Browse the oldest and most important entomology collection in the world of over 34 million insects and arachnids.

Gathered over 300 years, these specimens are key to telling the history of collecting, the science of taxonomy and the human desire to understand the natural world.

The Museum’s Lepidoptera collection contains approximately 8,712,000 specimens in 80,000 drawers.

The Lepidoptera specimens are divided into two separate collections, British and international, both of which are rich in type specimens.

The Banks collection and Sloane collection are the two collections within the Entomology collections that are officially designated as historic by the Museum’s trustees.