The All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory Project began in 1999 to identify every organism in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. During the project, Dr. Ernest Bernard, professor of entomology and plant pathology at UT and head of the Apterygotes and Myriapods Taxonomic Working Group, discovered a springtail species unknown to science, which was characterized by its a red-and-black-plaid appearance. Bernard named the species Cosberella lamaralexanderi for former UT President Lamar Alexander, who wore a red-and-black plaid shirt when campaigning for governor. Springtails are very small insects—rarely more than one-fifth-inch long—and generally pale brown to cream colored. They seem to hop and disappear when disturbed, using the hook-like structure on the bottom side of the abdomen to snap against the ground to propel themselves. They are found in moist or damp places, usually in contact with soil.