Here we provide the Ecdysis Foundation arthropod collection which includes the The Mark F. Longfellow Ecological Reference Collection (indicated by archival columns). Images are provided as publically accessible links.
Identifications are given either as "reviewed" by our Entomologists or as identified by our artifical intelligence (AI) system. The reviewed column is set to True if the image has been reviewed, or False if the identification was generated by AI. Collection date, and generalized location information is provided. If more than one image is provided for a specimen, this can be determined using the column, 'specimen_id'. We update these files periodically. The date and time the file is generated is included in the filename of the download.
You can learn more about the Ecdysis Foundation Collection and how specimens are collected and utilized at our homepage.
Using our reviewed images, we train a Pytorch model called MetaFormer, which we use to provide identifications for all our images. The model development process is described in the following peer reviewed publication.
The source code for training and inference is published open access at these links
This dataset includes 119,165 images representing 114,450 specimens identified by entomologists to 40 orders and 338 arthropod families. File generated Feb. 1, 2026, 9:05 p.m..
This dataset includes all specimens, even those not reviewed for accuracy. There are 665,619 images of 660,852 specimens representing 40 orders and 346 arthropod families. File generated Jan. 7, 2026, 5:14 p.m..
The MetaFormer Model is a Pytorch model trained from our images. (Version 5) Expertise in artifical intelligence and using Pytroch models is required to use it.
Browse the collection here.
