Essig Museum Acquires Historic Collection of Slide-Mounted Insects from Hastings Natural History Reservation
A large collection of insects on microscope slides housed at the Hastings Natural History Reservation was packed and moved to the Essig Museum of Entomology by Cheryl Barr (Museum Scientist) and Bill Shepard (Visiting Scholar) on 15 October 2003. Most of the collection, compiled by resident researcher Betty Davis from the 1930’s-1960’s, is comprised of rodent parasites. In addition, there are some slides of plant-feeding insects such as aphids and thrips. The collection of 7,033 slides, which for the most part consists of identified specimens that are in excellent condition, is an invaluable record of the Hastings Reservation insect fauna and an important taxonomic resource.
Slide counts are as follows:
- Siphonaptera (fleas) – 3,519
- Phthiraptera (lice) – 2,993
- Aphididae (aphids) – 205
- Acarina (mites & ticks) – 177
- Thysanoptera (thrips) – 70
- miscellaneous other groups – 69
The holdings for the slide collection and the alcohol materal are available in PDF format.
