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Articles By Resource type : Database
Aquatic Insects of American Trout Streams
For generations, the main interest in aquatic insects has been firmly at the feet of trout fishermen. This web site provides about 4,000 outstanding photographs of many popular insects used as models for tying flies (fishing lures), as well as information on the natural history of these insects and some basic, elementary information about classification. Also available is an on-line discussion forum about aquatic insects and trout fishing.
Arachnid Orders
A bibliography, mainly for spiders, and an extensive collection of web resources related to arachnids were put together by the International Society of Arachnology. Also included are news items about the society, publications, meetings, and other arachnid-related information.
Blattodea Species File Online
A well illustrated database featuring the world's cockroach species. Includes phylogeny, distribution, and keys for many of the groups.
Brochosomes
Brochosomes are curious protein excretions produced by leafhoppers and spread on the body after molting. They are thought to aid the insect and avoiding sticking to the feeding substrate among other things. Many photographs of brochosomes as well as insects anointing themselves are included, as well as videos.
Bugguide Identification, Images, & Information For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin For the United States & Canada
BugGuide is devoted to identification and natural history of insects through imagery. The images are uploaded and examined by amateur volunteers, and the site is hosted by Iowa State University. All of the insect orders and several non-insect arthropods are included in the database. There also is an interactive Lucid key available. Attempts are made to follow current taxonomic efforts. The site is easy to navigable through and has some very nice photos. (Not all photos were reviewed for taxonomic accuracy.)
Butterflies and moths of North America
A database detailing the distribution records for Lepidoptera of North America searchable by taxonomic group, region (down to county level) species. Species details include identification, life history, caterpillar hosts, habitat, range and conservation status and more. Although a "work in progress" the site is extensive and has a useful links page for Lepidoptera distribution data around the world. Also included is a good glossary page A valuable resource for Lepidoptera enthusiasts and academics alike.
Caterpillars of Eastern Forests
Excellent photographic resource for identifying immature Lepidoptera of eastern forests of the U.S. and Canada arranged by family. Each photo includes a text description as well as a list of host plants. Other sections include photography tips, and species list.
Cicada Mania
This site is dedicated to all things cicada throughout the world and contains an enormous amount of information on this group of insects. Cicadas are photographed and generally enjoyed on this site, initiated in 1996. The site includes a question and answer section, a gallery, a blog, and brood dates and related information, as well as interviews with cicada researchers and video and sound files. Many items for purchase are included for individuals or classrooms. Because of the large amount of information available on this site, it is not entirely simple to navigate.
Discover Entomology Texas A&M University
Texas A & M University general entomology page that has frequently asked questions and links to fact sheets about fire ants, honeybees, termites, and more. There is also considerable information about vegetable IPM, and management of other pests. Links to extension sites in other states, insect identification resources, and a picture gallery round out the site.
Discover life: Insecta
This resource (for and by college students) is meant to be a taxonomic reference for all life. This section of the site focuses on the Insecta. The database is lucid key driven and includes valuable diagnostic and behavioral information about many insect groups as well as bibliographic references. This NSF-sponsored project includes work from the University of Guelph and Animal Diversity Web at the University of Michigan. Much of the site is considered a "skeleton" awaiting further contributions.
Diseases And The Insects That Transmit Them
This reference site is navigated by clicking on a disease which takes you to a factsheet that gives all the relevant details of vector organisms, pathogen, reservoir, and distribution. It is an excellent medical entomology primer. Each page has further links for more information, including information-rich tables on diseases and associated vectors
DrMetcalf a resource on cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, spittlebugs, and treehoppers
This web site is devoted to cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, spittlebugs, and treehoppers. It is built around the vast literature collection amassed by the late Zeno P. Metcalf and now housed in the North Carolina State University Libraries' Special Collections. A searchable bibliographic database focuses on the world's largest literature collection -- nearly 12,000 references from 1741 to 1955 --for these groups. The searchable database is supplemented with selected references (1956-present) for each of the five insect groups, a biography of Metcalf, overviews of each group, and selected links to additional web sites on these insects.
Ecological Database of the World's Insect Pathogens
A search enabled relational database focusing on pathogens of insects including non-viral, viral, and nematodes, for purposes of insect control. This page does not include information about Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). (shows 2002 as last update)
eNature.com
A website devoted to online photographic nature guides including guides to select butterflies, spiders, insects, and many other groups of organisms. Care is given to proper classification. Each species page has a comprehensive description including range, flight, and habitat associations. Links to games, screen savers, and ringtones are also included. The links to photographs of species are good, however the site is not comprehensive. For example, only 36 kinds of beetle are presented.
