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Research
Training Program
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Highlights
from 2006
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Smithsonian
Institution
National Museum of Natural History
Research
Training Program
Events
Photo Gallery
Entomology
Collections Tour
Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
USDA Entomologist, Mike Pogue, guided
our adventure through Entomology's 34+
million specimen collection, shown here
with a drawer of blue morpho butterflies
(genus Morpho). Although a specialist
in smaller, less showy "Leps"
these are large, showy butterflies, found
predominantly in South America, usually
get student's attention and are often
most remembered. The males of the species
are especially known for their bright
blue wings, while females have a more
subdued coloring
Natural
History hosts several "affiliated
agency" staff including individuals
like Mike employed by the U.D. Department
of Agriculture but stationed in-residence
at the Museum. Unlike Smithsonian scientists
who conduct more independent research
crossing a wide variety of regions, USDA
scientists focus their efforts on domestic
concerns and each day respond to official
inquiries, most related to potential insect
pests. Smithsonian's Entomology Collection
was started by the USDA in the 1880s and
given to the Smithsonian in 1910s.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
The
Department of Entomology, with so many
specimens, is located on four floors of
the building's East Court, the Fifth Floor
of the East Wing, as well as additional
locations at the Museum Support Center.
SO many interesting insects, so much ground
to cover. To highlight insect diversity
and interesting species the Department
created an "OH MY" case of specially
prepared drawers of insects, arranged
not by taxa like the research collections
but instead featuring commonly asked themes,
such as this "beetle" collection
is large and colorful beetles belonging
predominantly to the family Scarabaeidae
(rhinoceros beetles, flower beetles, dung
beetles, etc.).
Scarab
beetles are found worldwide and considered
most diverse in the tropics. This group
totals more than 30,000 species, including
the Hercules, Rhinoceros, and Goliath
beetles.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Mike
Pogue displaying one of the OH MY drawers
to the group.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Here
featured are large and bizarre beetles
belonging predominantly to the family
Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles).
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Everybody
with their digital cameras, snapping shots
to send to friends and save for future
reference.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
More
OH MY beetles, this one with the theme
of beetles, including some encrusted with
jewelry. It was popular in Victorian times
for ladies to wear "living jewelery"
featuring beetles with gems glued to the
beetle. With around 450,000 species, beetles
constitute, by far, the largest group
of insects on Earth.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Malcolm
Collins (left) and Mike Pogue (right)
hold up another drawer of beetles, including
the largest beetle in the world (lower
right), reaching lengths of 7 inches.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Part
of the 'Oh my!' insect collection: a drawer
of miscellaneous large and interesting
insects. Some beetles have distinctive
metallic and iridescent coloring caused
by interference patterns on the beetles'
chitin layers.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
A
variety of different insects, including
damsel flies, a North American regal moth
and its caterpillar, another damsel fly,
grasshoppers, a South American lanternfly,
and a cicada.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
The
RTP group looking at part of the Noctuid
moth collection. Members of this family
such as the corn earworm are among the
most economically important moths in the
world.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Another grouping of a variety of insects,
including an African papilio butterfly,
a North American Hercules beetle and larvae,
a North American Cynthia moth, a dragon
fly, a cicada, and a lubber grasshopper.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Students
posing with the blue morpho butterflies
(Morpho didius); Jayme Job (left),
Jorge Alvarez (center), Maya Strahl (right).
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Close
up view of the blue morpho butterflies
(Morpho didius). Their coloring
also results from iridescence and interference
patterns. Although the upper wing surfaces
are iridescent blue, the under wing surfaces
are brown and provide camouflage when
a butterfly closes its wings.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Some
of the largest moths in the world (family
Noctuidae), Owl Moths (Thysania zenobia)
from South America.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
A
collection of gelechioidea moths from
North America. They compose the largest
family of microlepidoptera, an artificial
grouping of smaller moths and butterflies,
and can be serious agricultural pests.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Arachnid
collection: this is a cabinet drawer containing
spiders of the family Dictynidae.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Nick
Rasmussen with a jar of tailless whipscorpions
(order Amblypygi).
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Bryan
Cockrell with a jar from the arachnid
collection.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
A
close up of some spiders from the arachnid
collection. This photo shows how arachnids
are stored. Individual samples are put
into vials of alcohol with their data
and are kept in large jars of alcohol
with other samples representing the same
taxonomic group. This storage method decreases
the rate of alcohol evaporation, and thus
protects the specimens from drying out.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Sylvia
Moses with a jar of tarantulas (family
Theraphosidae).
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Juan
Andres Martines with a jar of tarantulas
(family Theraphosidae).
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Mike
Pogue showing examples of Odonata (dragonflies
and damselflies). Members of this order
are kept in clear envelopes rather than
on pins because most of the characteristics
needed to identify these insects are related
to wing venation, which can be seen through
the envelopes. Keeping the specimens in
envelopes also saves space and also keeps
broken parts from getting lost from the
specimen of origin.
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Entomology
Collections Tour
Friday,
16 June 2006
Group
Photo! Students pose with one of the entomology
OH MY! display drawers. With 2.8 million
Lepidoptera and 30 million arthropods
in the collection there's more to see
but that will have to wait for another
day.
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