Coyote skull in the process of being cleaned by dermestid beetles

Behind the Scenes With The Flesh-Eating Beetles Preparing Museum Specimens

Meet the smallest and possibly most gruesome members of NHM's collection staff: flesh-eating Dermestid beetles. CONTENT WARNING: Specimen preparation is metal. There are a lot of images of dead animals in different states of decay and preparation below.
Read more
Pupae organization

From Butterflies With Love

A behind-the-scenes look reveals how the butterflies in our Pavilion help protect their native habitats
Read more
Illustration of rabbit

Year of the Rabbit

Celebrate the 2023 Lunar New Year with highlights from the collection
Read more
Drunk Red Admiral

Flight Club

The first rule of Flight Club is that butterflies are beautiful little jerks.
Read more
Painting of ice age Los Angeles featuring animals found as fossils at the Tar Pits

At the Feet of Mammoths

Meet some of the Ice Age minifauna still making their home in L.A.
Read more
close up of Prince the spadefoot frog

A Long Lived Leaper

NHM’s Prince Rogers Nelson the Western Spadefoot frog sets longevity record  
Read more
Pondy the Western Pond Turtle

Bon Voyage, Pondy

Our adorable western pond turtle has a new, amazing home!
Read more
Rattle Snake Crossing the Road

A Rattlesnake Stroll

Take a trip outside of the terrarium.
Read more
Tallulah the Solomon Island Skink with her tongue out

Chill Out With Tallulah the Skink

Her friends call her Lulu
Read more
Opossum

Meet Our Museum Animals

What the Vertebrate Living Collections team has been up to during the museum's temporary closure, including telemedicine and museum walk-abouts.
Read more