Entomologist Charles Valentine Riley’s Artifacts and Papers
This USDA web site is devoted to the life and work of 19th-century entomologist Charles Valentine Riley, with excerpts from his sketchbooks and other works. The site provides six representative images of historical treasures from the famous "Father of Biological Control", along with information on how to obtain high-quality digital images of the works. A further link is available which includes a more extensive collection of his papers and images.
Entomology CSIRO Australia: Common names
With almost 5000 entries this compendium of common names of Australian insects is one of the most thorough identification tools available online. Most of the pages include images and ranges as well as descriptions of the taxon.
Entomology on World-Wide Web (WWW)
An A-Z listing of a wide variety of entomology based resources. Many university departments, Insect control facilities, and museums are represented here, as well as outlets for gathering collecting and curating gear. Other lings take you to Usenet Newsgroups, and List servers.
ESCAPE: Exotic Species Curriculum for Agricultural Problem-solving Education
This web site provides various modules on exotic species, including both plants and animals, in North American ecosystems. The site includes methods of introduction; case studies of the Asian tiger mosquito, gypsy moth, and multicolored ladybeetle; a nice discussion of diverse ethics issues; and quizzes. It also includes a glossary of more than 75 terms related to invasive species biology; a multimedia player is required to hear pronunciations of the terms. Undergraduate students will find the site useful as an introduction to exotic species biology, although it is designed particularly as a learning and teaching tool for pre-college students.
FlyBase a Database of Drosophila Genes and Genomes
Award winning database of Drosophila molecular study. A gene/genome search by image of organ systems, life-cycle stages, tagma, or germ layer is possible.
FORMIS: A Master Bibliography of Ant Literature
FORMIS is a composite of several ant literature databases. It contains citations for a large fraction of the world's ant literature (about 38,000 references). FORMIS contains all known ant taxonomic literature (through 1996). It also contains comprehensive bibliographies of leaf-cutting ants, fire ants, and Russian wood ants. FORMIS is also the only database which covers ant literature before the 1970s. For further details please see contributions and credits. This database is designed to allow convenient searches of titles, keywords and abstracts when available (online searches or downloads). Citations from this database can be exported to create specialty databases or personal reprint indexes. FORMIS is only updated every year or two, so it is not a source for the most recent ant literature.
Genera Ichneumonorum Nearcticae
An exhaustively researched page on the Ichneumonidae, their biology, classification, life history, and general morphology. Nine subfamilies are covered, and a lengthy references list is provided.
Grasshoppers: Their Biology, Identification and Management
Thoroughly informative database of grasshopper information, with general taxonomy, morphology, and lucid keys to grasshoppers of Western North American interest. IPM strategies are also highlighted.
HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
A search enabled database of hostplants associated with Lepidoptera. The search page is Boolean and can be accessed with either lepidopteran or plant taxonomic information, or a menu-based search. It is world-wide in scope. The resource can be used for discussions of insect host plant evolution and for economic entomology discussions or lessons.
Insect Physiology Online
A large database dedicated to research articles about various topics of insect physiology. Topics range from excretion to diapause to temperature and water regulation. There are also extensive listings of resources (academic units, funding, journals) and course data on insect physiology.
Insectclopedia
A database portal including dozens of links to relevant entomological sites. These resources include species information, research, insect control, communication, pictures, a comprehensive list of schools, conservation, identification, expertise, cooking and collecting. As of this writing some links are not functioning. Published by Pedagonet.com, a learning resource center.
Insecticides Used in the Urban Environment: Mode of Action
A short article discussing the various ways in which insecticides operate to kill insects. Groups covered include IGRs, cuticle production inhibitors, nervous system poisoners, water balance disrupters, and more. Included is a table of common insecticides with their modes of action.
Invasive and Exotic Insects
Information needed to help identify and control invasive species. Specifically, each species listed has an accompanying photo, information concerning identification, biology, control and management resources. This is an outstanding resource.
Jean-Henri Fabre: his life, his work
This web site provides an extensive "electronic museum" devoted to the life and works of 19th-century entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre, with examples of his written entomological works, his correspondence (with Darwin and others), and historical context. Listings of his translated works in 15 languages is available, as is a gallery of historical photographs.
Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Cicadellidae)
C.H. Dietrich's Cicadellidae site dedicated to leafhoppers of the world. The site includes a subfamily by subfamily guide, a key to various groups, a frequently asked questions area, phylogeny,and a bibliography.
Les Cercopes du Quebec
Page is in French. Beautiful images as well as excellent information about behavior, classification, morphology, parasitism, and good Quebec specific lists of expected genera and species.
Les Cicadelles du Quebec
Page is in French. Beautiful images as well as excellent information about behavior, classification, morphology, parasitism, and good Quebec specific lists of expected genera and species.
Les Libellules du Quebec
A page in French dedicated to dragonflies and damselflies of Quebec. With many photographs. Sections devoted to life history, ecology, morphology, and collecting are included.
Mantophasmatodea
A www.Biodiversityexplorer.org webpage devoted to the newly described order Mantophasmatodea (2002). The page includes description, images, behavior, distribution, and phylogenetic information.
Monarch Watch
Classroom study ideas, questions, and multimedia dealing with Monarch butterflies as classroom study organisms. Information about conservation, migration and tagging, biology, and live butterflies for sale is presented.
NC STATE AGNIC SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY: A GUIDE TO ONLINE INSECT SYSTEMATIC RESOURCES
A comprehensive listing of all insect orders with general, bibliographic, key, worker, and museum links. This is a very practical tool for any student or teacher looking for information on any of the insect orders.
North American Benthological Society
The website of NABS an international scientific community for the better understanding of organisms living on the bottoms of lakes and streams. Home of the journal of the North American Benthological Society. Links to annual meetings, education and outreach, jobs for students and postdocs are also accessible from this page.
Orthoptera Species File Online
The Orthoptera Species File (Version 2.0/3.1) is a taxonomic database of the world's Orthoptera. It contains full synonymic and taxonomic information for more than 25,000 valid species and more than 39,000 taxonomic names, and has more than 140,000 citations to references Users can also access images and sound recordings for many species. The "Education Exercises" link has tools (in both English and Spanish) to learn about synonymic lists, the taxonomic history of a generic and specific name, type specimens, and valid names. There also are interactive keys for identifying and diagnosing species of Orthoptera and teaching users about the Linnaean hierarchy. Another useful resource on the home page is the list of experts and their contact information. The OSF is useful for professionals, students, educators and users with a general interest in Orthoptera. It stands out as excellent because it is well-documented, has many "help" features to guide users, and is associated with a well-respected group, the Orthopterists' Society. If you are not sure where to start looking, or if you are interested in how the database is constructed, use the home page links listed under "Other Places to Start".
Periodical Cicada Page
Thorough discussion of the Periodical cicada, life cycle, habits, songs (includes audio files), biodiversity, brood range maps, bibliography and more.
Phasmida Species File Online
The Phasmida Species File (PSF) is a taxonomic database of the world's Phasmida (stick and leaf insects, known as walking sticks and walking leaves in the U.S.). It provides useful and accessible information for professional taxonomists and systematists, such as full synonymic and taxonomic information for over 2,700 valid species and 3,900 taxonomic names (all ranks, valid and not valid), and over 11,000 citations to references. The PSF home page also lists phasmid specialists by geographic location, so users can email them with questions. What makes the PSF stand out as excellent is the substantial amount of documentation and "help" features to guide users. This makes the site easily-accessible to professionals as well as students and educators with more general interests (e.g., rearing records and photographs). If you are not sure where to start looking, or if you are interested in how the database is constructed, use the home page links listed under "Other Places to Start". For information and statistics about the current status of the database (as of October 2006), click on the "About this website and the underlying database" link on the home page.
Pherolisr
A database of chemicals isolated from sex pheromone glands of female Lepidoptera along with other chemical attractants of male moths. This site should prove valuable to all those working with Lepidopteran pheromones. Maintained by Peter Witzgall, Tobias Lindblom, Marie Bengtsson, and Miklos Tóth, compounds are searchable by species common and Latin names, and also by compound. The source and author of compounds are also included. Pheronet also produces a number of chemical lures which is also listed, along with distributors for Europe and Brazil.
Resurrecting Asa Fitch's Aphid notes: historical entomology for application today
This well-produced web site by the USDA's Systematic Entomology Laboratory provides a database of Dr. Asa Fitch's (1809-1879) extensive but previously obscure notes -- 800 hand-written pages -- on 190 aphid taxa in PDF format (which, therefore, requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader). The database is searchable by genus and species, or all aphid pages can be browsed. An introductory page introduces Asa Fitch, the first state-appointed (New York) professional entomologist, and gives explanatory information about his prodigious and detailed notes. Fitch's notes provide not only information about aphids and plants, but also a glimpse into life in the mid-1800s.
