This grant will support the improvement of the insect collections at Ohio State, in conjunction with OSU's development of a "Museum of Biological Diversity", a renovated facility to house its biological collections. The OSU insect collection, with about 3.5 million specimens and over 2500 primary types, is the 14th largest in North America and fifth largest among those at U.S. universities. Geographic coverage is worldwide; taxonomic strengths are the Homoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera. The collection, now scattered among five rooms, will be consolidated in the new facility in a climate controlled area that is twice as large as the current collection area, thus allowing for future growth. New cabinets will alleviate current crowding, allow for expansion and will replace wooden cabinets, which are inadequate for housing the collection or protecting it against pests. Institutional commitments include provision of the new collection area and a promise to make a collection manager position permanent after the expiration of the project. These collections are an extremely important, international resource for systematic, biodiversity and ecological studies on arthropods, and play a strong role in the training of students in entomological research. This project will make the OSU collection more accessible to the scientific community and further its use in research and education on the biology of insects.
