Abstract

MONTANO C, Milton; MEZA S, Ana María  and  DIAS, Lucimar G. THE CEBUC ENTOMOLOGY COLLECTION AND ITS POTENTIAL AS A REFERENCE COLLECTION OF AQUATIC INSECTS. Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas [online]. 2012, vol.16, n.2, pp.173-184. ISSN 0123-3068.

Entomology collections constitute a country or region's natural history archive, where specimen preservation and its associated information are the basis for taxonomic, ecological, phylogenetic, and biogeographic studies. The Entomology Collection of the Biology Program of the Universidad de Caldas (CEBUC) has had an entry and deposit of reference specimens since 1993. Despite the time passed since its creation, it did not count on an appropriately organized collection. With the objective of optimizing the collection and organizing the information associated with the conserved species, its curation process was carried out. In parallel, an analysis of the taxonomic determination of the exemplars was done, finding that a total of 34184 exemplars were identified to the family level, of which 29542 (86.42%) are identified to the genus level. A total of 28542 liquid-stored aquatic insects are recorded, distributed in 28 orders, 90 families, and 215 genera and/or morphotypes, collected from different rivers and streams of the Caldas department. By analyzing the source data of the aquatic insect exemplars of the CEBUC, it was possible to determine that the greatest richness and abundance of aquatic insects is associated to leaf litter substrate. The generalist collectors' trophic guild is the dominant group among the aquatic insects deposited in the collection. In regards to the dry-preserved collection, it currently contains 5642 individuals, grouped in 14 orders belonging to 111 families. In this manner, CEBUC becomes an important reference tool for future investigations, in addition to manifesting the diversity of Colombia's central coffee region.

Keywords : insects; coffee region; entomology museum; Colombia.

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