Biodiversity of Arkansas's Boletim

The state of Arkansas is holding a bioblitz at Logoly State Park near Magnolia, AR on Saturday, April 27th. Information is here: https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/events/logoly-state-park-spring-bioblitz/74529041

This year I am holding a statewide Lepidoptera bioblitz! The blitz runs from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024. The top three people who post the most species will win this t-shirt in their choice of size and color: https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Insect-Illustration-Collection-T-Shirt/dp/B09K59TLDQ/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1704256123&refinements=p_4%3ADark+Academia+Goblincore+Cottagecore+Clothing&s=apparel&sr=1-2

Rules:

1). Insects must be observed in Arkansas during the year of 2024.
2). Observations must be in the Biodiversity of Arkansas project.
3). All observations must be of wild specimens.
4). Have fun!

Forestry experts have determined that a needle blight is at least partly to blame for an issue affecting thousands of acres of pine trees in south Arkansas, the latest area to confirm the disease that has swept through woodlands across much of the South in recent years.

[...]

Brown spot needle blight, a fungal disease that causes needles to drop from pines and can stunt the growth of and even kill trees, is one of three different pathogens that researchers have detected in Arkansas, according to Joe Fox, who retired from his 11-year tenure as state forester at the end of June. Of the three pathogens, brown spot needle blight is the only one that can cause consequential damage to trees' health. However, such damage generally only happens when a tree is exposed to the blight for repeated years.

https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2023/jul/03/blight-confirmed-in-some-arkansas-trees-but/

The article includes a link to a survey to report infected pines.

Gall Week is until Sunday, April 23, 2023. I'd like to encourage everyone to observe as many galls as possible and add them to the project here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/gall-week-spring-2023

If you need help identifying galls, an excellent resource is here: https://www.gallformers.org/

A Pennsylvania professor found the giant lacewing, or Polystoechotes punctata, at a Fayetteville Wal-mart. The bug had been "extinct" since the 1950s. Keep your eyes open! Maybe someone will find more!

https://bioone.org/journals/proceedings-of-the-entomological-society-of-washington/volume-124/issue-2/0013-8797.124.2.332/Rediscovery-of-Polystoechotes-punctata-Fabricius-1793-Neuroptera--Ithonidae-in/10.4289/0013-8797.124.2.332.short

On Saturday, October 8th I will hold a bioblitz at the Sulphur River WMA and the adjoining Alex Smith County Park in Miller County, AR. This area borders both Texas and Louisiana.

Map of the WMA: https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/770/

Alex Smith Park: https://www.facebook.com/Alex-Smith-Park-Miller-County-Arkansas-104580878637542/

The WMA is ten miles long but has few trails, so it is very rugged. We will use Alex Smith County Park as our base of operations, since this park has showers, bathrooms, picnic tables, and a campground.

I plan to have everyone meet at the Sulphur River boat ramp in Alex Smith at about 8 am. We will gather for lunch at noon. Bring anything you would like to share with others, such as paper plates or drinks. I am going to see about getting permission to do some blacklighting.

Directions to the boat ramp: At the intersection of Blackman Ferry Road/Hwy 237 and Smith Park Road, you will see a sign for the county park. Go straight down Smith Park Road until it makes a 90 degree turn to the right. Keep going and you will see the boat ramp.

Feel free to tag anyone who may be interested!

Notes:

Access to Arkansas WMAs and state parks is free! The state uses part of the sales tax to fund the parks, and the state figures that since you're already paying for them every time you buy something, admission is free.

Alcohol in the WMA is not allowed.

You can either camp in Alex Smith Park or stay in a hotel in nearby Atlanta, TX.

@hambell with 51 species! Congratulations, and thanks to all who participated. Hambell, please send me your address in private message so I can send your prize to you!

The Arkansas fish blitz is over, but you still have until January 15th to upload those fish observations! Remember, the fish must be observed in 2020 to qualify.

As the year will soon come to a close, I'd like to encourage people to keep posting those fish observations! Fish must be observed in 2021 and be wild. Whoever gets the most species wins a free Mystery Tackle Box ($15 value)!

Current leaderboard:

1). @hambell with 46 species
2). @mfria631 with 14 species
3). @benthesing with 12 species
4). tie between @fishecke and @ar_etheostoma with 10 species!

@theo_witsell has published a new book, Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Arkansas. In this video by The Ozark Society, Theo talks about some rare plants in his book. One of them is the American Barberry, which wasn't known to exist in Arkansas until Theo found a museum specimen collected in 1888. Theo hopes that people will go out and try to find it. Wouldn't it be cool if an iNat user was to find one? I know I'm going to make more trips to Arkansas to look for it! I plan on making a weekend trip to Hot Springs National Park this spring to look for plants!

Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/The-Ozark-Society-105080184374291/videos/405297544225384

Support Theo Witsell by buying his book here: https://www.uapress.com/product/trees-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of-arkansas/?utm_campaign=Social%20Promotion&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_term=Trees%20Shrubs%20and%20Woody%20Vines%20of%20Arkansas&fbclid=IwAR20jfvHIuqcT7cObzpns3iOZ0TuEjv4TdJSrMflLEPRd5SZBCf0DURrEsI