CBC: It might bug you, but University of Manitoba’s insect collection is key to understanding the world
January 5, 2023 —
Some are smaller than a fingernail, others wider than a splayed hand. Some catch the light in an iridescent shimmer while others have long antennae or furry legs.
Most impressive of all: there are close to three million of them.
The University of Manitoba is home to one of largest insect collections in Canada, with the oldest specimen dating back 128 years — just over a decade after the university was founded as the first in western Canada.
The ballpark number of specimens usually cited by the U of M is 2.5 million “but that I think that number has been quoted for years and the collection just keeps growing,” said Jason Gibbs, associate professor in the university’s department of entomology.