Entomology

Natural Science Collection

This consists of 153,500 specimens of mainly dried insects, with a significant record of the local region’s biodiversity. Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and Coleoptera (beetles) are the main insect groups represented. The specimens are mostly British but includes specimens from Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. Important collectors include Stuart Carlier, Antwerp Pratt, Richard South, and Ralph C. Bradley.

Includes:

  • The Rev Gorham British beetle collection, which includes many extremely rare species and many specimens that are the first records of the species in Britain
  • Butterflies from New Guinea, which are internationally significant as specimens from the collection localities are extremely rare.

Image gallery

  • Blue butterfly with black fringe around its wings
  • Green beetle with pincers on its head
  • Large black bee with a round body
  • Blue butterfly with black spots at the inside of its wings and two smaller red spots between its upper and lower wings. It has two fluffy brown patches on its lower wings
  • Fluffy moth marbled with cream, black and brown ripples, markings on its back resemble a human skull
  • Brown stick insect with two sets on wings. The upper two are small, green and leaf shaped, the lower two are large, dark and fanned out. They have a green horizontal stripe at the top and red in the centre
  • Smooth, shiny brown beetle with luminous green spots dotted on its legs
  • Black beetle
  • Dark brown scorpion with lighter brown legs and large, bumpy pincers
  • A smooth, large beetle. Its body, legs and pincers are dark brown, its legs are black
  • Eight orange and black striped beetles on pieces of cardboard
  • An open drawer of assorted, labelled insects
  • An open drawer of assorted butterflies
  • Birds eye view of a drawer of various, labelled butterflies
  • Birds eye view of a drawer of various, labelled butterflies and moths