Entomological Collections Network

A huge THANK YOU from the ECN board, to every single one of you that participated in our 2024 hybrid meeting. We hope to see you again next year…

... a big hug from the #TETTRIsEU community to the #scientists who work daily with great passion and commitment to protecting #biodiversity! Our engagement to transform #taxonomy continues: don't forget the TAXONOMY RECOGNITION DAY May 23 #️⃣ #NameItToSaveIt Stay tuned on tettris.eu!

Why does it have to be one or the other? Both at the same time needed. "How to fill the biodiversity data gap: Is it better to invest in fieldwork or curation?" sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

@idbdeb Thanks so much, Deb! Always great to have you with us. See you next year!

@EntCollNet Y’all did a fabulous job! Well-organized, on time talks, and great topics of conversation.

A huge THANK YOU from the ECN board, to every single one of you that participated in our 2024 hybrid meeting. We hope to see you again next year…

… for #ECN2025! Save the date! Nov 8-9, 2025 Portland, Oregon, USA.

#ECN2024 would not have been possible without the incredible support of our sponsors! A huge thank you goes out to all our corporate, institutional & personal sponsors.

We had such a great time with @EntCollNet Thanks for having us and we look forward to Portland! 🐜🪲 #ECN2024

And with that, our hybrid 2024 meeting has come to an end! We hope you have been enlightened and inspired by the talks and our wonderful community.   May the conversations and ideas continue. We hope to see you again, at #ECN2025!

Our final talk is a beautiful love story from Natalie Dale-Skey (Hymenoptera curator @NHM_London). She shares an exquisite slide preparation by Frederic Enock, of a mymarid in a spider’s web. It's a recreation of a slide that first sparked his love of Fairyflies.   #ECN2024

See No Weevil. Brilliant Specimen Spotlight talk from Ainsley Seago! The specimen is an acorn that includes the preserved HEAD of a predated Curculio still attached!! 😲 #ECN2024

Another lightning talk now, with @CharlaReplogle on centralizing the insect collection at @InsectPerc. The collection contains over 1.3 million arthropod specimens, representing 140,000+ different species. Over 10,000 of these specimens are now in the new database! #ECN2024

Victoria Bayless now, with a warm welcome to Dr. Stephen Baca, the new Director of the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum 🪲 More information on the museum here: lsuagcenter.com/portals/our_of… Do get in touch if you want to visit (or return a loan)! #ECN2024

Coming Into Focus 📸 Knowledge sharing is one of the main aims of our network. This was a great lightning talk from @taytayhori on standardizing the 3D Imaging Process at the @SDNHM. #ECN2024

We’re into our LIGHTNING TALK session now, kicking off with @isabetabug & @Evantomology 🪲 They share their forays with AI from a collections perspective @NEON_sci. #ECN2024

An invitation for collaboration from @dr_firefly now. The Michigan Pathogen Biorepository at @UMich want your specimens! They are particularly interested in specimens that are vectors. 🦟🩸 More information here: lsa.umich.edu/content/michig… #ECN2024

Fresh from her PhD defence, @coleopterasam provides an overview of her diligent work improving accessibility of collections for the study of Neotropical Anthribidae (Curculionoidea). 👏 Check out the new Weevil portal here: serv.biokic.asu.edu/weevil/portal/… #ECN2024

Michael Ferro introduces us to Natural History Literature Rescue. Their aim is to preserve literature, specimens, samples, equipment, & supplies associated with the study of natural history that would otherwise be destroyed or lost. “We Save Science” 🔗 goodoldpaper.org

The McGuire Center houses 20,000+ genitalia slides in the collection! Megan Neal takes us through the microscopic digitization process & the tools used to capture & edit these high-resolution images. 📸 Read more in this blog post on dissection: floridamuseum.ufl.edu/mcguire/news/2… #ECN2024

Maria-Eugenia Losada takes us through the termite collection of the unstoppable Margaret Collins. A great breakdown of the assessment and curation of this incredible collection. #ECN2024

Words of warning from @Coleopterist this morning… Develop or Die! “Schroedinger’s Curator” is a danger and will result in collections becoming irrelevant. Collections MUST remain active. #ECN2024