Low-cost, high-volume imaging for entomological digitization

Low-cost, high-volume imaging for entomological digitization

The flexibility of the imaging rig could benefit many potential users who are looking for an accessible method for larger collections of specimens

an illustration photo with three pinned insects

Guest blog post by Corey Feng and Dirk Steinke

The demand for the digitization of natural history collections has increased with the advancement of imaging technologies. Large collections composed of millions of insect specimens are exploring efficient strategies and new technologies to digitize them. However, many of these new systems are quite elaborate and expensive, creating a need for more affordable and easy-to-use equipment. 

75-by-47-cm foam platform with pinned insects in dorsal and lateral positions.

Creating a digital image for every specimen is an essential part of the DNA barcoding workflow at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (CBG). A newly designed imaging rig has enabled the CBG to quickly and efficiently image specimens at high quality while controlling the specimen’s orientation to emphasize key morphological characters. This system allowed the CBG to take some 190,000 images over the past year.

The SLR rig is placed on a heavy-base table to minimize vibration. The inset shows the actual rig area with specimens on the styrofoam base.

Our new ZooKeys study describes this imaging rig, which was mainly created for pinned specimens. It is inexpensive and easy to install as it uses a camera mounted to a CNC machine rig to photograph specimens at high capacity. By using a foam board to array specimens, the user can choose their orientation, which contrasts some existing methods that do not provide such flexibility. This setup produces 95 high quality images within half an hour.

Panel of example images taken with the SLR rig.

The flexibility of the imaging rig could benefit many potential users who are looking for an accessible method for larger collections of specimens. By alternating various parameters, such as the distance between the camera and specimens or the type of camera and lens used, users can adapt their system to specimens of varying sizes. With further changes to the array, the imaging rig can also be adapted to support imaging specimens on slides, within vials, or other storage solutions.

Research article:

Steinke D, McKeown JTA, Zyba A, McLeod J, Feng C, Hebert PDN (2024) Low-cost, high-volume imaging for entomological digitization. ZooKeys 1206: 315-326. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1206.123670

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