Simon Fearn1, Judy Rainbird1, Dr Alfonsina Arriaga Jiménez1

1Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Australia

Biography:

Alfonsina Arriaga Jiménez is an entomologist and conservation biologist with a specialization in dung beetles, focusing on their biogeography, ecology, and behavior. She is passionately committed to conservation, serving as a member and focal point of the IUCN SSC Dung Beetle Specialist Group and contributing to the formation of an Australian Specialist Group. Alfonsina's interdisciplinary research includes ethnobiology, where she explores the connections between biodiversity and indigenous languages in collaboration with indigenous communities. Previously, she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of New England, where she studied dung beetles and served as a lecturer in Entomology and Integrated Pest Management. Additionally, she was a member of Discovery Voyager, engaging in outreach projects with children in rural areas. Currently, Alfonsina is the Senior Curator of Natural Sciences at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG).

Abstract:

In the last decade, the unique entomological collection at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) has been growing. This growth is primarily attributed to generous donations and focused fieldwork from areas around central North/Western Tasmania, and western Bass Strait.

More than 30,000 insects and 4,600 spiders have been registered into the QVMAG database since 2015, and the housing of the entomological collection has grown eightfold. This rapid growth reflects the QVMAG strategy to broaden the taxonomic and geographical depth of the invertebrate collections, to align with a strategic priority of researching and documenting the biodiversity of northern Tasmania and activating this work in shareable forms.

Field collecting occurs across all orders, with Coleoptera and Lepidoptera highlighted. Baseline collecting such as this are crucial as Tasmania's climate is changing in myriad ways; expected to profoundly impact invertebrate assemblages in the future. In addition to field collecting, QVMAG has been fortunate to attract the donations of two important Lepidoptera collections: the nationally significant ‘Lambkin/Knight Collection’ and the ‘Victor Jackson Collection’.

QVMAG’s commitment to digital activation and engagement ensures these invaluable resources are readily accessible to both researchers and the public. Upwards of 1,000 comprehensive digital images of registered insects and spiders have been created and added to the QVMAG database and taken through to external platforms such as the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA). Digital availability of our specimen collections actively facilitates research, education and outreach through comprehensive and accurate data that is accessible online whilst creating further resources for the documentation of these important historical changes as part of the broader global climate conversations and conservation efforts.