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被授予一个奖项，以支持弗吉尼亚理工大学昆虫收藏的改进。成立于1888年，这是英联邦最古老和最大的昆虫学收藏。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。这是一个特殊的传粉者、濒危昆虫和许多本土物种的储藏库，这些物种曾经很常见，但现在由于栖息地的丧失而消失。博物馆标本为了解随时间发生的生物变化、跟踪昆虫病媒的传播以及威胁我们的生态系统、农业和公共健康的农业破坏性入侵物种提供了关键的基线。这个集合是发现和描述生物多样性的前沿，代表了数百个未描述的新物种。该奖项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，并通过在线资源进行访问，从而改善对与实物标本一起保存的“暗数据”的获取(目前98%以上的材料没有数字化)。博物馆将保存几件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关键传粉者的标本。尽管这些藏品不断使用和不断增长，但储存和保管方法已经过时，目前位于临时储存设施中。该项目将为标本收藏提供关键支持，并将完成将藏品迁往校园，改进标本的物理存储基础设施，并解决标本的数字化、编目和文件编制问题。在该项目期间，本科生和研究生以及一名新的全职藏品管理员将接受藏品研究方面的培训，包括馆藏最佳实践、数字化和生物多样性数据联网。公共宣传活动将针对服务不足的阿巴拉契亚地区人口。将为小学生开发科学课程套件，旧的昆虫橱柜和抽屉将作为迷你自然历史收藏品进行升级，并捐赠给当地的自然中心。将为该大学为小学生举办的一年一度的虫子节和虫子夏令营制作昆虫收藏展览。维吉尼亚理工大学昆虫收藏馆重新活跃了校园，并增强了公众接触昆虫和科学的能力，是一种独特而强大的资源，可以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能够获得。

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.