BioBlitz 2021

Wehr Nature Center

June 18-21, 2021

Property Description

map of nature centerWehr Nature Center and Whitnall Park contain a unique set of diverse natural environments in a familiar suburban setting. We think there's no better place to be reminded that there is astounding biodiversity in your own backyard, and how important that biodiversity is to all of us.  Wehr Nature Center is also fully accessible, making this an event for everyone!

Interesting Discoveries

  • Arisaema dracontium – Green dragon (not common in this area)
  • Ginkgo biloba – The ginko tree is native to China. It’s widely used as a street tree (there are plenty in Milwaukee), but usually only males are planted as the females produce fruit that smell terrible when they break open. How it came to be where it is a bit of a mystery.
  • Pleuroloma flavipes millipede – First time this species has been documented in Milwaukee in more than 100 years. It’s hard to tell from this how scarce or common the millipede actually is; chances are that nobody spent time looking for it, but also it’s been a regular feature of the Wehr Nature Center grounds (and building!) for years and they didn’t know what they had.

Two lepidoptera of note:

  • Cabera quadrifasciaria - Four-lined Cabera moth
  • Ponometia binocula - Prairie bird-dropping moth

These are both moths that require good quality prairie habitat to complete their lifecycle, which is exciting to find in a prairie restoration like Wehr’s. 


General Results

Count
Taxon

1,048 species found
13  Fish
9 Amphibians and Reptiles
11 Mammals
50 Other Invertebrates
60 Birds
450  Insects
455  Fungi, Lichens, Algae, and Plants

Click the button below to download a spreadsheet of the full results from this BioBlitz:

2021 BioBlitz Results


little girl holding rockHosted By

Wehr Nature Center

Participants

57 surveyors and educators from 18 institutions and organizations

Field Museum of Natural History
Marquette University
Milwaukee County Parks
Milwaukee County Parks Natural Areas
Milwaukee Public Museum
Prairie Enthusiasts
Purdue University
Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
UW - Madison
UW - Parkside
UW - Stevens Point
UW - Waukesha at Milwaukee
UW - Whitewater
Wehr Nature Center
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Wisconsin Entomological Society
Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society
Wisconsin Mycological Society


pondpeople walking into field

mushroomspeople doing research on a deck

flowersbutterfly

chipmunkresearchers with microscopes

people standing on deck next to pondfather and daughter reading list of species

bugs in a boxbioblitz results board