1. Changes in insect biomass, abundance, and diversity are challenging to track at sufficient spatial, temporal, and taxonomic resolution. Camera traps can capture habitus images of ground-dwelling insects. However, currently sampling involves manually detecting and identifying specimens. Here, we test whether a convolutional neural network (CNN) can classify habitus images of ground beetles to species level, and estimate how correct classification relates to body size, number of species inside genera, and species identity.2. We created an image database of 65,841 museum specimens comprising 361 carabid beetle species from the British Isles and fine-tuned the parameters of a pretrained CNN from a training dataset. By summing up class confidence values within genus, tribe, and subfamily and setting a confidence threshold, we trade-off between classification accuracy, precision, and recall and taxonomic resolution.3. The CNN classified 51.9% of 19,164 test images correctly to species level and 74.9% to genus level. Average classification recall on species level was 50.7%.Applying a threshold of 0.5 increased the average classification recall to 74.6% at the expense of taxonomic resolution. Higher top value from the output layer and larger sized species were more often classified correctly, as were images of species in genera with few species. 4. Fine-tuning enabled us to classify images with a high mean recall for the whole test dataset to species or higher taxonomic levels, however, with high variability.This indicates that some species are more difficult to identify because of properties such as their body size or the number of related species.5. Together, species-level image classification of arthropods from museum collections and ecological monitoring can substantially increase the amount of occurrence data that can feasibly be collected. These tools thus provide new opportunities in understanding and predicting ecological responses to environmental change. Jens-Christian Svenninghttps://orcid.

The larval trunk morphology including chaetotaxy, locomotory structures, and trunk musculature of Heterobathmia pseuderiocrania, Eriocrania cicatricella, and Acanthopteroctetes unifascia is described using conventional light, polarization, and scanning electron microscopy. The ground plan morphology of the lepidopteran larva and neolepidopteran caterpillar is discussed in light of the life history succession from free soil dwelling organism to endophagous and finally to a primarily free living, angiosperm associated organism. I suggest that the larval morphology is argued to be strongly influenced by the shift in number of surfaces present in the larval environment. Especially the environment of the endophagous species, where the upper surface of the leaf mine is linked to the presence of dorsal locomotory structures such as the retractable calli and dorsal friction patches is proposed to have had a significant impact on the morphology and locomotory mechnism of the lepidopteran caterpillar. The chaetotaxy of the lepidopteran ground plan is found to be simple, consisting only of primary and secondary tactile setae and segmental proprioceptors. The presumption of Gerasimov ([1935] Zool Anz 112:177-194) that MXD1 of the prothorax is a shifted mesothoracic MD setae is supported. I suggest that the serial arrangement of the proprioceptors MD1, present on all trunk segments except the prothorax, and a trisetous MV group on all the thoracic segments is part of the lepidopteran larval ground plan. The absence of apodeme structures associated with trunk musculature in the nonglossatans suggests that this is an autapomorphic character of the Lepidoptera and it is further found to have been influential in the evolution of the typical caterpillar trunk. The attachments of the thoracic muscles directly to the trunk integument, suggest that the apodemal structures ancestral to the Amphiesmenoptera have been reduced in the Lepidoptera. Within the non-Neolepidoptera, the lifehistory shift may have resulted in reduction of the dorsal locomotory structures, such as calli. The abdominal musculature and structural similarities further suggest that the ventral calli are structural predecessors to the crotchet bearing proleg of the "typical caterpillar."

The world’s natural history collections contain at least 2 billion specimens, representing a unique data source for answering fundamental scientific questions about ecological, evolutionary, and geological processes. Unlocking this treasure trove of data, stored in thousands of museum drawers and cabinets, is crucial to help map a sustainable future for ourselves and the natural systems on which we depend. The rate-limiting steps in the digitisation of natural history collections often involve specimen handling due to their fragile nature. Insects comprise the single largest collection type in the Natural History Museum, London (NHM), reflecting their global diversity. The NHM pinned insect collection, estimated at 25 million specimens, will take over 700 person years to digitise at current rates. In order to ramp up digitisation we have developed ALICE for Angled Label Image Capture and Extraction. This multi-camera setup and associated software processing pipeline enables primary data capture from angled images, without removal of the labels from the specimen pin. As a result ALICE enables a single user to sustainably image over 1,000 specimens per day, allowing us to digitally unlock the insect collections at an unprecedented rate.

The trunk morphology of the larvae of the kauri pine (Agathis) seed infesting moth Agathiphaga is described using conventional, polarization, and scanning electron microscopy. The pine seed chamber formed by the larva is also described and commented on. The simple larval chaetotaxy includes more of the minute posture sensing setae, proprioceptors, than expected from the lepidopteran larval ground plan. The excess of proprioceptors is suggested to be necessary for sensory input concerning the larval posture within the seed chamber. The trunk musculature includes an autapomorphic radial ventral musculature made up of unique multisegmental muscles. The combined presence of additional proprioceptors and the unique ventral musculature is proposed to be related to the larval movement within the confined space of the seed chamber, especially to a proposed somersault movement that allows the larva to orientate itself within the chamber.

We present a pinned insect manipulator (IMp) constructed of LEGO® building bricks with two axes of movement and two axes of rotation. In addition we present three variants of the IMp to emphasise the modular design, which facilitates resizing to meet the full range of pinned insect specimens, is fully customizable, collapsible, affordable and does not require specialist tools or knowledge to assemble.