history collection dates back to the 1880s, when herbert osborn was on the faculty collection was...
TRANSCRIPT
IOWA STATE INSECT COLLECTION (ISIC)
History
Collection dates back to the 1880s, when Herbert Osborn was on the faculty
Collection was originally combined with the ISU vertebrate collection
The first half of the 20th Century saw a number of renowned Hemipterists in residence: H. H. Knight, J. A. Slater, & H. M. Harris
History (cont.)
In 1972 the insect collection was separated from the rest of the Zoological Collection and moved to its current location
More recent taxonomic foci:
Siphonaptera (R. E. Lewis)
Diptera (J. L. Laffoon, W. A. Rowley, and G. W. Courtney)
Courtney also works on aquatic insects
Facilities
59 Cabinets containing 2215 Cornell Drawers
Estimated 1,000,000 pinned specimens
Additional slide and alcohol material (>50,000 specimens)
Existing work indatabasing and photomicroscopy
Collection Strenths
Diptera with 796 Drawers, including 76 of Mycetophilidae s.l!
Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Siphonaptera
Larval Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera
Aquatic Insects Large amounts of historic
material, dating back to the 1880s
Recent Work
2010 initiative to catalog specimens in the museum
Databasing project started shortly thereafter, focused on aquatic Diptera and Mycetophilidae s.l.
Current database includes 5935 specimens and 326 taxa
Recent Work (cont.)
Working with specimen imaging Focused on groups under active
research Experimenting with detailed images
of taxonomically informative structures
Synergistic activities: MIDGEPEET
NSF-funded “PEET” grant
Focus on selected aquatic Diptera (e.g., Blephariceridae, Chironomidae, Dixidae, Psychodidae, Ptychopteridae, Simuliidae, Thaumaleidae)
Collaboration of several institutions
Synergistic activities: BugGuide.net
BugGuide.net hosted & administered by ISU
Provides a forum for professional and amateur entomologists to cooperate
Looking for avenues of integration
Synergistic activities: Insect Zoo
Established in 1997
Outreach & in-house programming
Average annual activity (past 10 years): ≈250 programs to >17,000 participants
Focus on arthropod biodiversity & includes links to ISIC