Purdue Entomological Research CollectionJulie Speelman PI: Jeff Holland

Department of EntomologyWest Lafayette, Indiana

Facilities• Located in the basement of Smith Hall • Comprised of a museum with compactor shelves (920 sq ft)• A systematics research lab (510 sq ft)• Office space for the staff

Staff

Collection Manager

USDA APHIS PPQInsect Identifier

Arwin Provonsha Bobby Brown

StatisticsApproximately 2,250,000 specimens representing 150,000 species

Dry preserved: 1,300,000Alcohol preserved:920,000Slides: 30,000

Specimens are from the mid-1890s to present

Top Five Taxa

Order # Specimens Drawers % of pinned collection

Coleoptera 550,000 628 40 %

Lepidoptera 187,000 236 14 %

Hymenoptera 174,000 199 13 %

Diptera 145,000 175 11 %

Hemiptera 140,000 157 10 %

Geographic Distribution• 60% of all specimens

from Indiana

• All eastern groups represented

• Worldwide collection of Ephemeroptera and Odonata

Special Collections

Launched in 1995

Largest collection of mayflies in the world

3900 mayfly type specimens

687,570 specimens in 65,520 vials

G.F. Edmunds: Worldwide collection W.P. McCafferty :North American collection

http://www.entm.purdue.edu/mayfly/index.php

Special Collection

W.S. Blatchley Collection

A collection of Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Coleoptera

Primarily specimens from Indiana and Florida1896-1934

Chandler Bee CollectionOne of the largest and most complete collection of bees in North America

Majority of specimens from Midwest in 1950s-1970s

Other Notable Collections

B.E. Montgomery• Part of his Odonate collection collected in the Midwest 1940s

to 1960s

F. Young• Aquatic beetle collection from 1960s and 1970s

T. Meyers• Dolichopodidae collected in 1960s and 1970s

R.T. Everly• Carabidae collection: Ohio and Indiana from 1950s and 1960s

Strengths of the PERCRecognized internationally:

• 2250 type specimens

• The Blatchley Collection of Coleoptera

• General Aquatic Insect Collection

• The Ephemeroptera collection

Functions• To provide a reference source for implementing the accurate and

timely identification of insects for research, extension, and teaching needs.

• To serve as a database for systematic research at Purdue and by specialists throughout the world.

• To serve as a repository for voucher specimens from field and laboratory research.

• To provide a facility for maintaining representatives of the insect fauna of Indiana habitats and surrounding regions.

OutreachExtension activities:

Annual Butterfly Count for community

Activities with school children

Bug Bowl

Indiana State Fair

Accessibility

• No database: information maintained in spreadsheets

• No internet accessibility

Questions