Tuesday, 19 November 2002
D0247

This presentation is part of : Display Presentations, Section A. Systematics, Morphology, and Evolution

Establishment of the Bahamian national insect collection

Nancy B. Elliott1, Sherilyn G. F. Smith2, and David L. Smith2. (1) Siena College, Department of Biology, 515 Loudon Rd, Loudonville, NY, (2) Le Moyne College, Department of Biology, Salt Springs Rd, Syracuse, NY

Before the spring of 2000, the Bahamas did not have a national insect collection, although there was one private collection of butterflies belonging to Denis Knowles of Nassau, New Providence, and two small collections, one at the Rand Nature Centre of the Bahamas National Trust on Grand Bahama, and the other at the College of the Bahamas, Gerace Research Center on San Salvador. During the winter and spring of 2000, the authors placed approxinmately 4000 specimens they had collected from nine of the major islands into cabinets at the Department of Agriculture Headquarters in the Nassau Botanic Garden on New Providence. Since that time, additional specimens from four more islands have been added to the collection, as have duplicates from the Denis Knowles butterfly collection. Another aspect of the project has involved documenting collection records for specimens in major collections throughout the United States.

Keywords: Bahamian insects, systematics

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