Digitization PEN: Small and Hungry: Enhancing LepNet TCN with microlepidoptera and 50 years of host plant data from the Essig Museum

鳞翅目（蝴蝶和蛾）是最多样化的昆虫食草动物。它们拥有丰富的生态学数据，通常是共同进化、种群动态和环境变化的模型。由于它们依赖于特定的植物物种和气候带，许多物种被用作生境质量和气候变化的环境指标。然而，昆虫标本的数字化，特别是鳞翅目昆虫标本，远远落后于大多数其他类群，这是由于标本的体积大，标本的小而精致的性质，以及微小的，难以阅读的标本标签。北美鳞翅目网络（LepNet）TCN正在解决这一数据不足的问题，将来自美国28个机构的蝴蝶和蛾类发生记录数字化，沿着95 000多个物种的高分辨率图像。埃西格博物馆通过增加来自北美西部的100多年的标本记录和生态数据来为这一努力做出贡献。所有的数据和图像都可以通过iDigBio、GBIF、SCAN和Essig博物馆数据库等聚合器免费在线获取，供研究人员、教育工作者、土地管理者、保护规划者和公众使用。Essig博物馆是美国西部鳞翅目昆虫的主要收藏地，具有广泛的分类广度和发生密度，特别是北方加州和墨西哥的小鳞翅目昆虫。埃西格博物馆过去和正在进行的项目侧重于专门的栖息地，如沙丘，沿海灌木丛和近海岛屿，以及从野火中恢复和区域保护区的长期采样。此外，饲养标本从寄主植物，包括水果和茎螟，gall-formers，和潜叶虫的悠久传统，导致了几十年的详细记录的相互作用数据，包括寄主植物和寄生蜂。该项目将传播125 000个蝴蝶和蛾标本的地理参考数字数据，沿着2000个物种的高分辨率图像，包括608个正模标本。这些数据将填补北美西部的许多空白，以改善生态位建模工作，并调查过去100年的人口动态。高分辨率图像用于训练自动识别服务，以解决生态和保护研究以及快速识别害虫的瓶颈问题。大部分数字化工作将由本科生进行，他们还将接受生物多样性信息学和昆虫生物学方面的培训。从这项工作中获得的数据和分析将用于与昆虫进化、全球变化生物学和北美西部自然史相关的在线和公共展览。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) is the most diverse order of insect herbivores. Rich in ecological data they are often models for co-evolution, population dynamics, and environmental change. Because of their dependence on particular plant species and climate zones, many species are used as environmental indicators of habitat quality and climatic shifts. However, digitization of insect collections, particularly Lepidoptera, lag far behind most other groups due to the large size of collections, the small and delicate nature of specimens, and the tiny, difficult to read specimen labels. The Lepidoptera of North America Network (LepNet) TCN is addressing this paucity of data by digitizing occurrence records of butterflies and moths from over 28 institutions across the United States, along with high resolution images of over 95,000 species. The Essig Museum is contributing to this effort by adding over 100 years of specimen records and ecological data from western North America. All data and images are freely and immediately available online through aggregators, including iDigBio, GBIF, SCAN, and the Essig Museum Database, to researchers, educators, land managers, conservation planners, and the public.The Essig Museum is a leading collection of Lepidoptera in the western US with extensive taxonomic breadth and occurrence density, particularly for microlepidoptera in northern California and Mexico. Past and ongoing projects of the Essig Museum focus on specialized habitats such dunes, coastal scrub, and offshore islands, as well as recovery from wildfires and long-term sampling of regional preserves. Moreover, a long tradition of rearing specimens from host plants, including fruit and stem borers, gall-formers, and leaf-miners, has resulted in many decades of detailed records of interaction data including host plants and parasitoids. This project will disseminate georeferenced digital data for 125,000 butterfly and moth specimens, along with high resolution images of 2000 species, including 608 holotypes. These data will fill many gaps for western North America to improve niche modelling efforts and investigate population dynamics for the past 100 years. High resolution images are used to train automated identification services to address bottlenecks in ecological and conservation research and rapid identification of pests. Much of the digitization work will be carried out by undergraduate students who will also receive training in biodiversity informatics and insect biology. Data and analyses derived from this effort will be used in online and public exhibits related to insect evolution, global change biology, and natural history of western North America.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.