Kirtland's snake, or Clonophis kirtlandii, is state-endangered in Indiana. The reclusive snake species was recently spotted at Beanblossom Bottoms nature preserve.
(Courtesy Sycamore Land Trust and DNR)
Charla Replogle and Amelia Smith get excited about bugs.
“We got whirligig beetles!” Replogle declared.
“And, diving beetles,” Smith said as she held up a vial of insects floating in a clear liquid and rattled off the names of more beetles.
“Here – you wanna see this beetle?” Replogle asked. A beautiful, blue-green tiger beetle perched on Replogle’s fingertip glistened in the sun. It’s an insect the women described as a fierce carnivore.
The June "BioBlitz" at Beanblossom Bottoms nature preserve gave the Purdue University entomology graduate students a lot to get excited about. And they weren’t the only ones.
The students were among more than 70 researchers from multiple universities, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who conducted the 24-hour sampling effort across the preserve’s 700-plus acres.
The BioBlitz provided a snapshot of the wetland’s biodiversity, giving researchers and land managers a baseline on which to build a better understanding of the plants and animals that live there. It will also inform land management at the preserve.
Sycamore Land Trust’s land manager, Chris Fox, said because the 70 researchers covered such a large area, June’s Bio Blitz will be particularly helpful.
A zigzag iris discovered at Beanblossom Bottoms during the June 2022 "BioBlitz." (John Lawrence, Sycamore Land Trust)
When the blitz started, Fox was eager to see if the preserve was home to the endangered Kirtland’s snake – a small snake the land trust describes as “a reclusive and nocturnal species that spends most of its time underground.” Fox said they were surprised to find one inside a trap set in a foot of water – an unusual place for a snake believed to prefer moist open meadows or wet prairies. However, Fox said, there isn’t a lot of science yet on the snake. He said his group will take what they learned about it during the blitz and confer with herpetologists.
“In the instance of the Kirtland’s snake being a state endangered species, and one that seems to be struggling in all areas that it occurs, we definitely want to try to make some management decisions that might benefit that species,” he said, “and hopefully, either keep it on our preserves or maybe even help it expand a bit, especially a species that’s so dependent on wetlands because there’s so few wetlands.”
Knowing the Kirtland’s snake is there, Fox said some areas that were opened up by a tornado a few years back now may be kept open.
A home for endangered species
The preserve is home to more than one threatened or endangered species – for example, the Indiana bat and the American bittern. It’s also home to the recently discovered cypress firefly. The species was discovered in 2017, and first documented at the preserve in 2019.
It’s only been seen in three other states and scientists want to learn more about its habits and distribution.
Fox calls the cypress firefly “intriguing.” Beanblossom Bottoms is the farthest north the species has been seen and it’s living in a preserve that doesn’t have cypress trees and historically never did, according to Fox. That’s important information surveys like the Bio Blitz help document. It’s especially important at a time when the planet is warming, and the species could be forced to move its territory. Fox also said zoos may be called on to raise new cypress firefly populations to keep them from going extinct, and those new populations will need somewhere to live.
“If it ever got to the point where the species was on the brink, and they needed sites further north, knowing more about what's going on at Beanblossom could be really critical to survival,” he said.
Fox predicts it could take a year for full results to come out of the Beanblossom Bottoms BioBlitz. So far researchers have identified 300 plant species, including a colorful low-growing zig zag iris not previously identified at the preserve. And, about 20 snake species. And more than 50 bird species – a good number, Fox says, given the count was taken post migration.
The insect tally, though, is still to come. Fox said the preserve’s insects hadn’t been surveyed closely until now. He expects lots of spiders, and beetles such as the ones that Smith and Replogle found. Fox admits the BioBlitz may not uncover entirely new or rare species, just ones new to the preserve.
“You know, like, I didn't know there were snail-killing flies out there. But one guy found lots of them,” he said.
