Beetle Imaging Procedure¶

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Imaging Pinned Ground Beetles at the NEON Biorepository.

Purpose and Scope¶

This SOP provides detailed protocols for imaging pinned ground beetle specimens at the NEON Biorepository. It incorporates computer vision-friendly techniques to maximize the scientific value of digitized specimens both for human interpretation and automated analysis.

Required Equipment¶

Use the following checklist to keep track of materials collected.

- [ ] Header Box  
    - [ ] Cm scale ruler  
    - [ ] Color calibration chart  
    - [ ] Standardized labels (domain, year, species, expert IDed or not)  
    - [ ] Unit trays  
    - [ ] Pen  
    - [ ] Insect pins for propping up the labels to pinned specimen height  
- [ ] Computer with metadata spreadsheet template# (1)!
    - [ ] Supplemental–Template  
    - [ ] Google Drive for photo backups (Link to Your Drive here)
        - [ ] Email [email of person managing drive] if you need access to the Google Drive  
- [ ] Digital camera with appropriate lens  
    - [ ] Macro lens (for small beetles)  
- [ ] Light diffusers and controlled lighting setup

1. Make a copy of the Metadata Spreadsheet Template in your project Drive.

Data Linkage Checks¶

After imaging and the metadata connection processing has been completed, manual quality checks should be run to ensure the specimens have been properly connected to their associated records.