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群体中，伴随着大量微小而亲密的伙伴（主要是螨虫和昆虫）。对这些寄主/共生体系统的研究由于缺乏对其生物学的基本信息和知识，包括实物收集，而受到阻碍。经过50年的野外工作，康涅狄格大学（UConn）的Rettenmeyer陆军蚂蚁客收集（AAGC）是研究复杂社会昆虫系统的无与伦比的资源。AAGC包括200多万个新世界军蚁的标本和它们的伴客：数百种螨虫、甲虫、苍蝇、黄蜂、弹尾和鬃尾。大量的野外笔记和大量的照片补充了生物标本，详细描述了物种相互作用的复杂性。这个项目将稳定这个集合，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提供所有数据，以便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。其中一部分将重点介绍rettenmeers的收集活动。在整个校园，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加的螨虫。这个项目的动机是最近捐赠的Rettenmeyer陆军蚂蚁客收集（AAGC）给康涅狄格大学生态和进化生物学生物多样性研究收集设施。该博物馆收藏了200多万件新世界军蚁及其节肢动物标本。它包括大约1000种，代表200个物种，大约16000个固定标本，大约5000个显微镜载玻片，超过15000个小瓶和罐子，辅以详细的现场数据和5000张柯达彩色透明片。馆藏迫切需要稳定——液位低，瓶塞老化，标本过度拥挤且杂乱无章。该项目的两个主要目标是标本管理（例如，更换液体，重新保存，标记，附加条形码和重组），并通过修改现有的MySQL数据库以适应四个相关表中的AAGC来建立在线存在。模式标本和群体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设施共享。高中学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。项目结果可在线访问（biodiversity.uconn.edu/ant-guests/）。

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/).