The Academy of Natural Sciences Entomology Specimen Database

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is the oldest natural history museum in the New World. Our entomology collection has been with the Academy since its founding. Prominent member entomologists have included Thomas Say and Titian Peale. Our collection currently contains approximately 4 million specimens with strong taxonomic strength in Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, and their relatives).

We currently maintain several thematic subcollections including research based collections from Mongolia and the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Our holdings represent roughly 10% of described insect taxa or about 100,000 species. Use the menu to the left to navigate through our collection. Searching can be restricted to specific subcollections or the entire collection can be searched as a whole.

Some of our subcollections include:

• Franklin Parker Preserve Collection
• Eastern State Penitentiary Survey
• Additional coming soon...

Contributions from entomologists in the field can also be browsed via individual field books found on the database selection page.

In 2012, The Academy formed a partnership with Drexel University and continues to provide internship/co-op positions to students from various majors. Established in 2014, this portal serves as the hub for specimen level data captured by members of the department. We are using the Symbiota system to manage our data. Symbiota allows users to map specimens, create custom checklists, and manage specimen images in a user-friendly approach.

      For more information on Symbiota, visit their help page.

Our curator, Dr. Jon Gelhaus, is also a professor in the Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science at Drexel. His lab website can be found by clicking here.