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If you are curious about insects and their relatives, you want to learn more about entomology. Entomologists are people who study insects such as mosquitos, leafhoppers, aphids, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, ticks, spiders, and moths, to name a few of the kinds of approximately 900 thousand recognized species of insects, which may be only a small fraction of the actual number that make up our world.

At the Illinois Natural History Survey, people work with insects and their close relatives in many ways:

Entomologists at the Survey

Dr. Felipe Soto-Adames, Entomology Curator
Dr. Christopher H. Dietrich, Entomology Curator
Dr. Donald W. Webb, Entomology Curator Emeritus
Dr. Dave Voegtlin, Entomology Curator Emeritus
Dr. Cathy Eastman, Agricultural Entomologist
Dr. Ed DeWalt, Aquatic Entomologist
Dr. Dmitry Dmitriev, Systematist and Software Developer
Kelly Estes, Invasive Species Surveys
Gail Kampmeier, Biodiversity Informatics
Nina Krasavin, Molecular Biologist
Dr. Kevin P. Johnson, Host Parasite Systems of Birds
Dr. Richard Lampman, Medical Entomologist
Dr. Eli Levine, Research Entomologist Emeritus
Sue Post, Biological Control Specialist
Dr. Y. Osee Sanogo, Molecular Biologist / Geneticist
Dr. Joe Spencer, Insect Behaviorist
Dr. Leellen Solter, Insect Pathologist
Dr. Dave Soucek, Ecotoxicologist
Dr. Paul Tinerella, Collection Manager
Dr. Wallace LaBerge, Emeritus Staff
Dr. Steven Taylor, Macroinvertebrate Biologist
Dr. Ed Zaborski, Soil Invertebrate Ecologist

Insect and Related Arthropod Collections

About the Collections

The insect collection at the Survey now houses over 6,000,000 curated specimens. The growth and wide-ranging scope of this collection can be credited to the diverse interests of the systematists who have spent all or part of their career at the Survey. Scientists such as Stephen A. Forbes, the first Director of the State Laboratory and Chief of the Natural History Survey; Theodore Frison, who succeeded Forbes; and H. H. Ross, who directed the intense systematics studies of the faunistic section for 40 years, placed considerable emphasis on enlarging the insect collection. These insects document the changing landscape and environmental conditions of the world.

The INHS insect collection is one of the largest in North America. The most recent size estimate was done in 1992. The heavy concentration of specimens from the last third of the 1800s also makes this one of North America's oldest insect and related arthropod collections.

The INHS Insect Collection includes more than 13,000 primary types (syntypes inclusive). Because of size, historical holdings, and wide breadth of coverage in certain groups, the collection is an important national and worldwide resource.

Illinois specific lists below are marked with Illinois specific database
All information presented in lists and databases falls under the INHS Internet License Agreement.

Species Lists, Databases, & Distributions

Biodiversity of Insects and their Relatives

Medically Important Biota

West Nile Virus

North Central IPM Center - pest alerts, fact sheet
Asian Tiger Mosquito

Soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, on soybean

Agriculturally Important Biota

Invasive Species

Purple Loosestrife
Soybean Aphid in Illinois
Illinois CAPS (Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey)
Emerald Ashborer

Insect Behavior

Migration & Dispersal

Organic & Conventional Cropping Systems

Biological Control of Insects

Outreach




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Last updated Monday, 19-May-2008 20:17:08 CDT

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