Support for the Illinois Natural History Survey Entomological Collections

伊利诺斯州自然历史调查中心收集了近600万个昆虫标本。该藏品是北美最大和最古老的藏品之一，包含近3300种主要类型。这些藏品被科学家广泛使用，是公认的国家资源。该项目提供资金，以继续挽救由于装入霍耶氏介质的材料严重脱水而永久丢失的该调查所收集的蓟马载玻片。它还将提供部分资金，以便将积压的未处理和身份不明的材料纳入一般收集，并在安装一个由联合国环境规划署资助的压实机系统期间和之后，促进收集的重组以前的NSF资助。

Almost six million specimens are housed in the insect collection of the Illinois Natural History Survey. The collection is among the largest and oldest in North America and contains primary types of nearly 3,300 species. The collection is used extensively by scientists and is a recognized national resource. This project provides funds to continue the process of rescuing the Survey's collection of slides of Thysanoptera (thrips) from permanent loss due to severe dehydration of material mounted in Hoyer's medium. It will also provide partial funding for incorporating the backlog of unprocessed and unidentified material into the general collection and to facilitate the reorganization of the collection during and after the installation of a compactor system funded on a previous NSF grant.