WSU entomology department houses over 3.1 million insects

Photo by Barta IV on Foter.com / CC BY

Pest management professionals and entomologists are constantly looking for new resources to help identify and learn about insects. Washington State University is a great resource with a collection of over 3.1 million insects in their entomology department.

The vast number of naturally preserved insect skeletons are kept neatly in wooden boxes at WSU and are used for their entomology program. The tens of thousands of species are housed at the university to be studied by the entomology program. Some insects in the collection are from over a century ago.

The collection includes common insects, along with rare and exotic ones. The department contains a significant number of moths, flies and aquatic species from the Northwest Pacific region. The collection serves as the main source of information for entomologists around the world who are studying insects from the WSU region.

The entomology program recently received a $1.4 million donation and a new insect display from an alumnus couple, according to The Spokesman Review. The donation will be used to create a fellowship program at the university.