University of Texas, Biodiversity Center, Entomology Collection (UTIC)

Project name: Trinational Monarch Knowledge Network

Dataset summary : The Entomology Collection contains 500,000 pinned and 1.5 million ethanol-preserved specimens, with concentrations in Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, and ants), and cave invertebrates. Most specimens document the geographic and seasonal occurrences of insect species across Texas, but the collection houses important samples from other states, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia; as well as the historic Ludolph Heiligbrodt Collection (1870-1910) from Bastrop County; as well as a collection of insect-host plant voucher specimens. Voucher specimens from University of Texas research projects, including a number of landmark studies on fire ants, are also in the collection.