Natural History Collections as Resources for Assessing Biodiversity Hotspots and Insect Declines: Case Studies, Opportunities, and Challenges

Natural history collections represent the largest and most reliable source of data documenting occurrences of insect species through time and space. Unfortunately, the vast majority of historical collections have not yet been digitized and this lack of access hinders their use for assessing the conservation status of insects. Historical collections data, when available and combined with data from recent sampling, may reveal changes in species occurrence driven by anthropogenic impacts on insect habitats. This chapter provides case studies that highlight the possible advantages and limitations of historical collection data, as well as more recent digital observations based on photos rather than museum specimens. We summarize the main types of bias that may be present in occurrence data derived from such sources and provide specific recommendations for researchers interested in using such data to assess the conservation status of insect species.