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Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

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The Canadian National Collection ff*\
of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes J

The Research Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada (AAFC) is home to one of the world's finest
resources in support of biodiversity research and
conservation. The Canadian National Collection of Insects,
Arachnids and Nematodes (CNC) is a top-notch working
collection located at the K.W. Neatby Building of the
Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (ECORC)
in Ottawa. The collection, which contains approximately
1 6 million specimens, is one of the five largest
catalogues in the world. Research Branch scientists
routinely use the collection to conserve Canada's
biodiversity in a number of ways. For instance, the CNC
helps them:
■ rapidly identify unknown species and develop control

measures to reduce invasive alien species in Canada;
% support publication of books such as "Canada and its

Insect Fauna", "Butterflies of Canada" and "Insects of

the Yukon"; and
B identify and answer questions on insects, arachnids

and nematodes.

Fast facts
about the CNC

The Canadian National Collection of Insects,
Arachnids and Nematodes was transferred to AAFC
because of a fire that ravaged the Parliament
1 1916. Following the disaster of 1 91 6,
members of Parliament moved to the Victoria Museum.
That made things pretty crowded there, so the museum's
insect collection was combined with the one belonging to
the federal Department of Agriculture in 1 91 7. The
resulting merger became the Canadian National
Collection (CNC).

The first insect collection at AAFC dates back to
1886 when the Experimental Farm system was first
established. The CNC is one of the longest continuous
programs at AAFC, originating in 1886 when James
Fletcher donated his private collection after he was
appointed as the first Dominion entomologist.
His appointment was the result of an order-in-council
strongly recommended by William Saunders, the first
director of the Experimental Farm Branch.

The CNC is one of the five largest collections of its
kind in the world. The CNC contains approximately
16 million specimens of insects, spiders, mites and
roundworms (nematodes), and is one of the preeminent
national collections in the world. Though more than
75% of the collection originates from North America, it
contains specimens of species from all over the Earth.

The oldest insects in the CNC are about 75 million
years old. In addition to existing species, the CNC
houses a large collection of fossil insects in Canadian
Cretaceous amber from Medicine Hat, Alberta, and
Cedar Lake, Manitoba, dating back to the age of
the dinosaurs.

Over 60,000 species of insects and relatives live in
Canada, but half of them are unknown. Although
over 35,000 named species of insects, spiders, mites,
and roundworms are known to occur in Canada,
scientists believe that there is about the same number
of species here that have yet to be catalogued. Research
Branch scientists working with the CNC are tackling the
task of differentiating, describing and naming these
new species.

^ Agriculture and Aqri-Food Canada / ^p'
Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada
Canadian Agriculture Library
Bibiiotheque Canaoienne de I'agriculture
"%. Ottawa Ontario ,

The CNC's curators are world experts in different
groups of insects and relatives. These scientists are
primarily taxonomists — they identify, describe and name
newly discovered species from Canada and around the
world. Specialists focus on different aspects of the
collection, from beetles to mites and more. CNC
taxonomists often get requests from all over the world to
find out whether a specimen has already been described
or is a new, native or introduced species.

Body features are one of the best ways to classify
insects. Insects have developed amazingly elaborate sex
organs that allow mating only with members of the same
species. These sex organs are often the most useful
characteristics for distinguishing species. Different
species have also evolved specific songs and perfumes
that the other gender can detect miles away when looking
for a mate.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) can be used to
identify species of insects or relatives. Although
taxonomists generally use body characteristics to
distinguish species, some species are just too much alike
for this to always work. That's when scientists turn to the
study of DNA to find the answers. Several CNC
taxonomists regularly use DNA to identify species and
solve problems related to crop pests or invasive species.

Most insects are beneficial to humans. The majority
of specimens housed in the CNC are directly or indirectly
helpful to humans by keeping crop pests in check, or by
keeping ecosystems sustainable through plant pollination,
decomposition, nutrient cycling and the provision of food
for larger animals.

One of the best ways to fight insect pests is to
have other insects do it for you. Most crop and
livestock pests have been introduced accidentally
from other parts of the world. Fortunately, these
pests have their own natural enemies, predators and
parasitoids that feed on them. Pest populations can be
kept below damaging thresholds by making conditions
more favourable for native predators and parasitoids or
by carefully introducing biocontrol agents from the area
of origin of the pest. This approach helps reduce risks
associated with chemical control on human health and the
environment. CNC taxonomists work with biological control
specialists in Canada and around the world to develop
biological control strategies for crop and animals pests.

The identification of pests, their natural enemies,
and other beneficial species is key to
environmental and agricultural sustainability.

Part of the work of Research Branch taxonomists is to
identify pests that attack our crops and livestock, as well
as their natural enemies and other beneficial species in
Canada. To know what species are involved is the first
step towards sustainable management of ecosystems.
Once you know the identity, you then have access to all
the known information on that species and can develop
biologically based management strategies.

The CNC helps keep invasive alien species out of
Canada, thereby helping to protect our agriculture
and environment. Thousands of insects, arachnids,
nematodes, and their relatives are submitted each year
to the National Identification Service for identification.
This work is done by the CNC taxonomists. Many of these
samples come from plant and animal products - such as
flowers, fruits, packaging wood - brought from overseas
and intercepted at our borders. The accurate
identification of these insects by our taxonomists is
crucial: if the species are deemed a danger to our crops
or wilderness areas, then steps must be taken to prevent
them from establishing themselves in Canada.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2007

CATA52-80/2-2007E

ISBN 978-0-662-47070-0

AAFCNo. 10329E

Aussi offert en frangais sous le titre : V„

La Collection rationale canadienne 6'insectes, d'arachnldes et de nematodes

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