University of California, Santa Barbara (Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, University of California, Santa Barbara)

The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration will utilize collection data in restoration ecology to upgrade its historical Wenner insect collection which represents an uncommon historical record of insects in endangered coastal California habitats. The project will curate, barcode, image, database, and georeference the existing 9,000 insect specimens in the collection. This data will then be disseminated broadly to international specimen data resources. The project will also include an insect curation skills course as part of the already established course curriculum. Finally, the project will produce a manual on contemporary practices for curating and digitizing insect collections for small museums and provide workshops on insect identification and biodiversity. The preservation and digitization of this collection provides a much needed reference collection for the beneficial inclusion of insects in ongoing restoration assessments, furthering CCBER's ability to study insect pollinators and diversity in a restoration context.