Uma jornada científica na Amazônia: revisitando os 121 anos do acervo de Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi

Over more than 100 years of history, the ant collection of the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi (MPEG) has accumulated a large number of ant species collected through scientific expeditions and for its performance as a regular depository institution. Organizing, qualifying, studying and make this information available makes the collection a powerful tool for studies in different fields. Thus, in this paper, we report a brief history of the main scientific and historical events that reflected in the formation and consolidation of the ant collection of the MPEG, which currently has about 300,000 specimens. We also discussed perspectives and strategies adopted to make the collection a reference for studies on the ants in the Amazon Basin.