From field to collection: A specimen's story | Field Studies

Wherever we look, insect populations are crashing. But by studying the insects at the Knepp Estate in Sussex, England, scientists are able to see how rewilding is helping to boost the biodiversity and abundance of insects.
With the Museum's Senior Curator of Insects, Dr Erica McAlister, we follow the process of collecting and preserving insect specimens, and find out why it is important to do so.
See more on exciting projects at the Knepp Estate here: • Field Studies: A rewil...
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0:00 Introduction how specimens go from the field to the collection.
0:27 Dr Erica McAlister demonstrates sweep-netting and perfect insect collecting
1:58 our host attempts sweep-netting and pootering
2:34 Examining the net to discover which insects have been caught
4:22 Back at the Museum to discover the next stages of collection management
4:40 Quarantine, legal governance, documenting and labelling
6:45 The Knepp collection
7:32 Our host learns how to label and about the process of documenting each specimen
13:54 learn about the history of insect specimen pins
14:54 Transferring the specimens from the storage cases to display boxes.
18:40 How the labels help catalogue each specimen, easily accessible and future proofing
21:52 the next step is to add the specimens information to a database which is also then available to all on the web

[@thorbjoernmaadhengis9644]

They left out the best/worst bit: identifying the specimens down to species level. Thanks for showing the process!

[@colinbarnes1501]

How wonderful. Erica has the inspiring quality of someone doing what they truly love.

[@NaturalHistoryMuseum]

We couldn't agree more! Thanks for the lovely feedback 🪰

[@ooooneeee]

This is super fascinating. She's great at training him. The collection is so meticulous. I love that the database is public.

[@NaturalHistoryMuseum]

What a lovely comment! We'll make sure to pass this on to our scientist, Erica :)

[@greenpaulineuk]

So great, thanks, couldn’t quite see how they were pinned but really appreciated the knowledge and effort involved. 💚

[@azounx]

Fantastic series

[@NaturalHistoryMuseum]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@wildlifegardener-tracey6206]

Fantastic. That was absorbing and fascinating.

[@NaturalHistoryMuseum]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@theaveragecomment1014]

I love watching these videos!

[@NaturalHistoryMuseum]

We're glad you enjoyed the series! 🦖