LOCALSet in stoneA group of Phacop trilobites.The Columbus DispatchPhylocarid mandble.The Columbus DispatchA Phacops trilobite with a small one on the back.The Columbus DispatchA fish plate at Connie and David Mielke's display.The Columbus DispatchAbout 510 million years ago, what is now Ohio was located about 10 degrees south of the equator and was covered by a tropical sea filled with gigantic swimming predators, plants every color of the rainbow and millions of sea urchins, crabs and clams.The Columbus Dispatch“Once I got started, I was a maniac,” David Mielke said. “I was addicted.”The Columbus DispatchConnie, left, and David Mielke, in their Botkins, Ohio, basement where they display their favorite fossils.The Columbus DispatchTrilobites covered by pyrite. Most of Mielke’s collection consists of Phacops rana trilobites, or “bugs” that he finds in limestone.The Columbus DispatchThis is an example of how Phacops trylobites are often hard to see while hunting fossils.The Columbus DispatchConnie Mielke holds her favorite Phacops trilobit.The Columbus DispatchPhacops trilobites have large eyes and are often found rolled up in a ball — similar in fashion to today’s pill bug, or roly-poly.The Columbus DispatchDespite the abundance of limestone fossils, they often are destroyed by concrete manufacturers or the elements. Rain, for instance, can erode them.The Columbus DispatchA Phacops trilobite found by Connie Mielke.The Columbus DispatchConnie Mielke holds four Phacops trilobites found at the LaFarge Quarry within 45 minutes of searching.The Columbus DispatchDavid Mielke chips away as he searches for fossils at the LaFarge Quarry, in Paulding, Ohio.The Columbus DispatchConnie Mielke searches for fossils at the LaFarge Quarry with David Mielke, left and University of Dayton geology professor Michael Sandy, center, in Paulding, Ohio.The Columbus Dispatch