National Science Foundation funds Curation of OSAC beetles

The Oregon State Arthropod Collection has just recieved word from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that a proposal, submitted by coPI's: Stevan J. Arnold and Christopher J. Marshall, is to be funded.  Their proposal is entitled: "Beetles of the Pacific Northwest - the legacy of Melville Harrison Hatch" and will modernize the beetle collection and produce digital resources related to the some 5000 species of beetles known to inhabit the Pacific Northwest. 

Melville Harrison Hatch was an important entomologist in the PNW and an expert on the local beetle fauna.  Over his career at University of Washington, Dr. Hatch amassed a giant beetle collection and produced a monumental 5-volume treatise: the Beetles of the Pacific Northwest, which today is difficult to find.  In the late 1980's Dr. Hatch retired from UW and given that a replacment entomologist was not expected, the insect collection was moved to OSU; where it was semi-integrated into the OSAC.

The NSF grant will provide much needed hardware (new
cabinets, drawers and specimen trays) for the OSAC/Hatch beetle collection which
contains between 800,000 and 1 million specimens.  As part of the
proposal, OSAC will also generate and make available high resolution
images of the beetles inhabiting the Pacific Northwest.

The  funds were obtained from an NSF program that specifically provides support to the many natural history museums around the country.  Kwown as the BRC (Biological Research Collections) grant, this program provides up to $500,000 to single institutions to cover physical renovations and digital enhancements that both protect and increase the usability of natural history collections.  This is the frst big curatorial grant to be recieved by the insect collection at OSU, although the OSU Herbtoarium has recieved these funds in the past.

Three smaller but interesting side projects are also part of the beetle grant.  A small amount of money was allocated for the generation of a Beetlemania exhibit to educate pre-college youth about the biology, diversity and importance of beetles.  Also, some funds were set aside to work with the OSU Science & Math outreach program: SMILE - to develop 'natural history collection'-based curriculum for middle/highschool teachers.  Lastly, OSAC is working with the OSU Valley Library and the University of Washington Press to generate an online digital versions of Hatch's treatise: The Beetles of the Pacific Northwest.