The beetles (order Coleoptera) are the largest order of insects on the planet. More than 360,000 species have been named. Up to 25 percent (one in four) of all animals on the planet may be beetles. They run the gamut from some of the world’s largest insects, over 16 centimeters long, to some of the smallest at 0.25 millimeters. They have also been around for quite some time. There are fossilized beetles dating back 265 million years.

From June 27 through July 1, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Discover Life in America will be hosting a “Beetle Blitz” in conjunction with the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory. The ATBI is an ambitious enterprise, attempting to catalog all living species in the GSMNP.

Last July more than 20 professional and amateur lepidopterists participated in an ATBI “bio-blitz” targeting butterflies and moths. They identified over 700 species, 300 of which had not been recorded in the park.

The Beetle Blitz will be a joint effort of researchers, volunteers, students, scientists, and park personnel. ATBI volunteer Tom Rogers of Jackson, Miss., will be coordinating the event. Rogers, who has a masters degree in entomology, was traveling through the park a couple of years ago and picked up an ATBI brochure. He has been a volunteer ever since, helping sort and catalog insects at the park.
Rogers said he expects a 100 or more people will participate in the Beetle Blitz.

The goals of the blitz are to develop a preliminary inventory of beetles in the park; to deposit, in the park collection, as many identified specimens as possible during the blitz; to collect a nucleus of specimens for further study; to share collecting methods and the joy of entomology with students and volunteers; and to see old friends and make new ones.

Researchers and volunteers will be collecting and cataloguing around the clock for three days. Rogers said he expects thousands of species will be recorded.

Upward Bound students under the leadership of the University of Tennessee will be using nets, sifters, and beat sheets to collect beetles at various sites throughout the park. Many will be working in streams to collect aquatic beetles. Light traps and flashlights and nets will be used to capture nocturnal beetles.
Kevin Fitzpatrick of Media Divide Productions in Highlands, N.C., will be offering a photography workshop in conjunction with the blitz. The program will highlight nature photography methods useful for the ATBI.

The tentative schedule for the Beetle Blitz is: Wednesday, June 27, check in at Sugarlands Training Room (STR); 2-5 p.m., photography workshop with Kevin Fitzpatrick; 6 p.m., evening social. Thursday, June 28, 8 a.m. welcome, orientation, safety talk at Sugarlands Training Room; rest of the day — collect, sort, and ID (lunch and supper on your own.) Friday, June 29, collect, sort, and ID.

Meet the press and public, reception at the STR 1-2 p.m. Saturday, June 30, 9 a.m. youth volunteer and late-comer welcome and orientation, STR; collect, sort, and ID. 4:30 p.m. scientists’ summary, STR; 6-9 p.m., picnic for participants at Twin Creeks Picnic Shelter, Cherokee Orchard Road.

For more information regarding the Beetle Blitz, contact Tom Rogers, coordinator, 678.575.0218; Becky Nichols, GSMNP entomologist, 865.436.1702; or Jeanie Hilton, Discover Life in America, 865.430.4752.

 

Back to Top
The Smoky Mountain News