Submitted by Kipling Will on
With nearly 800 species Carabid beetles are one of the most common and diverse groups of beetles in California. Therefore, they are also one of the most ecologically significant and knowing their distribution in time and space is essential to understanding our biodiversity. As a target group for the CalBug digitization project in the Essig Museum of Entomology, Berkeley, we have found many species not previously recorded in the published literature for California. This project aims to digitize examples of every species of carabid beetle in the Essig collection and develop a more complete checklist for the state. This project is intended to result in a publication that could potentially include the student as an author.
The student will assist in sorting and locating specimens for digitization. He/she will complete imaging and data entry for carabid beetle specimens, including georeferencing, and help develop the checklist using literature records and specimens.
Ability to safely handle specimens, attention to detail, excellent computer skills and willingness to learn about digitization and specimen identification.