Description

Primarily focused on the fauna of Victoria and south-eastern Australia, the insect and arachnid collections also contain material from around Australia and the rest of the world.

2.5-3.0 million specimens, with more than 190,000 registered specimens, consisting of both wet (preserved in 70% ethanol) and dry (pinned) specimens.

The collection was established in 1854 and continues to the present.

Taxonomic range

They cover all major insect groups found in Australia, including butterflies and moths, beetles, grasshopper, ants, bees, true bugs, caddisflies (and other aquatic insects) and cockroaches.

Kingdoms covered include: Animalia.

Number of specimens in the collection

The estimated number of specimens in the Museum Victoria Entomology Collection is 2,500,000.

Click the Records & Statistics tab to access those database records that are available through the atlas.

Sub-collections

The Museum Victoria Entomology Collection contains these significant collections:

• The John Curtis British Insects Collection - containing hundreds of Holotypes of British insects
• Francis Walker Collection - foreign insects (including the scientifically valuable Wallace Indo-Pacific material)
• Castlenau foreign beetle collection
• Godeffroy Collection of Australian and foreign insects

last updated: 2010-12-02 09:42:05.0