ScaleNet
Comprehensive database of information on scale insects (Homoptera: Coccoidea), an important pest of greenhouses and fruit trees. Topics include general information, economic importance, life histories, distribution, ecology and classification. Users can query the database for information like valid names, distributions, hosts, references, synonymy, and remarks for a particular taxon. The bibliography goes back to 1758. Last updated December 2006.
Sharpshooter Leafhoppers of the World
The "Sharpshooter leafhoppers of the World" site has general information about leafhoppers, with specific instruction on the sharpshooter group (Hemiptera: Cidadellidae: Cicadellinae). Pages include classification, history, specimen depository, and an interactive key (not completed at time of this writing). A photographic gallery arranged by geographic region is especially useful and very beautifully done. The "Who Described the Species" link gives interesting historical accounts of some of the more prolific leafhopper taxonomists.
Singing Insects of North America
A guide to the songs produced by Orthoptera and cicadas in North America north of Mexico. Site includes sound files (as well as spectrograms of the sound files) of of some of the species described, keys to the groups, and many images. It is a work in progress and contributions are being solicited. The bibliographic references are quite extensive.
The Children's Butterfly Site
Images, life cycles, coloring pages, and well-designed teaching tools about butterflies are presented in a website with lots of photography. Five lessons are oriented around pollination. An interactive pollinator quiz allows users to pick appropriate pollinators for various flowers allowing discussions about pollinator ecology.
The Pherolist
A database of of chemicals identified from sex pheromone glands of lepidopteran insects, as well as other attractants for male moths. The site is largely dedicated to a search engine allowing the user to find a species of moth or butterfly (then pictured) and see what sex pheromones have been isolated (with references).
The Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit
This US Government site is dedicated to classification, and identification of arthropods of medical importance. Several links take you to keys to medically important sand flies, mosquitoes, scorpions, ticks and fleas. It also hosts a discussion forum, and catalogs of mosquitoes and sand flies (as of this writing not yet functioning).
Tree of Life Web Project
The Tree of Life Project is a classification project based on current taxonomic information for all groups of organisms. This is the INSECTA page, which is a portal to the rest of the pages for all insect groups. It includes images, phylogenetic relationships, and extensive references. This is a great start to learning about a new group of insects, or any other life form.
Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Membracoidea)
C.H. Dietrich's site dedicated to Treehoppers of the world, includes a frequently asked questions link, with species, distribution, and collecting information. Information about phylogenetic relationships could be used for upper division courses.
USDA-ARS Collection of Entomopathogenic Fungal Cultures
Dedicated to the natural history of fungal strains of fungus that attack invertebrates. Cultures are provided as a service to researchers. Identification services are also provided. A 333 page PDF catalog is available online at this site. The most significant pedagogical use of these materials lies in the catalogs of fungi by host and hosts by fungi. Catalogs are downloaded from links as PDFs and are rather large.
Vectorbase
A multi-university collaborative resource for genomic information from several vector arthropods: Anopheles (A.) gambiae, Aedes (A. (sic)) aegypti, Ixodes scapularis, Pedicularis (P.) humanus. Links are also available for organism photos, external links about the organism, and more. University of Notre Dame, e!Ensembl, IMBB, Harvard, Imperial College London are collaborators.
VISTA Tools for Comparative Genomics
A genetics toolbase with a dozen species of Drosophila aligned and presented in phylogenetic clade format and sequence downloads. There are also a series of vertebrates available. Requires a recent version of Java. This is a large collaborative effort from several research facilities including: UC Berkeley, Stanford, and UC Davis.
Wolbachia
A search enabled and expanding NSF database about the insect bacterial pathogen Wolbachia. The site includes information about molecular as well as taxonomic studies. The introduction page probably has the most general information of use to non-researchers using the site for educational purposes.
Wormspit.com
This is an image rich site devoted to the raising of silk worms. There's a lot of history, some videos, and a great deal of information about working silk at home. A great resource for teaching students about the product and it's origin. Especially fun are the Japanese and Chinese terms often employed for various items, for instance "Kega" is a baby caterpillar. Valuable links are also included, |
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01-16-2009: