Arachnology & Entomology

The spider collection makes up roughly 50% of the section's total holdings (over 170,000 specimens). Geographic strengths are Washington, Alaska and far eastern Russia, with some worldwide representation. Collections are curated, catalogued and available for study. New material is added almost daily.

The butterfly and moth collections include over 37,000 specimens and are particularly strong in Washington material; but there is significant worldwide representation. Curation of currently unmounted material is in progress. The collection is available for study.

(Including harvestmen and scorpions)

The arachnid collection includes over 13,500 specimens of non-spider orders. It is especially strong in harvestmen, with some worldwide representation. The harvestman collection is catalogued, available for study, and expanding.

From 1981-1987 the terrain sterilized by the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens (and nearby control sites) was studied by a UW team under a large grant, monitoring arachnids and insects migrating in and, in some cases, colonizing the greatly altered habitats.

This material (at least 80,500 specimens) is finally a research-ready collection, after several years' work by diligent volunteers converting it from uncatalogued bulk storage.

(Including all groups that live in caves)

A representative collection of about 12,000 primarily Pacific Northwest cave invertebrates, especially arthropods. The collection is fully curated and available for study, but not yet catalogued.

6,500 curated centipedes and millipedes, mostly identified, mainly from the Pacific Northwest. Available for study but difficult to ship due to storage method.

The isopod crustacean collection includes about 12,000 specimens and is expanding. The collection's core is the Melville H. Hatch material used in "Isopoda of Washington." Material is predominantly from Washington. It is all curated and available for study, but not yet catalogued.

This is primarily the Luther C. Altman collection of 2,500 specimens used for "Oligochaeta of Washington," partly fluid-preserved but primarily slide-mounted as serial sections. Altman was a superb histologist and his slides are works of art. This collection has been in high demand by researchers in several countries.

The Charles H. Lavers, Jr. collection of about 2,500 North American aquatic mites, donated by his widow after Lavers' untimely death, was the basis of "The Species of Arrenurus of the State of Washington" but includes unstudied material. It is divided between slide-mounted and glycerin-preserved specimens. Uncatalogued, but available for study at least in part.

Our collection of 1,040 slide-mounted fleas primarily from the Pacific Northwest originated with a "synoptic" donation by C. Andresen Hubbard and has miscellaneous additions, including the former collection of Walla Walla College. Includes paratypes; available for study.

Our collection of this group of microscopic metazoans is entirely slide-mounted. The roughly 600 specimens were prepared by Eloise Kuntz for her thesis on "The Rotatoria of Washington." The collection will have significant historical importance to future researchers.

These near-microscopic soil hexapods (formerly considered insects) are all slide-mounted. The roughly 50 specimens were formerly deposited at Walla Walla College. Protura are so seldom seen that even this small collection may be of interest to future researchers.