This project will consist in the recuration of scale insect (COCCOIDEA) collection. A large part of the collection is from China and Southeast Asia, and represents the world's largest collection of scale insects and hosts plants from this region. The entire scale insect collection consists of 50,000 glass slide- mounted specimens, 200 primary types, 16,000 samples of dried plant material with scale insects in situ, and 500 line drawings, correspondence, and field notebooks. All of the scale insects and host plants are identified to genus, and in most cases, species. This collection is of unique scientific value: the specimens are from areas that can no longer be collected; both the scale insects and the plant hosts are identified; all developmental stages and parasites are often included; and these dried specimens make ideal material for molecular systematic studies. For long term safekeeping of this invaluable resource, four major curatorial needs must be addressed: placement in acid-free containers, protection from insect pests, updating specimen taxonomy, and facilitation information retrieval. In many cases the specimens themselves are in need of curatorial attention or of stabilization. Additionally, the slide collection will be evaluated for relabeling or remounting and will be bar coded. The majority of dried specimens on dried plant material are housed in individual cardboard boxes, which are highly acidic and must be replaced. The enclosed specimens need to be re-wrapped in buffered tissue for added protection. In addition, roughly 3,000 dried specimens, mostly from exotic locations, are still housed in various kinds of packaging just as they were received through the mail. These specimens need to be moved into standard sized archival boxes like the rest of the collection. Each new box plus contents will be sealed in plastic bags to eliminate damage by insect pests.
