AMNH IP- Mackenzie (CC Intern) at the Museum (AMNH)

The highlight of this week was definitely the tour Bushra and I went on around Invertebrate Zoology! Corey Smith, a Senior Museum Specialist in the department, showed us all around the Insect collection of pinned specimens. We started with the beetles, which is what Corey now works on, and I was amazed by the diversity of specimens we saw! We saw some of the largest beetles on the planet, about the width of my fist, as well as some of the smallest, about the size of an ant. I remarked that if I had seen a lot of these outside, I would not have guessed they were beetles, but rather a weird insect I was not familiar with. Corey said he thinks that is not an uncommon way people think. But going forward, I will now be able to hazard a guess that weird insect is actually a beetle!

      Drawer of goliath beetles (Scarabaeidae)                          Drawer of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae)


    Drawer of rove beetles (Staphylinidae: Staphylininae)        Unit tray of rove beetles (Staphylinidae: Paederinae)

We also got to look at the bee specimens, which Corey used to work on. I saw so many kinds of bees I had never seen before, from blue and black ones to green iridescent ones. I learned a lot about bees from Corey, such as how a lot of bees do not live in hives but actually live in isolated burrows underground. It was really cool to see the diversity of bees on our planet, but at one point it occurred to me that I should inquire about the "Save the Bees" movement, and if any of the specimens in the cabinets might be extinct now. He replied "almost certainly" and after thinking for a second opened a drawer to show us Bombus franklini, a bee from the Pacific Northwest, pictured below. He explained no one has seen this bee in years, and it is believed to be extinct. My heart dropped, thinking about how this beautiful creature will likely never be seen alive again. My mind began to wander to the other cabinets, wondering how many of these bees would eventually be immortalized only in the walls of institutions like this, rather than seen alive and well in their native habitats.

      Unit trays of carpenter bees (Apidae: Xylocopa)                     Orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossa)

Bombus franklini 

On a lighter note, in the meantime, the bees around the city have plenty of work to do! It felt like spring really sprung in NYC this week, as I saw flowers pop up on sidewalks and trees begin to blossom. Below are some photos from right outside the staff entrance at AMNH!

                    AMNH 77th Street Staff Entrance                                           Daffodils

Japanese Cherry Tree

Lastly, I also saw some pretty cool things in Invertebrate Paleontology this week. I had been curious about starfish fossils, and this week Hilary showed me some! I also saw some brittle stars, which I was previously unfamiliar with! Another volunteer, Jade, was working in the same room as me and at one point I walked by one of the specimens she is working on. I was taken aback by how iridescent it was. Between the Baculites specimen and the iridescent insects earlier in the week, I felt I got to experience some of Earth's most beautiful and magical creatures this week.

                    Starfish Fossils                                           Brittle Star Fossil

Baculites from South Dakota, Cretaceous








 

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