REMEDIATION AND CURATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE COLLECTION OF APHELINIDAE (OTHER THAN APHYTIS) AND ENCYRTIDAE (HYMENOPTERA: CHALCIDOIDEA)

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

An award has been made to the University of California at Riverside under the direction of Dr. Serguei V. Triaptsyn for the improvement of a collection of parasitoid insects known as Aphelinidae, which are important infective agents of plant pests such as aphids and mealybugs. The collection consists of some 25,000 microscope slides with a larger number of specimens of parasitoids that are dry-mounted for microscopic observation. Many of the slides are deteriorating, putting the specimens at risk for damage that would decrease their value. The project will re-mount the specimens on new microscope slides in an archival mounting medium that will preserve them for the long term. A technician and several undergraduate students will perform the work, as well as enter data on the project and the specimen collection in a database that will be made available to researchers and biological control specialists worldwide.