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The type collections of the FSCA (Museum of Entomology, Gainesville and FAMU - Entomology, Tallahassee) have been estimated to include over 3,500 primary types (holotypes and lectotypes) and over 15,000 secondary types (allotypes, paratypes, etc.). A catalogue of types is under development. See the appropriate taxonomic category for holdings.
The collection of over 298,000 arachnids and related arthropods comprises one of the largest such collections in North America. Major holdings in Araneae include the collections from A.F. Archer, J.C. Cokendolpher, G.B. Edwards, M.H. Muma, D.B. Richman, K.J. Stone, and H.K. Wallace. The Pseudoscorpionida collection has major holdings from W. B. Muchmore.
The Acari collection is one of the largest in North America, especially in plant-associated mites. Collections from H.L. Cromroy, E.A. Cross, H.A. Denmark, K.E. Hyland, M.H. Muma, N. Wilson, J.P Woodring, and C.E.Yunker make up part of the FSCA Acari collection. The Phytoseiidae collection is one of the best in the world, built by H.A. Denmark and M.H. Muma.
The Crustacea include the L.R. Franz collection of amphipods and crayfish from United States, mainly Florida, and the Caribbean including a significant number of Florida troglobitic crustacea, as well as the B.D. Sutton collection of Florida troglobitic crayfish. The University of Alabama State Museum of Natural History holdings in crustacea, epigean and troglobitic, were incorporated into the museum in 1988. Additional information regarding Museum holdings of troglobitic crustacea can be found under the "Special Collections: Troglobitic Crustacea".
The Diplopoda contain major collections from N. B. Causey, A. K. Johnson, and H. F. Loomis. The main Chilopoda additions have come from the collections of A. K. Johnson and M. H. Muma.
Beetles comprise a major holding of the Museum of Entomology (FSCA), with over 1,875,000 prepared specimens. The family Cerambycidae will comprise the largest holdings of this family in North America when entirely consolidated from donated and willed specimens. Scarabaeidae are a large component, with nearly 90% of North American species represented. Other significant holdings are in Buprestidae, Carabidae, Chrysomelidae, Cicindelidae, Coccinellidae, Cucujidae, Curculionidae, Dytiscidae, Elateridae, Endomychidae, Histeridae, Hydrophilidae, Meloidae, Silphidae, Staphylinidae, and Tenebrionidae. The collection of immature Meloidae is the largest in the world.
Major additions to the collection have come from R.H. Arnett, Jr., N. Chernoff, L.R. Davis, N.M. Downie, B.K. Dozier, J.H. Frank, E. Giesbert, F.T. Hovore, IV, L.L. Lampert, J.W. McReynolds, A.E. Miller, G.H. Nelson, W. Rosenberg, J. Schuh, R.B. Selander, C. Staines, K.H. Stephan, H.F. Strohecker, M.C. Thomas, KW. Vick, J.E. Wappes, H.V. Weems, Jr., C.E. White, R.E.Woodruff, and F.N.Young, Jr.
The 897,000 specimen Diptera collection forms one of the major North American fly collections. Over 135,000 specimens (mostly Ceratopogonidae) are mounted on slides. The family Leptogastridae is represented by the world's largest collection. Other significant family holdings include Anthomyiidae, Asilidae, Ceratopogonidae (2nd largest in North America), Chironomidae (curated by J. H. Epler & Janice G. Peters, FAMU), Conopidae, Culicidae, Dolichopodidae, Muscidae, Psychodidae, Sarcophagidae, Syrphidae, Tabanidae, Tachinidae, and Tephritidae.
The main sources of Diptera have been from E.C. and W.M. Beck, F.S. Blanton, C.H. Curran, H.R. Dodge, R.P. Dow, G.B. Fairchild, J.T. Goodwin, F.C. Harmston, C.H. Martin, R.B. and W.D. Miller, W.H. Pierce, J.E. Porter, R.H. Roberts, J. Sedlacek, C.N. Smith, F.M. Snyder, K.H. Stephan, M.A. Tidwell, H.V. Weems, Jr., R.C. Wilkerson, W.W. Wirth, and D.G. Young.
The FSCA has the world's largest collection of Ephemeroptera adults and immatures, comprising about 800,000 specimens. The bulk of the collection is housed and curated at the Entomology Collection, Florida A&M University (FAMU), Tallahassee. Major portions of these holdings come from L. Berner, G.F. Edmunds, Jr., and the late W. L. Peters and the FAMU staff.
The Museum has over 450,000 specimens in this order (pinned and slides). It is especially rich in scale insects and relatives (90,000+ slides), as well as in the family Aphididae (32,000 slides). The aquatic Hemiptera, Coreidae, Cicadellidae, Fulgoridae, Pentatomidae, and Reduviidae (especially Triatominae) are major groups of the Hemiptera collection.
