Do you work with insect collections? Yes?! Then we hope to see you at #ECN2026! 🪲 When: November Friday 6 - Saturday 7, 2026 Where: Columbus Hilton Downtown hotel, Ohio That’s right folks, we’re trialling something new and starting a day earlier than usual. We really hope you can join us!

Pinned Insect Digitization Conveyor at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History explained - how to digitize 325,000+ pollinating insect specimens fast, safely, and in high quality www.instagram.com/reel/DY46nMb...

Smithsonian on Instagram: "One in every three bites of food you eat depends on pollinators! 🪲 Heard the buzz? Our @SmithsonianNMNH and Smithsonian Digitization Program Office are digitizing 325,000...

574 likes, 24 comments - smithsonian on May 28, 2026: "One in every three bites of food you eat depends on pollinators! 🪲 Heard the buzz? Our @SmithsonianNMNH and Smithsonian Digitization Program O...

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It may be surprising to some that there are thousands of undescribed species just sitting in museums awaiting description. One of the main reasons this problem exists is that taxonomy is undervalued and underfunded, a trend that coincides with the devaluing of studies on natural history.

Sending Mike @spongymesophyll.bsky.social Ferro's DIY leaf litter sifter PDF to yet another colleague, frankly his whole site is a treasure and you should check it out www.spongymesophyll.com

Here's the working prototype of my setup. It's a 3D-printed black block with a socket to hold a watch glass, and a 3D-printed diffuser that sits on top of the block. Recessing the glass greatly reduces stray light & glare. #NaturalHistoryCollections #Macrophotography #FocusStacking #DIYImagingStage

Craig B@mutillidae.bsky.social · 6d ago

I've been working on a better setup for capturing focus-stacked images of immature insects in alcohol...and it's working well. 🙂 #NaturalHistoryCollections #Macrophotography #FocusStacking #Psephenidae #APennyForYourThoughts

It never isn’t Weevil Wednesday

Between error and discovery ⚖️ #NHMs house lots of labelled specimens; some representing occurrences outside spp known distributions! 🗺️🪲 But, how do we know we are seeing an actual collection event rather than a mislabelling error? Today we talk about an unresolved case! ⤵️ doi.org/10.7717/peer...

Luc Leblanc shares some background on the Barr Museum’s forestry insect collection, drawn largely from Malcolm Furniss’s bark beetles

Original Riker mounts by inventor Clarence Riker held at @denvermuseumns.bsky.social , presented by Genevieve Anderegg! 😍 The cabinets are just as intricate as the insects held within!Though lacking in collection data, lots of educational & natural history research value once imaged! #ECN2025

We're at #ECN2025 in Portland, Oregon! We're passionate about entomological collections, which is why we published some of last year's ECN in a special topical collection: nhcm.pensoft.net/topical_coll... Check out the @pensoft.net stand for our latest news!

We have a remote talk by Devanshu Gupta if the Zoological Survey of India, summarizing the lucanid fauna of India via the ZSI’s collection.

Jess Awad from Naturalis (massive Dutch biodiversity institute, formerly known as RMNH)— massive collection in a gorgeous new building (2019)

Gen Anderegg tells us about Clarence Riker, inventor of the Riker mount (same family as Rikers Island too)

Another harrowing tale, this time from Alfred Johnson and Ava Rios on the trials of biodiversity collections in Guam

Bill Clark tells us about the exquisite personal lep collection assembled by Gary Gier, a retired HS teacher in Idaho

Istvan Miko introduces us to the phenotypically consistent and shockingly productive hymenopterist Lubomir Masner and his dedication to (among other things) tiny wasps

The jump scares continue with Tommy Mcelrath on INHS’s successful SPNHC grant to curate and digitize Californian insects, including rehousing some absolutely disastrous wet material

ECN day 2 starting off strong with President-Elect Pete and the most upsetting fly I’ve ever seen

It's the most wonderful time of the year! #ECN2025

How the creation of a school insect collection project, led to the discovery of Amblycheila cylindriformis in Montana… bioone.org/journals/the... Marian Kirst reminds us of the value of being a “filthy generalist” and the importance of building strong local connections. #ECN2025

Jessica Wadleigh of FMNH with the finest, tiniest beetles

Istvan Miko takes us on a trip to the UNH insect collection, which punches above its weight in part thanks to the superhuman collecting efforts of Don Chandler

Chris Marshall on the history and metamorphosis of OSAC, including a beautiful combination of Delta cabinets and compactors (and homegrown dahlias)

Luciane Marinoni, prez of the Brazilian Zoological Society, telling us about the 300+ entomological collections in Brazil

Finally, Shelby Grice of the MEM introduces us to Gladys Hoke Lobdell (b. 1895), the first female prof at Mississippi State (in 1918!) and her spectacular collection of scale insects

Let’s get TINY: Natalie Dale-Skey on the NHM’s mymarid slide collection. LOTS of careful data editing. Look at that slide holder for bulk scanning!

Ligia Benavides Silva of MCZ tells us about genomics and “next-gen morphology” for arachnids, in the context of a CSBR grant for cryopreservation of tissues from type specimens

Final session of the morning starts with Gen Anderegg on intake of a huge donation full of macroleps like morphos and birdwings… now which ones were collected legally?

Tatiana Sepulveda of FMNH shows us how her museum uses the Gigamacro system with their wonderful, ~50% beetle collection

Next year we will have speed trials for assembling Chris Wirth’s portable focus stacking camera system