Backswimmers vs. Mosquitos: BHL Informs Research on Controlling Yellow Fever...
Aedes aegypti, dubbed the yellow fever mosquito, is a globally invasive, pervasive threat to human health. As the common name suggests, the species can carry a range of diseases, including not only...
View ArticleFarewell to Brood X (2021) — See You in 2038!
By the time this post publishes, the vast majority of Brood X (2021) will have completed their above ground lifecycle. The vast numbers of adult Magicicada who first emerged in late April and early May...
View ArticlePlant Trade and Medicinal Plants in Asia
Plant species worldwide face an increasing barrage of threats to their survival. The deliberate collection of rare plants poses a far greater threat to wild plant species. In Wild Plants in Trade...
View Article“BHL is a Game Changer for Scholars”: BHL Empowers Research on Landscape...
The large-leaved kōwhai (Sophora tetraptera) is native to the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, where it is widespread and common. While it grows naturally only in Aotearoa, it has been cultivated...
View ArticleFlytraps, Sundews, and Pitchers: Discovering the Carnivorous Plants of BHL
In a world where staggering habitat destruction and biodiversity loss have become the new normal, understanding the extraordinary interactions between plants and humans is increasingly urgent. Yet the...
View ArticleAcknowledging Harm, Rethinking Collections
The Biodiversity Heritage Library has released an Acknowledgment of Harmful Content to recognize deep prejudices within some of the pages of its collection. As a digital library of natural science...
View ArticleFrom Poetry to Pulp Fiction: Carnivorous Plants in Popular Culture
Carnivorous plants, beguiling vegetables capable of attracting, trapping, and digesting animal prey, have fascinated generations of botanists on nearly every continent. However, there is perhaps no...
View ArticleSupporting the Biodiversity Community: BHL Engages in Global Biodiversity...
The Biodiversity Heritage Library thrives on international partnerships and collaborative projects. In the fall of 2021, representatives from BHL participated in a number of planning meetings and...
View ArticleBHL Bi-annual Newsletter (November 2021) Now Available!
Our latest bi-annual newsletter is now available! From the release of an Acknowledgment of Harmful Content to supporting research on natural mosquito control measures and landscape gardening history,...
View ArticleUnderstanding BHL Through Metadata: Patterns of Bio-Diverse Knowledge Production
During my time as an intern for the Biodiversity Heritage Library (July-August 2021), I worked on a project, I hope, will help engender important and critical conversations around the Library’s work...
View ArticleThe Geopolitics of Metadata: Knowing Panama Through the Biodiversity Heritage...
In the first part of this blog series, I explained a portion of the analyses I performed during my time as an intern for the Biodiversity Heritage Library (July-August 2021). These analyses revolved...
View ArticleWelcome to JJ Dearborn, BHL Data Manager
The Biodiversity Heritage Library is pleased to welcome JJ Dearborn to the newly created position of BHL Data Manager. The new Data Manager position is part of the BHL Secretariat, hosted by the...
View ArticleCatalogue of All Specimens of Natural History Collected by Mr Blandowski’s...
Blandowski’s Catalogue is one of the most precious items held by the Museums Victoria Archives. It documents natural history specimens collected by William Blandowski (1822-1878) and Gerard Krefft...
View ArticleNew Article PDF Content Available
The BHL Tech Team is pleased to announce a new form of content available in BHL: Article PDFs. While this may not sound like anything new, after all, we have had a tool to download PDF content for some...
View Article10 Years of BHL Growth and Transformation While Program Director
This month (April 2022) marks my tenth year as the BHL Program Director. Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen a lot of change -- and a lot of growth -- with the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Taking over...
View ArticleThe Vast Library of Life: 15 Years of the BHL Portal
It seems like we are on an anniversary splurge. In April, I marked my 10th year as BHL Program Director. Today is a more important date in BHL history. May 9, 2007 marked the official launch of BHL...
View ArticleBHL Bi-annual Newsletter (May 2022) Now Available!
Our latest bi-annual newsletter is now available! From welcoming new staff to celebrating major milestones, don’t miss the latest news from the BHL community. View our May 2022 Bi-annual Newsletter.
View Article2022 BHL Annual Meeting — A Global Hybrid
For the first time, the Biodiversity Heritage Library held its annual meeting in conjunction with a major biodiversity/natural sciences organization. In June 2022, BHL joined with the Society for the...
View ArticleOCR Improvements: An Early Analysis
Optical character recognition (OCR) plays a critical part in BHL's contributions to the scientific community. OCR in and of itself is a remarkable achievement, converting images of typewritten text to...
View ArticleThe Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera: A Story of Pirate Publishers,...
In 2017, The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera published its final issue. The journal’s website was turned off and, to ensure ongoing access to the biodiversity knowledge contained within its...
View Article