As the ARCADE project nears its conclusion, project leaders reflected on the journey and shared some of the most meaningful moments and accomplishments.

“Bringing together the curators of the main entomological collections to improve the representation of bees, hoverflies, and butterflies, and to lay the foundations for future joint work, has been simply incredible.”
— Sílvia Castro, Project Coordinator

“Updating historical collections by organizing them and making them fully accessible has been extremely exciting. It was also very rewarding to see these collections grow with the addition of many new specimens of bees, hoverflies and butterflies. And above all, the willingness to keep collaborating beyond the project, now formalized through a protocol for exchanging specimens between institutions, is a remarkable achievement.”
— João Loureiro, Principal Investigator

ARCADE project highlights

Throughout the project, it has fostered collaboration between major Portuguese institutions to improve, organize, and share essential entomological collections focused on pollinators. Below are some of the key moments that marked this successful initiative:

National Collaboration

The members from the National Museum of Natural History and Science (MNHNC-ULisboa) and the Museum of Natural History and Science of Porto celebrated the near completion of a comprehensive indexing of pollinator collections across the country’s major institutions.

Collaborative Visits

Members of the National Museum of Natural History and Science (MNHNC-ULisboa) team (Tatiana Moreira and Eduardo Marabuto) visit curator Cristina Rufino and Guilherme Melo (project’s intern) at the Museum of Science (University of Coimbra) to join forces during the project.

Expert Identification

Fellow Francisco Gil (Museum of Natural History and Science, Porto) during a visit to the National Museum of Natural History and Science, Lisbon, to identify part of the Syrphidae collection.

Outreach Activities

Taxonomy Recognition Day dissemination activity by the University of Madeira Insect Collection team.

Knowledge Exchange

Entomology curator José Manuel Grosso-Silva (Porto) discussed butterfly identification with specialist Eduardo Marabuto during a project visit.

Taxonomy Discussions

Albano Soares (Tagis) visits the National Museum of Natural History and Science (MNHNC-ULisboa) in Lisbon to discuss bee taxonomy with Martim Baptista (MNHNC).

Insect Collection team

Hugo Silva from the University of Madeira Insect Collection team during field collections of pollinators for the project.

FLOWer Lab

Hugo Gaspar of the FLOWer Lab of the University of Coimbra and Pedro Lopes (collaborator) during field collections of pollinators for the project.

Pedagogical collection of butterflies

Cristina Rufino, entomological curator of the Museum of Science (University of Coimbra) organizing the pedagogical collection of butterflies.

Field collections of pollinators

Albano Soares, entomologist from Tagis during field collections of pollinators for the project.

Digitization colecction

Fellow Alperen Yayla (MNHNC-ULisboa) digitized information from the butterfly collections, contributing to the project’s open-access goals.

Laying the foundations for future work in ARCADE

Beyond the tangible results—updated collections, expanded datasets, and enriched specimens— the project has created lasting partnerships between institutions. This spirit of collaboration will continue through newly formalized protocols for specimen exchange and shared research activities, ensuring the legacy of the project endures well into the future.