Digitization Efforts in Invertebrate Zoology Collections Boosted by New Imaging Systems

Ruth Salas sits at lab table with a computer and keyboard; Jessica Ware stands and points to a magnified image of an insect on the computer screen.

Ruth Salas (left) and Jessica Ware (right) utilize the Keyence system digitization process.
Alvaro Keding & Daniel Kim/© AMNH

From insects in amber to butterflies, sea slugs, and coral, there are more than 20 million specimens in the Museum’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology (IZ), diverse in form as well as in the way they’re stored.

This makes imaging the specimens in this vast collection—whether they are pinned, in envelopes, on slides, in jars of ethanol, or stored in boxes across multiple types of collections—a special challenge.

The effort to digitize the IZ holdings, which started decades ago, has been boosted with the addition of new imaging equipment to meet this immense task. Three new advanced imaging systems will supplement the Division’s existing technology at a level that allows researchers to use the images for research far into the future.

The first step in this massive project is to digitize and database the collection’s holotype specimens, the name-bearing representative of a species. “Type specimens are the cornerstones of taxonomy, so as we look at the massive number of specimens we have here, it makes sense to start with them,” said Curator and Invertebrate Zoology Division Chair Jessica Ware. “This ensures that the irreplaceable biological knowledge type specimens contain is preserved, accessible, and reliable.”

In 2022, the Division acquired a GIGAmacro imager, a camera-mounted system that’s best for taking high-resolution images of relatively large objects using a movable arm. The system can be programmed to image about 100 items at a time that are laid out on a grid, and it has so far been used to capture specimens ranging from arrays of bees to mollusks.

Yael Afriat stands and points to groups of shells positioned in a grid format on a table at which Ana Maria Ruiz is seated.

Yael Afriat (left) and Ana Maria Ruiz (right) obtain images using the GIGAmacro system. This system produces high-resolution images by stacking multiple photographs which keep the entire object in sharp focus, even for items like these highly convoluted and convex oyster shells.
Alvaro Keding & Daniel Kim/© AMNH

“Many people don’t realize that marine mollusks—animals like snails, sea slugs, clams, and octopuses—make up almost a quarter of all of the animals in the ocean,” said Assistant Curator Jessica Goodheart. “So we also have a large representation of mollusks in our collection. This system is really useful for imaging collections like this at scale.”

In early 2025, the Division added a second new imager: a Keyence system, which rapidly takes photos at varying depths and stitches them together to create a uniformly focused image. This machine is especially useful for specimens that are smaller than 1 centimeter—which is true for most specimens in the IZ Collection, including flies, ants, some crustaceans, and insects in amber.

Aga Pierwola is seated at a table with one hand on a computer keyboard as the other focuses the lens of the Keyence machine on a small piece of amber.

Aga Pierwola uses the Keyence system digitization process to capture images of an insect in amber.
Alvaro Keding & Daniel Kim/© AMNH

A small, rectangular piece of amber containing an insect is spotlighted in a circle of light as it is recorded by the Keyence machine.

“Imaging insects in amber is challenging because of the gemstone’s natural properties, which can distort and obscure the item suspended within it,” said Curator David Grimaldi. “Having a high-resolution system like the Keyence is essential to bringing forward small details—like the shape of a fly’s antennae—which are vital to how we classify this material and think about it scientifically.”

Most recently, in summer 2025, the Division set up a Morphie slide scanner, which images large numbers of slides at once. This includes slides with thrips—fringed-winged insects—histology sections of sea anemones and nudibranchs, and protists taken from termite guts.

Ruth Salas sits in front of a computer keyboard and screen, and Estefanía Rodríguez stands next to her and points to a scan on the computer screen.

Ruth Salas (left) and Estefanía Rodríguez (right) use the Morphie Morpholens 6 scanner.
Alvaro Keding & Daniel Kim/© AMNH

“Digitizing these collections ensures that our sometimes fragile specimens are transformed into accessible knowledge, preserving biodiversity records for future generations,” said Curator Estefanía Rodríguez.