Lincoln University Entomology Research Collection

Okay, so I'm here at Lincoln University, checking out their Entomology Research Collection, and wow, it's quite something. This place holds about half a million insect, spider, and other arthropod specimens. It's actually one of New Zealand's biggest collections of its kind, and the only one based at a university, which is pretty cool.

The history of this collection goes way back to when Lincoln was first established as the School of Agriculture in 1880. Apparently, the very first natural science lecturer, Frederick Hutton – who later directed the Canterbury Museum – donated an insect collection. Some of those original drawers are still here, forming the core of what we see today.

Initially, it was mostly for teaching, but it really started to grow after Roy Harrison became the first Professor of Entomology. He and Rowan Emberson were key, leading annual field trips all over New Zealand from the late 60s. They went everywhere, from Mount Cook in '69 to the West Coast, Stewart Island, and even the subantarctic islands, often focusing on places that hadn't been explored much entomologically. These trips happened almost every year until the early 90s, when they became smaller, more research-focused.

The collection moved a couple of times, first to the Hilgendorf Wing in '68, then to the Burns Wing in '76. There's a funny story about how they had to redesign the museum layout in just 24 hours because a whole floor was reallocated to Wool Science! Carol Muir was the curator for a while, particularly interested in moths and butterflies, and since 1990, John Marris has been in charge.

They used to call it the Lincoln University Research Museum, but it's really grown into a substantial research and reference collection, so they changed the name in the 2010s to reflect that. It’s housed in the Bio-Protection Research Centre now. A smart move they made in 2007, switching from wooden boxes to 1300 glass-topped Cornell drawers, probably saved a lot of stuff from damage during the 2010 Canterbury earthquake.

This collection has over 250,000 pinned insects, including more than 70 holotypes, and a large number of specimens preserved in ethanol. It’s especially strong on South Island species, particularly from the West Coast and Southern Alps, and they have collections from places like the Chatham Islands and the subantarctic. Taxonomically, you'll find a lot of spiders, beetles (especially carabids thanks to Rowan Emberson and Michael Butcher), South Island tussock grassland moths, parasitic wasps, and Diptera from the subantarctic. Just recently, in 2019, an amateur entomologist named John Nunn even donated thousands of foreign beetle specimens – 100 boxes worth! It's a truly impressive place.