Dominique W Collins: Database of Thrips (Insecta: Thysanoptera) Collected in Great Britain (2017-2022)
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
Description
The database lists all the thrips (Insecta: Thysanoptera), collected in Great Britain, identified to species level by Dom Collins from 2017 to 2022 inclusive. All samples were collected during those years with the exception of one outlier from 1983, its identity being re-confirmed by the compiler within this period. The majority of records resulted from targeted (by host and geography), and some opportunistic, collecting in order to build on biogeographic information, including investigation of identified gaps in knowledge, presented in the on-line information and identification resource for British thrips Thysanoptera Britannica et Hibernica - Thrips of the British Isles (2018) (https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/british_thrips/). Other records originate from thrips sent to the compiler for identification, including Hoplothrips species, etc., caught by various trapping methods during an entomological investigation of an old oak pasture site in South Lanarkshire undertaken by The Hunterian.
Geographic Description
The dataset includes records from England, Scotland and Wales; however, it is not a national comprehensive survey but the fruit of targeted collection from pre-identified locations within Great Britain. There are records from NE Scotland, SW Wales and the south coast of England, but with many gaps in-between. Records from the SE quadrant of England or from Yorkshire are relatively well represented in the dataset, but also to a lesser extent Aberdeenshire and SW Scotland, with a smattering of records from other areas.
Purpose
The database collates all recent records determined by the compiler, part of an ongoing investigation into the biogeography of British Thysanoptera. Thrips are a greatly under-recorded group, with historic records produced by only a very small number of thysanopterists introducing major collecting biases to distribution records. Furthermore, until the compiler began recording thrips in the 21st century, nearly all British thrips records dated to the first six decades of the 20th century, introducing major temporal bias to thrips distribution records in a changing climate/environment.
Data quality
Excellent. All species determinations and input of collection data done by Dom Collins, an acknowledged specialist in Thysanoptera (produced last national checklist for Thysanoptera; co-author of on-line resource for British thrips with interactive identification key for all British species - Thysanoptera Britannica et Hibernica - Thrips of the British Isles)
Methods
The dataset contains the personal records of the compiler; all species determinations made by him between 2017 and 2002 are included. The majority of determinations were made from museum-quality slide-mounted specimens under a high power microscope. It is also possible for an experienced thysanopterist to determine a small subset of species to specific levels under a low power microscope alleviating the need for slide-mounting of numerous specimens of certain common, widespread, species. Voucher specimens are currently shared between the compiler's personal collection and the entomological collection of The Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. The majority of specimens were collected by targeted beating of host plants; at Hamilton High Parks, South Lanarkshire, specimens were collected from Owen emergence traps, an aerial flight trap, a rot hole trap, and a hollow tree trap.
Citation
Dominique W Collins: Database of Thrips (Insecta: Thysanoptera) Collected in Great Britain (2017-2022). Occurrence dataset on the NBN Atlas
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Digitised records
Looking up... the number of records that can be accessed through the NBN Atlas. This resource was last checked for updated data on 06 Nov 2023. The most recent data was published on 06 Nov 2023.
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