The press service of Kronotsky Nature Reserve has announced the beginning of an inventory of its extensive entomology collection, accumulated over several decades. Specialists from the "Zapovednaya Mordovia" nature reserve will join this effort.
The collection, gathered in Kronotsky Nature Reserve, South Kamchatka Wildlife Refuge, and adjacent territories, contains hundreds of specimens of butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, flies, mosquitoes, bumblebees, beetles, and other six-legged creatures. The inventory will help to understand which species inhabited specific territories and during which periods.
Scientists have already sorted through the entire collection, reviewed scientific articles on the collected insects, and identified specimens that have deteriorated over time. Entomological collections serve as visual aids for specialists. Their creation, along with the study of insects, is a necessary component of ecological monitoring and zoological observations.
Insects are a vital part of the food chain in the wild and are indicators of the health of populations of larger animals. In Kamchatka, their abundance directly affects the well-being of salmon, various birds, and certain species of mammals.