Major donations have been made in these groups by R.M. Baranowski, J. A. Brook, G.W. Dekle, H.A. Denmark, J. Eger, F.W. Mead, C.F. Smith, A.N. Tissot, and H.V. Weems, Jr., plus the continued work of S.E. Halbert and A.B. Hamon.
The collection of Hymenoptera , comprising a total of 595,000 prepared specimens, ranks as one of the larger collections in North America. Strong elements include the Symphyta and the families Apidae, Vespidae, Formicidae, Ichneumonidae, and Sphecidae.
Major additions have come from W.F. Buren, H.N. Greenbaum, T.B. Mitchell, C.C. Porter, R.O. Schuster, L.A. Stange, K.H. Stephan, H.V. Weems, Jr., and J.R. Wiley.
Lepidoptera holdings, amounting to over 1,335,000 specimens (including about 125,000 specimens in papers), represent one of the largest North American collections of this order. The Museum of Entomology ( FSCA) is especially rich in moths from North American, Taiwan, and parts of South America. The family Sphingidae is represented on a worldwide basis by the 45,000 specimen V. Brou collection, the largest collection of this family in North America. Other significant holdings are in the families Pyralidae, Geometridae, Saturniidae, Arctiidae, Notodontidae, and Noctuidae, as well as microlepidoptera, especially Tortricidae and day-flying families. Aquatic Pyralidae are another major part of the collection. Butterflies are well represented, with virtually all North American species present, and with well over 120,000 specimens of tropical butterflies. The immature Lepidoptera collection is one of the largest in North America, with over 19,000 vials holding about 96,000 specimens.
Major components of the Lepidoptera collection have come from collections of a number of donors, including H.D. Baggett, V.A. Brou, T.S. Dickel, L.C. Dow, T.C. Emmel, C.D. Ferris, S.V. Fuller, F.M. Grimshawe, J.R. Heitzman, R.L. Heitzman, J.B. Heppner, S.G. Jewett, Jr., C.P. Kimball, H.L. King, W.W. McGuire, E.C. Olson, W.J. Reinthal, R.P. Rozier, J.B. Sullivan III, H.V. Weems, Jr., R.E. Woodruff, W.B. Wright, and C.F. Zeiger.
The Neuroptera collection is the 3rd largest in North America, with a total of 51,000 specimens. The Myrmeleontidae are exceptionally well represented on a worldwide basis, and we have the 2nd largest collection in North America. The collection of larval Myrmeleontidae is also the largest in the world. These collections are the result of special efforts by curator L. Stange and R.B. Miller.
The Museum houses one of the largest Odonata collections of adults and immatures in the world, totaling over 330,000 specimens (including 130,000 immatures in vials). The collection includes over 150 primary types and hundreds of secondary types. The International Odonata Research Institute (IORI), headed by Dr. Minter J. Westfall, Jr. and managed by Mr. B. Mauffrey, is headquartered at the Museum of Entomology (FSCA) in Gainesville.
Major components of the Odonata collection have come from Dr. and Mrs. G.H. Bick, R.D. Cuyler, B. Mauffrey, B.E. Montgomery, D.R. Paulson, S.C. Smith, and M.J. Westfall, Jr.
Major collections already donated (or willed) to the FSCA but not yet added to the total specimen count, include the collections of Carl Cook (100,000+), D.R. Paulson (80,000+), and collections of the IORI currently housed in Europe (150,000+).
The Orthoptera collection of 81,000 specimens has large holdings of the families Acrididae, Gryllidae, and Tettigoniidae, particularly from the work of Dr. Thomas J. Walker and his students, and from the collection of H.F. Strohecker. Two hundred and sixteen of the drawers are currently housed at the University of Florida. Mantids, many yet unidentified, are also particularly well represented.
Apterygota includes the orders Collembola, Diplura, Microcoryphia, Protura, and Thysanura. Collembola are well represented with approximately 450 vials of identified specimens, originally derived from the collections of G.F. Knowlton and N. Wilson; this collection continues to grow with Florida material identified by R.J. Snider.
- Dermaptera: (4 drawers/4 Schmidt boxes)
- Isoptera: (940 vials/ 1 Schmidt box)
- Mallophaga/Anoplura (6,273 slides)
Holdings in these orders total 6,273 specimens, primarily from the collections of B. Edmondson, K.C. Emerson, K.C. Kim, H.S. Peters, and N. Wilson. Label data for all slide-mounted Mallophaga and Anoplura is available in a computer database.
The Mecoptera, with a total of 4,087 specimens, form one of the best North American collections of this small order.
- Plecoptera: (1+ drawer, 325 vials identified/260 vials unidentified)
- Psocoptera: (1 drawer, 600 vials)
Psocoptera are represented by approximately 600 vials and 1 drawer of material mostly identified by E. Mockford
The flea collection comprises approximately 7,000 identified, slide-mounted specimens representing about 190 taxa. Major contributors have been A.H. Benton and J.N. Layne.
- Thysanoptera: (28,500 slides)
G. B. Edwards, Curator
The holdings of this order derive mostly from agricultural identifications and the collection of J.R. Watson.
- Trichoptera: (12 drawers/2,500 vials)
The caddisflies of the Museum, totaling over 26,000 specimens, are a major North American collection. Additional holdings in alcohol are maintained by the Entomology Department (FAMU). The main contributions have come from the collections of W.M. Beck, Jr., B. Mather, and W.L. Peters.
The collection of immature insects, already noted in part under various groups above, in total comprises one of the largest such collections in the world, with over 226,000 specimens. Specimens previously housed at the University of Florida will add another 330,000 specimens when fully integrated into the museum. The immature Odonata comprise about 130,000 specimens (already counted under Odonata).
Major components of these collections are from the collections of J.T. Goodwin, D.H. Habeck, J.B. Heppner, R.B. Selander, M.J. Westfall, Jr., and F.N. Young, Jr., as well as the agricultural surveys of the Division of Plant Industry.
The Museum of Entomology (FSCA) maintains a unique collection of over 33,000 pint-size bottles of bulk samples (blacklight, Malaise, Berlese) and over 51,000 vial samples in alcohol from all over the world. These samples comprise a significant resource of an estimated 100 million specimens from many unique and disappearing habitats. It is especially rich in samples from the West Indies (FAO surveys), Africa (1 year from Lake Kariba), Taiwan, etc. Specialists are encouraged to sort and process this unique resource with retention of 50% of the specimens. Examples of such projects include Carabidae of the West Indies (G.E. Ball, T. Erwin, et al.), Lygaeidae (Slater & Baranowski), Cicadellidae (P. Freytag), Scarabaeidae (R.E. Woodruff), Ceratopogonidae (W.W. Wirth), and many others. Results of a long-term insect survey at Tall Timbers Research Station, near Tallahassee, Florida, amounting to an estimated 2.6 million specimens in 46,000 vials are housed at the Museum. These specimens are mostly sorted only to order level, with some portions also to family level.
Museum holdings of troglobitic crustacea include the collections of L.R. Franz and B.D. Sutton from Florida as well as those of the University of Alabama State Museum of Natural History.
The collection of amber preserved arthropods from the Dominican Republic (funded by NSF Grant No. 77-01569) numbers some 2,400+ polished pieces plus a substantial quantity of unprocessed material. Holotypes of two Torymidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) described by E. E. Grissell (1980) from this collection are listed in the Hymenoptera Types Catalogue.
The Museum maintains a collection of plant galls and insect associates, primarily from Florida, derived from submissions to the Entomology Section of the Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture, for identification as well as from collections by entomologists and staff. When possible, corresponding plant voucher specimens are deposited in the DPI Herbarium (PIHG).
The Arthropod/Host Plant Database represents another major resource of the FSCA. Approximately 350,000 record cards, cross-indexed to host plants, are presently stored at the Museum covering nearly 75 years of agricultural and other sampling of insects and other arthropods in Florida by the Florida Department of Agriculture. All data since 1990 are stored in a computer database. Eventually, all records will be incorporated into this database.
The aquatic insect collections maintained at the Entomology Collection, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee (FAMU), are part of the FSCA. The following collections are separately housed, funded, and curated by staff at FAMU: Chironomidae: Dr. J. H. Epler & Janice G. Peters; Ephemeroptera: Dr. Michael D. Hubbard & Janice G. Peters.
The University of Florida has five staff members also curating collections of the FSCA: Dr. Thomas C. Emmel (Rhopalocera); Dr. J. H. Frank (Staphylinidae); Dr. D. H. Habeck (immature insects: recently moved to the main Museum collection); Dr. James E. Lloyd (Lampyridae); Dr. Thomas J. Walker (Orthoptera).
The holdings of the museum include many as yet unidentified specimens, particularly within taxonomic groups outside the scope of the researchers at, or affiliated with, the FSCA. For example, the museum includes a large collection of mantids, a significant proportion of which are neotropical, that remains largely unexplored by a specialist in that group. It is to be expected that given the diversity of sources from which this collection has been drawn and the large number of specimens present there are likely to be numerous new taxa to be discovered within its confines. Researchers are encouraged to visit the Museum of Entomology (FSCA) and make use of the resources that are available. Each year, stipends, or small grants, are made available by the Center for Systematic Entomology (CSE) to help support taxonomic research at the museum. These grants are open to any and all researchers wishing to utilize the taxonomic resources of the Museum.