Collections & Research, Archived Projects


Disclaimer: This material is being kept online for historical purposes. Content is no longer being updated. The project sites below may contain broken links or outdated information.



Projects:

  • California Beetle Project
    The California Floristic Province is one of the world's great biodiversity hotspots. Ten thousand or more species of beetle call California home. Some are considered pests, but these are far outweighed by the countless species helping to keep our valuable ecosystems going. This website is dedicated to increasing appreciation and providing information on these fascinating and beautiful insects.

  • Santa Barbara Butterflies
    This guide pictures and describes all of the butterflies thought to occur in Santa Barbara County. The list of species is based on a combination of field sightings, the collections of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and other worker's records (especially the USGS "Butterflies of North America" site, maintained by Paul Opler.) It is likely that not all of the species described here actually maintain breeding populations in the County. Some are included as possible strays from other areas, while others are known from neighboring counties, and may have been living undetected in some of the county's remoter regions. The individual species pages attempt to clarify each species' status in this regard.

  • A Guide to the Insects of the Coal Oil Point Reserve
    The Coal Oil Point Reserve, part of the University of California Natural Reserve System, protects about 170 acres of coastal habitat near Santa Barbara, California. Coastal habitats in southern California have been heavily impacted by development, and the Reserve's dunes and salt marsh, especially, are important refuges for the many endemic species found in these habitats. Though they aren't the first to come to many people's mind, the insects represent the vast majority of these endemics. This site is an attempt to shed some popular light on the many interesting insects that can be found at the Reserve.

  • The Ants of The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
    Is your house overrun by ants? Don't worry, you're certainly not alone. This summer's project of the Quasars to Seastars entomology group was to find out just how many different kinds of ants we could find in and around the Museum.