it are obviously endangered as well (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2015). 
• Pesticides and Water Pollutants. Contamination of water and wetlands by industry as well as unsustainable farming methods are huge threats to the dragonfly and its life cycle (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2015). 

Though the Hines Emerald Dragonfly has many people standing up for it, as well as a government-placed conservation program, it sure could use your help!

What can you do???

Because the dragonfly is an aquatic-dependent organism, you can help by reducing or stopping use of lawn fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals that end up in ground water (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2015). Additionally, you can recycle used car oil and properly dispose of toxic chemicals and paints instead of letting these end up as trash.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Comment with your thoughts!

What do you think about the Lockport controversy? I can't find any updates on this issue, and I live very close to Lockport so this is of great interest to me. Did anyone go to the meeting in question? How would you feel if this happened in YOUR county or town?




REFERENCES:

Birge, E. (1993, July 04). Rare Dragonfly May Bar Way Of I-355 Extension. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-07-04/news/9307040021_1_insect-scientists-extinct

Dragonfly drying up Lockport's future water needs. (2015, July 3). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-lockport-dragonfly-st-0705-20150703-story.html

Hine's Emerald Dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana). (2015, April 14). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/hed/hins_fct.html

Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana). (2016, February 22). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.fws.gov/Midwest/endangered/insects/hed/index.html

Wronski, R. (2009, September 1). Illinois tolls pitch in to save endangered dragonfly. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/01/nation/na-dragonfly1

Centruroides vittatus (The Common Striped Bark Scorpion)

I know what you're thinking... And YES! There are scorpions endemic to Illinois!!

Public Domain

C. vittatus is a scorpion species that can be found throughout many places in the United States.

Credit: Shelley & Sissom (1995)

As you can see, the range for this particular animal is small in Illinois. Still, it is described as being "frequently" collected in Monroe County on the bank of the Mississippi river in 1996 (Anton 1996). The DNR website of Illinois will not disclose their current location, as they fear that these creatures will be victims of the insect trade industry (Scorpions in Illinois? n.d). As someone who has insects as pets, I reluctantly have to agree with that decision. While that makes it hard to determine whether or not we as conservationists live in areas where these scorpions can be found, we can take the information given to us but Anton in 1996 as somewhat of a clue.

Bark scorpions live under bark and in moist areas, as their name might imply. They may also hide under rocks in glades to seek shelter from the sun during the day (Striped Scorpion, 2016). They are nocturnal carnivores and leave their hides during the evening to feed on beetles, cockroaches, ants, other scorpions and even mice.

What can you do??

[[Help!! I need more information for this area. How can I improve it? I'm thinking linking the Mississippi river to the health and conservation of the Scorpions.]]





REFERENCES: 

Anton, T. G. (1996). Current Distribution Of The Common Striped Scorpion (Centruroides vittatus) In Illinois. Illinois Department Of Natural Resources.

Scorpions in Illinois? (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/OI/Pages/BAScorpionsinIllinois.aspx

Shelley, R. M., & Sissom, W. D.. (1995). Distributions of the Scorpions Centruroides vittatus (Say) and Centruroides hentzi (Banks) in the United States and Mexico (Scorpiones, Buthidae). The Journal of Arachnology, 23(2), 100–110. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.miamioh.edu/stable/3705497

Striped Scorpion. (2016). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/striped-scorpion