[Illustration: Fig. 78.--The Natural Resources Building. This
building, on the campus of the University of Illinois, is the home
of the Illinois Natural History Survey and houses the state insect
collection on the second floor of the west wing. (Photograph from
Illinois Geological Survey.)]
Illinois is one of the very few states that maintain a large research
insect collection. This collection is under the care and guidance of the
Section of Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification of the Illinois
Natural History Survey. It is housed in the west part of the fireproof
Natural Resources Building on the University of Illinois campus at
Urbana, fig. 78. Begun about 1880, the collection has grown steadily
until now it is the most extensive representative collection of the
insect fauna of any state in the nation. The collection consists of over
5,500,000 specimens of insects housed in steel cabinets, fig. 79. The
pinned collection includes about 750,000 specimens in trays. The
collection preserved in alcohol contains over 3,500,000 insects
including not only a great number of valuable adult insects but also a
very useful collection of immature insects. The slide collection
contains nearly 250,000 specimens mounted as permanent microscopic
preparations. The papered and boxed material comprises more than
1,000,000 specimens of dried insects.
[Illustration: Fig. 79.--A view of the main insect collection room
of the Illinois Natural History Survey. In the steel cabinets and
hardwood trays shown here are arranged pinned insect specimens.
Similar cabinets contain material in liquid preservative. Adjoining
this collection room are offices and laboratories of the Section of
Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification, where records of insect
distribution and habits are kept on file.]
The most important use of the collection is for identification of
insects known to damage crops, stored grains, and household articles, or
to threaten human health. Important also is its use as a storehouse of
information regarding the ecology, host relationships, and distribution
of Illinois insects.
So large is the field of insect classification that many important gaps
exist in our knowledge of the Illinois fauna. For maximum usefulness,
the collection should contain a complete representation of the Illinois
insect fauna, supplemented with as much additional North American
material as can be obtained. This additional comparison material is
frequently necessary to evaluate correctly the species occurring in the
state. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 different species of
insects in Illinois and 150,000 in North America. The collection
contains representatives of over 15,000 Illinois species, and a great
many other North American species useful as comparison material in the
identification of Illinois forms.
Gifts to the collection of well-prepared material are greatly
appreciated. Many of those already received have made vital
contributions to the collection and added valuable records to the
Natural History Survey files of insect distribution.