University of California, Riverside
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Show me an insect that’s never been seen by another human being before, and I can tell you what it is.”
Coming from most people, those words would be delusional. Coming as they do from Doug Yanega, the senior scientist at UC Riverside’s Entomology Research Museum, they are simply a statement of fact.
Because the ability to identify species is the first step toward understanding, managing, and protecting them, Yanega’s skill has arguably never been more important than it is today.
Insects pollinate about 75% of all crops, and they also serve as the main food source for birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Additionally, in a world without insects, dead things would accumulate indefinitely. Termites, beetles, and fly larvae process waste and debris, preventing soil from becoming sterile, and ensuring the entire food chain, including humans, continues to function.
Senior Museum Scientist Doug Yanega holds a collection of South East Asian cicadas at the Entomology Research Museum at UC Riverside (UCR/Stan Lim)
However, insects cannot perform these essential services if they don’t exist. Some studies suggest insect populations worldwide have declined by 45% in just the last 40 years, posing huge threats to ecosystems and agriculture.
“Habitat loss is the biggest threat to insect species,” Yanega said. “The places with the highest diversity of insects are the places being developed the fastest. Climate change is also playing a role, but that’s a slow burn. Habitat destruction is more of a hammer.”
Given that these two main drivers of insect extinction show no signs of slowing, the need to preserve what can be preserved is critical, and it begins with identification. Enter Yanega, and the research museum.
With more than four million specimens, the museum is one of the largest insect collections in North America. It primarily holds terrestrial insects from Southern California, Arizona, and parts of Mexico, though there are many from other parts of the world including Thailand, India, Australia, Russia, Honduras, and Brazil. And an estimated 30,000 additional specimens get added to the collection every year.