Arthropoda Collection

Dragonflies and damselflies from Collection of Drawings by Dutch Artists, 17th-19th centuries. Held in the Entomology Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Ornithoptera alexandrae, Queen Alexandras birdwing butterfly
A mounted specimen of Queen Alexandras birdwing butterfly from Papua New Guinea. Male specimen measuring 188 mm across wingtips. See 14964 for the female which is larger

Acherontia atropos, death s-head hawk-moth
A mounted specimen of the death s-head hawk-moth, which takes its name from the skull-like image on its thorax. Specimen from the Natural History Museum, London

Insects of Surinam
Plate 7 from Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphosibus Insectorum Surinamensium (1726) by Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717) & Johanna Helena Herolt (1668-1773)

Entomology Specimens
A specimen tray from the Natural History Museums Entomology Department showing the diversity of insects in terms of shape, size and colours

Insects of Surinam
Plate 9 from Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphosibus Insectorum Surinamensium (1726) by Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717) & Johanna Helena Herolt (1668-1773)

Chrysina limbata, silver chafer beetle
Silver chafer beetle specimen. The beetles have a base pigment covered by several colourless microscopically thin layers called laminae

Phoebis sennae, cloudless sulphur butterfly
Photograph of a mounted specimen of cloudless sulphur. Male. Species occurs on the Galapagos Islands

Plate 17 from Libellulinae Europaeae by de Charpentier
Illustration of dragonflies. Plate 17 from Libellulinae Europaeae illustrated and described by Toussint de Charpentier, 1840

Entomological specimens of Lepidoptera
Unidentified photograph of mounted specimens of butterflies and moths

Inachis io, peacock butterfly
Plate 23 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed, by Theo Johnson, 1892

Morpho cypris, blue morpho butterfly
Butterfly from Central America. South America. Specimen on display at the Natural History Museum at Tring, part of the Natural History Museum, London

Xanthopan morganii praedicta, sphinx moth
Darwins sphinx moth, found in Madagascar. The species as a whole is known as Morgans sphinx

Ocypus olens, devils coach horse beetle model
A large scale model of the devils coach horse beetle (Ocypus olens). A beetle that is commonly found beneath logs. Held within the Natural History Museum, London

Leaf-cutter ants carrying pieces of leaf
Leaf-cutter ants transporting neatly extracted pieces of leaf. These ants derive from the rainforests of Central and South America

Mosquito in Dominican amber
A mosquito in trapped and preserved in Dominican amber. Lower Miocene about 20 million years old. Image from Amber The Natural Time Capsule. Figure 90

Cladognathus sp. stag beetle
A specimen of a large stag beetle from Asia. Stag beetles belong to the family (Lucanidae). Only male stag beetles have horns or antlers

H. W. Bates illustrated notebooks
Plate 7 from a notebook of Henry W. Bates (1825-92) relating to the insect fauna of the Amazon Valley or DRW, 1851-1854

Ophrys apifera, bee orchid
Watercolour by Arthur Harry Church, 17 June 1913

Beetles
Double page spread of pencil and watercolour illustrations and sketches of beetles by Henry Walter Bates

Cimex lectularius, bed bug
Scanning electron microscope image of a bed bug (x 17). The sucking mouthparts enable the feeding bedbugs to pierce the hosts tissues and siphon out a blood meal

Longhorn beetle

Schistocerca gregaria, desert locust
A desert locust perching on a branch. Locusts sometimes swarm to form groups of up to 80 million and can migrate over large distances

Heteropoda venatoria, huntsman spider
This a large brown spider with a flattened body structure and a leg span of between 7 and 12 cm. These spiders hunt at night, and mainly prey upon cockroaches

Caiman crocodilus crocodilus and Anilius scytale
Spectacled caiman and South American false coral snake. Plate 69 from Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium of de Verandering der Surinaamsche Insecten (1705) by A. Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717)

Sabatia bartramii, savannah pink & Eacles imperialis, imperi
Drawing 11 (Ewan 38) from the Botanical and zoological drawings (1756-1788) by William Bartram. Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Pharmacophagus antenor, giant swallowtail
Giant swallowtail butterfly and the common rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae). Plate 15 from Insects of India by Edward Donovan (1768-1837)

