Putting a name to the face: Turning BINs into species with the help of a museum collection

As part of the California Insect Barcoding Initiative, we are using the University of California, Riverside Entomology Research Museum to cross-reference recently generated insect DNA “barcodes” against previously identified specimens that have been stored in our collection for decades. This requires the project to be broken into two parts. First, is a series of fresh collections in which multiple organizations gather insect specimens from a range of California ecoregions to be digitally databased. Using MinION amplification techniques we are able to produce DNA sequence fragments of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) gene for freshly collected insect specimens in large batches.The second task is sifting through our museum’s curated insect families to select specimens that fall inside our parameters for DNA extraction. Many of the museum specimens we selected were collected in the same Level 4 ecoregions -often the same exact localities- as the ones from fresh collections.  With the information from this survey, we could open more pathways for further studying the emergence of cryptic species, establishment of invasive species populations, and potentially mapping the movement of endemic species across the state of California.