1 / 15

Purdue Entomological Research Collection: A Global Hub for Insect Biodiversity Research

The Purdue Entomological Research Collection (PERC), directed by Julie Speelman and located in Smith Hall, contains approximately 2.25 million specimens representing over 150,000 insect species. This collection includes significant groups such as the world's largest collection of mayflies and extensive resources on Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Coleoptera. PERC serves as a vital resource for systematics research, providing reference specimens for accurate insect identification and supporting education and outreach activities like the Annual Butterfly Count and Bug Bowl at the Indiana State Fair.

avari
Download Presentation

Purdue Entomological Research Collection: A Global Hub for Insect Biodiversity Research

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Purdue Entomological Research Collection Julie Speelman PI: Jeff Holland Department of Entomology West Lafayette, Indiana

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

  3. Staff Collection Manager USDA APHIS PPQ Insect Identifier ArwinProvonsha Bobby Brown

  4. 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

  5. Top Five Taxa

  6. Geographic Distribution • 60% of all specimens from Indiana • All eastern groups represented • Worldwide collection of Ephemeroptera and Odonata

  7. 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

  8. Special Collection W.S. Blatchley Collection A collection of Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Coleoptera Primarily specimens from Indiana and Florida 1896-1934

  9. Chandler Bee Collection One of the largest and most complete collection of bees in North America Majority of specimens from Midwest in 1950s-1970s

  10. 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

  11. Strengths of the PERC Recognized internationally: • 2250 type specimens • The Blatchley Collection of Coleoptera • General Aquatic Insect Collection • The Ephemeroptera collection

  12. 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.

  13. Outreach Extension activities: Annual Butterfly Count for community Activities with school children Bug Bowl Indiana State Fair

  14. Accessibility • No database: information maintained in spreadsheets • No internet accessibility

  15. Questions

More Related