Entomology
With over 800,000 described species—more than half of all known living organisms—insects are the most diverse group of animals on Earth. NHMLAC’s entomology collection, one of the largest at the museums, has approximately 6 million specimens of insects, spiders, and other terrestrial arthropods. It is the largest in Southern California and has specimens from all over the world. The collection's strength lies in its holdings of specimens of ants, phorid flies, scarab beetles, and moths from North and Central America. We also have a large and growing collection of insects in amber, about 3,000 pieces.
Entomology at the Natural History Museum goes back as far as 1913, when NHM first opened.
RESEARCH
Museum scientists conduct world-class research on systematics, studying species and their relationships, the evolution of major groups, and fossil insects in amber. They conduct field work on insect biodiversity at home and in tropical countries.
Qualified researchers can request loans from the collection by contacting us at the address below.
RESOURCES
Urban Nature Research Center
bugguide.net
SEARCH our COLLECTIONS
Our Staff
Megan Barkdull, Ph.D.
Megan is an entomologist and evolutionary biologist who uses museum collections, genomics, and developmental biology to understand the processes which generate Earth's insect biodiversity. Megan's research primarily focuses on ants (family: Formicidae).
Giar-Ann Kung
Giar-Ann Kung is one of the Entomology Department's Collections Managers. She is responsible for the care and maintenance of the entomology collection.
Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas, Ph.D.
Rodrigo’s research focuses on evolutionary biology and diversity of short-range endemic arthropods; he is expert in systematics and phylogenetics of the arachnid order Schizomida.
Grant Wass
Grant contributes to multiple projects in the Entomology Department, with a focus on arachnids.
Brian Brown, Ph.D.
Dr. Brian V. Brown, retired head of NHM's Entomology Department and Curator Emeritus of Entomology, is an expert on the systematics of phorid flies, especially the tropical species of ant-decapitating flies, genus Apocephalus.
Contact Us
Questions? Please contact the Entomology department at entomology@nhm.org.