CSBR: Natural History: Mission Critical Improvements to Virginia Tech's Insect Collection

弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学获得了一个奖项，以支持改进弗吉尼亚理工学院的昆虫收藏。它成立于1888年，是英联邦最古老、规模最大的昆虫收藏馆。它的近50万个标本代表了美国东部丰富的昆虫多样性，重点是阿巴拉契亚地区。这个收藏是传粉媒介、濒危昆虫和许多本地物种的特殊储存库，这些物种曾经很常见，但现在因栖息地丧失而消失。博物馆标本为了解生物随时间的变化，追踪威胁我们的生态系统、农业和公共卫生的昆虫病媒和农业破坏性入侵物种的传播提供了重要的基线。这个集合是发现和描述生物多样性的前沿，代表了数百个未被描述的新物种。该合同将为人员和新的橱柜和抽屉提供支持，以改善标本的条件。标本数据将被数字化，并可通过在线资源访问，从而改善对与实物标本一起保存的“暗数据”的访问（目前超过98%的材料未被数字化）。博物馆将保存一些具有科学价值的藏品，包括联邦濒危物种、阿巴拉契亚特有物种和重要传粉媒介的标本。尽管这些藏品不断使用和不断增长，但储存和策展方法已经过时，目前它位于一个临时存储设施。该项目将为馆藏提供关键支持，并将完成馆藏向校园的搬迁，改善标本的物理存储基础设施，并解决标本的数字化，编目和文档化问题。在此项目期间，本科生和研究生以及一名新的全职馆藏管理人员将接受馆藏研究方面的培训，包括策展最佳实践、数字化和生物多样性数据网络化。公共宣传活动将针对服务不足的阿巴拉契亚人口。为小学生开发科学教材，旧的昆虫柜和抽屉将被改造成小型自然历史收藏品，并捐赠给当地的自然中心。昆虫收藏展览将在大学每年的虫子节和虫子夏令营中为小学生开发。随着弗吉尼亚理工大学昆虫收藏馆在校园的复兴，以及与公众接触昆虫和科学的更大能力，它代表了一个独特而强大的资源，将生物多样性和科学的重要性转化为历史上服务不足的阿巴拉契亚地区。该项目产生的所有数据将与iDigBio （https://www.idigbio.org/）共享，以确保研究人员和公众可以访问。

An award is made to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to support improvements to the Virginia Tech Insect Collection. Founded in 1888, this is the oldest and largest entomological collection in the Commonwealth. Its nearly half-million specimens represent the rich insect diversity of the eastern United States with emphasis on the Appalachian region. This collection is an exceptional repository of pollinators, endangered insects, and many native species, once common but now disappearing from habitat loss. Museum specimens provide a critical baseline for comprehending biological change through time, tracking the spread of insect disease vectors and agriculturally destructive invasive species that threaten our ecosystems, agriculture and public health. This collection is a frontier for the discovery and description of biodiversity, representing hundreds of undescribed new species. This award will provide support for personnel and new cabinets and drawers to improve conditions for specimens. Specimen data will be digitized and made accessible through online resources, improving access to "dark data" conserved alongside the physical specimens (more than 98 percent of the material is currently not digitized). Several scientifically valuable collections in the museum will be conserved, including specimens of Federally Endangered species, endemic Appalachian species, and critical pollinators.Despite the continuous use and constant growth of this collection, the storage and curation methods are antiquated and it is currently located at a temporary storage facility. This project will provide critical support to the collection and will accomplish the relocation of the collection to campus, improve the physical storage infrastructure for specimens, and address digitization, cataloguing, and documentation of specimens. Over the duration of this project, undergraduate and graduate students along with a new full-time collections manager will be trained in collections research, including curatorial best practices, digitization, and networking biodiversity data. Public outreach events will target the underserved Appalachian population. Science curriculum kits will be developed for elementary students, and old insect cabinets and drawers will be upcycled as mini-natural history collections and donated to local nature centers. An insect collection exhibit will be developed for the University's annual Bug Fest and Bug Camp for elementary school students. With a revitalized presence on campus and a greater capacity to engage the public with insects and science, the Virginia Tech Insect Collection represents a unique and powerful resource to translate the importance of biodiversity and science to the historically underserved Appalachian region. All data resulting from this project will be shared with iDigBio (https://www.idigbio.org/), ensuring accessibility to researchers and the public.