The insect collection

Our insect collection contains 300,000 mounted insects representing more than 10,000 species. We also have a collection of larvae and around 700 wood specimens showing traces left by wood-dwelling insects.

Because specimens have been collected over such a long period, the material can be used to track changes in Sweden's forest and agricultural landscapes. The collections are also used for taxonomic research, as reference material in ecological and conservation biology research, as a basis for illustrations and in teaching. The SLU Swedish Species Information Centre also uses the collections in its work on the Swedish Red List.

The collections are still growing

We continue to expand our collections. The department conducts research on biodiversity and conservation biology in forest and agricultural landscapes. These projects generate large numbers of insects collected using standardised, quantitative methods, such as different types of traps and large-scale insect emergence sampling.

The material is particularly valuable because of the detailed records of the insects' habitats and when they were collected. This allows us to preserve biological information about insect fauna while expanding our reference collections. It can also improve the reporting and recording of red-listed species.

Modernisation

The collections are currently being modernised. Under the old system, species were arranged in a fixed order that quickly became outdated. Now, specimens of each species are placed in separate boxes (the unit box system), making it easier to expand and rearrange the collections when needed, for example in response to new findings about relationships between species.

Traces of insects in trees

Insects that live in wood and bark leave various traces behind. Their larvae tunnel through the wood, excavate pupal chambers and eventually emerge from the tree as adults through exit holes. A combination of these traces, the tree species, its stage of decomposition and other clues can often reveal which insect species was responsible.

Around 450 species of beetles, wasps and related insects, and butterflies and moths are represented in the collection.