contributed by Rachel McCall.
At NC State there are over 1.4 million insects, in a museum that is. According to a NCSU bulletin in 5/5/2007,
this space was created when individual professors began to put their collections together in 1952.
The collection has now expanded with the help of donations by researchers and individual donors. It is considered one of the best for studying North Carolina insects and is the largest south of the Smithsonian. Its only rivals in the south are the University of Florida and Texas A&M.
The University uses this museum for research on biodiversity and evolution. It is also used in insect diversity labs and butterfly exhibits are used in teaching at local schools. The insect collection is important for science and the university because experts believe 80 to 95 of the worlds insects have not been collected, described, and named. If you would like to visit the museum it is on the 4th floor of Gardner hall and is contained in 2 rooms.
For more information about interesting sites on campus, take a look at our buildings and reference collection /findingaids/ua050_004?query=building%20s
For more information on Entomology at NCSU take a look at /findingaids/ua100_017?query=entomology or for a closer look at cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, spittlebugs, and treehoppers check out http://metcalf.lib.ncsu.edu/metcalf/ .
For more images like the ones above please visit http://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu