Scientists have confirmed the presence of 30 new fly species in urban Los Angeles after completing a thorough survey of the sprawling city's environs.

The so-called BioSCAN project was carried out by researchers with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles native Emily Hartop, an entomologist at Los Angeles's Natural History Museum, was hired specifically to identify fly samples for the museum's urban biodiversity project.

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The survey was conducted with the help of local residents that hosted 30 insect traps in their backyards. Each trap was outfitted with a microclimate weather station that monitored localized conditions. Researchers periodically emptied the traps and analyzed the insects.

Over the course of two years, researchers sorted through more than 10,000 fly specimens, confirming the existence of 30 new species and all of them are from the genus Megaselia. Different genitalia were the main factor by which scientists identified possible new species, but DNA analysis was used to confirm genetic differentiation.

"I always thought we had the potential to discover new species wherever we sample -- urban,

tropical, anywhere. But 30 new species from a heavily urbanized area is really astounding," explained Brian Brown, the curator of entomology at the museum.

Hartop often gave them silly nicknames to help her remember them, calling one species "Troll" because its bristly body reminded her of a 1980s troll doll. Another was named "Hokusai" because its private parts looked like the 19th century Japanese painting "The Great Wave off Kanagawa."

Hartop, however, was unable to find most of her nicknamed species among lists of North American insects, many of which haven't been updated since the 1960s.

But more than just a place to find new species, researchers say that understanding urban ecosystems is increasingly important as more and more humans (and animals) populate cities.