Insects and arachnids account for more than four-fifths of all described species in the world. By participating in everything from multi-disciplinary biodiversity surveys to focused, ongoing projects around the globe, Academy entomologists continue to add to that number — and to our understanding of insect and arachnid roles and relationships — each and every year. Since the department's founding in 1862, our collection has grown to become one of the three largest entomology collections in North America, encompassing approximately 250,000 species of insects, myriapods, and arachnids. Led by curators Brian Fisher, Michelle Trautwein, and Lauren Esposito, and collection manager Chris Grinter, today's department includes scholars, curatorial staff, postdoctoral researchers, and students comprising a broad range of expertise.

Thanks to generous support from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Entomology has inventoried and databased all of the species names in the entire pinned insect collection. This species-level database includes 6,623,710 specimens representing approximately 250,000 taxa. It does not include information on groups of arthropods normally kept in alcohol, with the exception of the Trichoptera (caddisflies) and part of the Embioptera (webspinners). It also does not include information on specimens out on loan (more than 1 million specimens), and the approximately 4 million specimens gathered as part of the Madagascar Arthropod Biodiversity Project.

Since the department's founding in 1862, our collection has grown to become one of the three largest entomology collections in North America, encompassing approximately 250,000 species of insects, myriapods, and arachnids. Led by curators Brian Fisher, Michelle Trautwein, and Lauren Esposito, and collection manager Chris Grinter, today's department includes scholars, curatorial staff, postdoctoral researchers, and students comprising a broad range of expertise.