Purdue Entomological Research Collection Julie Speelman PI: Jeff Holland Department of Entomology West 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 PPQ Insect Identifier Arwin Provonsha Bobby Brown

Statistics Approximately 2,250,000 specimens representing 150,000 species Dry preserved: 1,300,000 Alcohol preserved:920,000 Slides: 30,000 Specimens are from the mid-1890s to present

Top Five Taxa Order# SpecimensDrawers% of pinned collection Coleoptera550, % Lepidoptera187, % Hymenoptera174, % Diptera145, % Hemiptera140, %

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

Special Collection W.S. Blatchley Collection A collection of Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Coleoptera Primarily specimens from Indiana and Florida

Chandler Bee Collection One 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 PERC Recognized 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.

Outreach Extension 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