30 New Insect Species Discovered in LA Backyards

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March 31, 2015

In Los Angeles, 30 new species of insects were identified by researchers working with residents who provided samples from their backyards, according to the city’s Headline & Global News.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County conducted a three-year investigation of biodiversity as part of its BioSCAN project. Researchers there examined 10,000 specimens of phorid flies from 30 sampling sites to distinguish the new species. “The insects were each named after the participant in whose yard it was discovered,” the article says.

The findings, which were published in Zootaxa (a journal for zoological taxonomists),  may offer “insight into how urbanization influences biodiversity,” according to the article.

 

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