diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 66a3d82..d420072 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ fn nested_parse(input_family:&mut oop::Family, node: roxmltree::Node, mut curren
             input_family.get_genera().last_mut().unwrap()
                 .push_species(oop::Species::new(
                     node.attribute("name").unwrap().to_string(),
-                    node.attribute("defaultvalue").unwrap().to_string(),
+                    node.attribute("defaultvalue").unwrap_or_default().to_string(),
                     Vec::new()
                 ));
         },