In our last post, Norman and I discussed what we understand by internship, volunteering, and student work. Here in the Triplehorn collection, student interns and volunteers work side-by-side with our staff, faculty, and student assistants to learn and to preserve the collection for the future. Some tasks are fun, others are tedious, but all tasks are important. Instead of wordy descriptions, I selected some photos that illustrate the kinds of activities in our daily routine. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but I hope it will help to give you a general idea.
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- Each specimen in our database has a unique identifier (a barcode)
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- Insect curation demands a steady hand and lots of attention.
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- We use a semi-automated system to upload data to our database.
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- Once uploaded, we can easily access the data by scanning the specimen barcode.
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- Specimens are kept in paper trays lined with foam. We actually glue them together ourselves.
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- Trays need labels, so we print them in acid free paper and cut them to size.
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- A common task is the triage of bulk insect samples freshly collected.
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- Taking photos of the insects using sophisticated cameras is exciting.
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- Mounting insects takes skill and time, but it is very rewarding.
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- Sometimes we receive donations and we all pitch in to move cabinets and drawers.
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- We have to be very careful handling drawers full of specimens.
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- We also do a fair amount of cleaning, and we do it safely.
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- In order to ship specimens to scientist, we have to put boxes together.
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- With all the activity, we get quite hungry. We also love to celebrate milestones with food.
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- Pizza is one of the favourites, together with cake, but we do eat plenty of fruit too.
If you are interested in learning more about insect collections, insect curation, insect specimen preservation and photography for scientific study (or just for fun!), or have any questions about the Triplehorn Insect Collection, please feel free to drop me a note at osuc-curator@osu.edu.
About the Author: Luciana Musetti is an Entomologist and the Curator of the Triplehorn Insect Collection.
I always have a great time playing here. Pututogel