CSBR: Ownership Transfer: Securing the future and accessibility of the Carl W. and Marian E. Rettenmeyer army ant guest collection

军蚁生活在高度复杂的社会中，伴随着成群结队的微小、亲密的伙伴(主要是蠕虫和昆虫)。由于缺乏关于其生物学的基本信息和知识，包括实物收集，因此无法对这些宿主/共生体系统进行研究。康涅狄格大学(UConn)的Rettenmeyer陆军蚂蚁访客收藏(AAGC)是50年来野外工作的成果，是研究复杂社会昆虫系统的无与伦比的资源。AAGC包括200多万个新大陆军蚁标本和与它们相关的客人：数百种螨类、甲虫、苍蝇、黄蜂、跳虫和猪毛虫。广泛的实地笔记和大量照片补充了生物标本，详细描述了物种相互作用的错综复杂的情况。该项目将稳定这一收藏，解决关键问题。该项目旨在解决基本的物理存储问题，并通过在线数据库公开所有数据，以最大限度地发挥其作为昆虫社会行为信息来源的潜力。一个由两部分组成的展览将吸引校园社区的参与。第一部分将重点介绍雷滕迈尔夫妇的收藏活动。在校园的另一边，第二部分将包括一个大型蚂蚁模型，其中包括一系列按比例附着的蠕虫。这个项目的动机是最近向康涅狄格州大学生态部和进化生物学生物多样性研究收藏机构捐赠了留守军蚂蚁访客收藏(AAGC)。AAGC由200多万个新大陆军蚁及其相关节肢动物标本组成。它包括代表200个物种的大约1,000种类型，大约16,000个固定标本，大约5,000个显微镜载玻片，超过15,000个瓶子和罐子，以及详细的现场数据和5,000个柯达彩色胶片。采集迫切需要稳定--液体水平低，塞子正在恶化，标本过于拥挤和杂乱无章。该项目的两个主要目标是标本保管(例如，更换液体、重新包装、标记、附加条形码和重组)，以及通过修改现有的MySQL数据库以在四个相关表格中容纳AAGC来建立在线存在。模式标本和菌落样本将被成像并链接到数据库记录。数据将与iDigBio(www.idigBio.org)和全球生物多样性信息基金共享。高中生将与研究生一起工作，磨练他们的写作和观察技能，因为他们解释幻灯片标签来填充数据库。项目成果可在线查阅(BioDiversity.uConn.edu/ant-guest/)。

Army ants live in highly complex societies, accompanied by legions of tiny, intimate associates (primarily mites and insects). The study of these host/symbiont systems is precluded by a lack of access to basic information and knowledge about their biology, including physical collections. Resulting from 50 years of fieldwork, the Rettenmeyer Army Ant Guest Collection (AAGC) at the University of Connecticut (UConn) is an unparalleled resource for studying complex systems of social insects. The AAGC comprises more than two million specimens of New World army ants and their associated guests: Hundreds of species of mites, beetles, flies, wasps, springtails, and bristletails. Extensive field notes and numerous photographs complement the biological specimens, detailing intricacies of species interactions. This project will stabilize this collection, addressing critical issues. This project aims to address basic physical storage issues and to make all data publicly available via an on-line database so as to maximize its potential as a source of information on social behavior in insects. A two-part exhibit will engage the campus community. One part will highlight the Rettenmeyers' collecting activities. Across campus, the second part will include a large ant model complete with an array of mites attached all to scale. This project is motivated by the recent donation of the Rettenmeyer Army Ant Guest Collection (AAGC) to the UConn Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Biodiversity Research Collection Facility. The AAGC comprises more than 2 million specimens of New World army ants and their associated arthropods. It includes ca. 1,000 types representing 200 species, ca. 16,000 pinned specimens, ca. 5,000 microscope slides, more than 15,000 vials and jars, complemented by detailed field data and 5,000 Kodachrome transparencies. The collection is in dire need of stabilization - fluid levels are low, stoppers are deteriorating, specimens are overcrowded and disorganized. The project's two primary goals are specimen curation (e.g., replacing fluid, re-vialing, labeling, attaching barcodes, and reorganization) and establishing an on-line presence by modifying an existing MySQL database to accommodate the AAGC in four related Tables. Type specimens and colony exemplars will be image and linked to database records. Data will be shared with iDigBio (www.idigbio.org) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. High school students will work with graduate students to hone their writing and observation skills as they interpret slide labels to populate the database. Project results can be accessed online (biodiversity.uconn.edu/ant-guests/).