Insect biodiversity data digitized from insect collections housed in museums, research labs, and educational institutions provide a wide range of opportunities for students.This poster describes an exercise undertaken by Luther College biology students in BIO 251: Entomology that introduces them to on-line digitized specimen data and ask several questions of those data.Beginning first with the Luther Entomological Research Collection (LERC) that is digitized through Symbiota on Ecdysis, the students then search the full Ecdysis database, and then larger iDigBio and GBIF data portals.Students generate species checklists at the locality or county level, and see how species distributions have changed geographically over time (e.g. Bombus affinis, the rusty-patched bumble bee).
.png)
