BioBlitzes
The BSC BioBlitzes began in 2001 as an initiative of the Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands subcommittee, although they were not called BioBlitzes at that time. It was envisaged that a series of field excursions to different prairie ecozones would be made by entomologists with interests in prairie insects and related arthropods. The main, long-term goal of these gatherings was to generate collections of arthropods in selected prairie habitats to help to document the fauna. It was also hoped that participants would exchange and share information and observations about various taxonomic groups, field tactics and techniques. The annual BSC BioBlitz is no longer exclusively associated with a specific project of the Survey but the location is now chosen in a more general framework to help increase the scientific knowledge of the arthropods of an area. The idea of Collection Bioblitzes to encourage members of the entomological community to gather at an under-curated collection and assess and identify the material began in 2007 with the first Curation Bioblitz held on 1 October 2007 during the joint annual meeting of the Entomological Society of Canada and the Entomological Society of Saskatchewan.
Database of entomologists
The Biological Survey facilitates cooperation among entomologists is by maintaining a list of personnel on individuals interested in the systematics and faunistics of the terrestrial arthropods of Canada. This information is available as a searchable database on our website. We solicited updates earlier this year from those who have entries in the database. If you have not yet replied, or if you would like to submit a new entry we encourage you to use the online form provided on the web site or simply provide the relevant information via email or regular post.