Curatorial Assistant Invertebrate Zoology Royal Saskatchewan Museum Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Natural history museums are scientific institutions which house preserved specimens from the natural world (e.g., animals, plants, fungi, geological and paleontological). The Royal Saskatchewan Museum’s (RSKM) Invertebrate Zoology department houses specimens mainly from Saskatchewan, but also much of Canada, but also with some international material - the more recent focus of research is bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) of Canada. One of the goals for the RSKM is to continue to build the collection of Canadian/North American bee specimens through collaboration with researchers in partnerships from across the country, as well as contributing to science through research by specialists and students working at the museum. The databased material in the Hymenoptera collection at the RSKM has increased in size by over 150 x in the last decade, with well over 850 species of bees and 550 species of wasps. This is due to extensive collecting by RSKM personnel, as well as collaborations with colleagues in British Columbia and the Territories. The collection of specimens at the RSKM are databased, identified by specialists and carefully curated and housed in the collections at the RSKM. These collections are then used by in-house specialists as well as taxonomists across Canada and North America when doing taxonomic and other forms of research on bees and wasps of North America.
