Research Infrastructure: Increasing scientific capacity and educational and outreach impact of the Cornell University Insect Collection

The Cornell University Insect Collection (CUIC), founded in 1871, is one of the oldest entomological collections in the United States. The CUIC, with over 7 million specimens, represents over 200,000 species or roughly 20% of all described species of insects from almost every country on the planet. Over the course of this project, researchers at CUIC will move the fixed insect cabinets to a compactor system on rails, increasing capacity for continued growth, and expand the scientific impact of the collection through the careful curation and digitization of several targeted areas.

The compactors will allow for the physical expansion of biological collection capacity, while the addition of new cabinets and drawers will ensure the integrity of valuable scientific material. Through associated digitization activities, the CUIC holdings will be made more accessible to researchers and the public alike. In addition to these collection management activities, the PIs will take a three-pronged approach to prepare the next generation of entomologists and educate the public.

First, an undergraduate cohort training program will be created to ensure that the next generation of entomologists are skilled in collections-based curation and research. Second, to educate and provide exposure to the public, the PIs will partner with the local natural history museum to create activities that the public can engage with to learn about the diversity and importance of insects, including the creation of an online insect field guide.

Finally, PIs will partner with museum education staff to create lesson plans that align with the Next-Generation Science Standards for secondary educators for use in their classrooms, leading to a long-lasting ripple effect both for the students and educators over many years to come.

Biological collections are the foundation for research in many disciplines. Some scientific questions can only be addressed by using these collections to examine change through time or aspects of already extinct species. For these reasons, no active research collection will ever stop growing.

Adding compactors will provide much needed space for the CUIC to continue to grow. To ensure the collection is in the highest scientific quality, all non-sealing cabinets and drawers will be replaced, and two focal areas of the collection in significant need of rehousing, curating, and updating of taxonomy will be assessed and improved. These focal areas include the Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and nest (gall and Hymenoptera) collections, as both are currently stored in subpar curation conditions.

During this process, human and machine-readable barcodes will be added, and associated label data and taxonomic information will be databased. The information for these focal collections will be shared widely with the public and research community through online, freely available databases, including iDigBio.org.

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.