 Providing high-quality environmental samples is a key part of NEON's mission. These samples allow for a greater understanding of complex ecological processes at local, regional, and continental scales. To understand how NEON samples and specimens are collected, processed, archived, linked to the NEON biorepository data portal and then made available for research, let's follow the journey of ground beetle collections from a NEON field site. Ground beetles are a diverse group of insects that play important roles in terrestrial ecosystems, making them an excellent indicator of environmental change in arthropod biodiversity. They are found in every NEON domain and changes in their numbers can indicate significant changes in the local ecological community. They are collected at all NEON terrestrial field sites using pitfall traps. This passive collection technique is done by sinking a small cup into the ground with its rim flushed to the soil surface. Specimens fall into the cup and are preserved in a non-toxic propylene glycol until the traps are collected during the sampling season. They are then brought to the domain lab for identification and sorting by NEON technicians. Carabids are ground beetle specimens are either pinned or placed into ethanol for future researcher use. Some pinned beetle specimens will also be sent to external labs for verification of taxonomic identification and DNA barcode sequencing. The NEON biorepository makes these pinned carabids, bulk ethanol preserved carabids and DNA extracts available to researchers around the world. Another subgroup is invertebrate bicatch, which contains the often hundreds of other invertebrates that wander into the pitfall. These samples are typically pooled in ethanol. This mixed assortment of specimens is easily requested from the NEON biorepository and used in research projects. Researchers are currently using the NEON bicatch samples to develop robust identification tools that leverage machine learning image classification algorithms and metagenomic sequencing. These tools will allow us to more efficiently unlock the contents of these samples to describe patterns in biodiversity across large taxonomic, spatial, and temporal scales. All specimens are archived according to best practices. This ensures that the specimens are preserved for long-term use and are freely available to researchers for study to provide more insight into ecological processes and change at multiple scales. In addition to the machine learning and metagenomics work, researchers are using these samples for projects spanning trade ecology, population genetics, descriptions of new species, and more. To explore all of the high-quality samples like ground beetles and their associated data, as well as to make requests to use them for your own research, visit the NEON biorepository data portal at biorepo.neonscience.org.