The Lepidoptera of North America Thematic Collections Network (LepNet TCN) will serves as a hub for integrating millions of occurrence records for Lepidoptera. The project is funded by the NSF-ADBC program ($3.2 million, 2016-2020) and includes 27 core museums distributed across the United States. We will accomplish the following goals:
- Digitize 1.7 million adult specimens and 58,524 larval vial records while integrating >1 million existing lepidopteran records, for a total of at least 2.7 million occurrence records.
- Produce high-resolution species exemplar images of 81,000 adult museum specimens representing at least 60% of the 14,300+ North American Lepidoptera species to enhance remote identifications and promote systematic and ecological research.
- Implement computer identification workflow (LepSnap) to exponentially increase capacity for identification of museum specimens and consequently promote imaging additional specimens.
- Develop smartphone applications via LepSnap for student researchers and volunteers to image cataloged specimens and add >160,000 images beyond the high-resolution species exemplars.
- Catalyse novel, data- and hypothesis-driven research advancing our understanding of the wide-ranging factors that influence the evolution and ecology of Lepidoptera and plant-herbivore interactions; within and across taxonomic and functional groups and spatial scales.
- Disseminate rich education-outreach content to students and the public through LepXPLOR.
Verify Your Email
Check your email (including spam!) and click on the provided link.
Until then, you won't be able to earn badges, or access other members-only features, but you can still browse thousands of projects and events!