Prehistoric Insects of Sorna
In addition to Dinosaurs and other prehistoric vertebrates, InGen cloned several species of prehistoric insects. The extraction techniques used to clone from insects trapped in amber sometimes yielded genomes from species other than chordates.
Sometimes the DNA taken from amber was grown and resulted in species such as Meganeura and Meganeuropsis. These were ancient dragonfly species with much larger wingspans than those found today. Over two feet long.
Another species was Arthropleura, the largest land arthropod. Similar to a Millipede, it munched rotting vegetation and grew up to six feet long. InGen figured out they could be used for biowaste processing in addition to the Compsognathus.
Another insect, a springtail called Rhyniella, was bred. Half an inch long, it lived in the soil. InGen found them more of a curiosity than anything else.
The insect species bred may not be very apparent when visiting the island, but they are part of what constitutes Sorna's prehistoric ecosystem.
Donna Gillman: Insect Specialist
InGen maintains an Insect Labs facility dedicated to the study of prehistoric invertebrates, as well as some native Sorna species. One f their most dedicated employees is a woman named Donna Gillman.
Donna has three main areas of expertese --- amber analysis, species classification, and specimen collection. She takes her work very seriously and a thirty-four book library occupies her office.
One of her jobs is to identify which insect species is in an amber sample. She looks for markers such as eye type, body section size, and limb count in the case of arachnids and other arthropods.
Sometimes the DNA in an amber sample belongs to an insect instead of a vertebrate. When these are cloned, it is up to Donna to identify the prehistroic species. She has particular interest in special-niche beetles.
Sometimes Donna goes into the Sorna wilderness to collect specimens. One of her methods is to gas an area known to be home to a specific species, and going in after to collect the unconsious insect(s).
One of the labs at the facility is filled with cages holding live insects. Glass aquariums hold multiple species and insect food. Species which do not get along are kept separately; the prehistoric fire ants are kept in their own space due to their aggressiveness.
On her days off, Donna spends time reading books on insects past and present. She turns out the lights, and imagines herself in a micro-world of invertebrates, lost in a canopy of grass and a floor of earth.