Butterflies from the Amazon by H. W. Bates
A page (p 144) from a notebook of Henry W. Bates relating to the insect fauna of the Amazon Valley or DRW, 1851-1854

Beetle illustrations
Double page spread of pencil and watercolour illustrations of beetles by Henry Walter Bates

Coloured sketches of insects on Page 35 from Bates notebook 1. Bates was a renowned Victorian entomologist

Gromphadorhina portentosa, hissing cockroach
A pair of hissing cockroaches also known as the Madagascan hissing cockroach. This species of roach is chocolate brown with no wings

Entomological specimens of Lepidoptera
Unidentified photograph of mounted specimens of butterflies and moths

Caprimulgus vociferus, whip-poor-will
Plate 82 from John James Audubons Birds of America, original double elephant folio (1827-30), hand-coloured aquatint. Engraved, printed and coloured by R. Havell (& Son), London

Simulium damnosum, Simulian blackfly
Scanning electron microscope image of the head showing the compound eye (x 130). The fly is a vector of a parasite which causes River Blindness. Coloured artifically by computer

Flea illustration
Page 201 from Micrographia or some Physiological description of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses (1665) by Robert Hooke

Ornithoptera alexandrae, Queen Alexandras birdwing butterfl
Digital image of the upperside of a mounted specimen of a Queen Alexandras birdwing butterfly from the family Papilionidae

Insects of Surinam
Plate 4 from Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphosibus Insectorum Surinamensium (1726) by Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717) & Johanna Helena Herolt (1668-1773)

Partial fossil remains of the giant millepede, Arthropleura
Measuring 7.1 cm long, this Carboniferous fossil represents only part of a leg of the giant millepede Arthropleura

Dermatophagoides sp. dust mite
Scanning electron microscope image of a dust mite. Dust mites are secondary to pollen as a cause for allergies and they live in bedding, soft furniture and carpets

Hydroporus rufifrons, diving beetle
Close-up shot of a diving beetle (Hydroporus rufifrons). Specimen held in the Natural History Museums Entomology Department

20th Century Art: Weevil (Rhopalomesites tardyi), 1998 by Ma
Watercolour. Russell is an example of a scientist turned artist. Trained initially as an entomologist his combined love of beetles and art resulted in a series of exceptional drawings of weevils

Morpho rhetenor, blue morpho butterfly
Illustrative plate of a blue morpho butterfly from Insects of China by Edward Donovan (1768-1837)

Inachis io, peacock butterfly
Plate 23 from Illustrations of British Butterflies and their Larvae (1892) by Theo Johnson. Cropped image of illustration

Bill of fare from Crystal Palace, 31 / 12 / 1853
Menu for the dinner in the Iguanodon and original artwork by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, donated by his granddaughter Mary Hawkins

Eurypterus, a fossil eurypterid
The paddles used for swimming are very conspicuous in the Silurian eurypterid Eurypterus from New York State. This individual measures 12 cm in length

Scolopendra gigantea, giant centipede
A giant centipede which was brought into the Museums Insect Identification service after being found in a living room in London. The specimen is venomous and not native to the UK

Henry Walter Bates (1825-1892) see 51935
Bates collections and notebooks are held at the Natural History Museum, London. Bates is best known for his publication Naturalis on the River Amazon (1863) and his work on mimicry

Dressed Fleas
Dressed fleas on display at the Natural History Museum in Tring

Sarcoptes scabiei, scabies mite
Scanning electron microscope image of an itch or scabies mite, a parasite that infests a wide variety of mammalian hosts including humans

Sandfly
Sandflies belong to the family Phlebotominae and are responsible of spreading sandfly fever

A fine ripe Pomelo, peeled and cut ornamentally for table
Watercolour by Olivia Fanny Tonge 1858-1949. 180 x 260mm. From one of sixteen sketchbooks presented to the Museum in 1952

Ornithoptera croesus, Wallaces golden birdwing butterfly

Ephemera danica, mayfly larva
The larval stage of a mayfly lasts about a year, and is spent entirely underwater. When it hatches as an adult in the spring, usually May, it is only very short-lived

Plate from The Natural History of Carolina by Mark Catesby
Illustration from The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama islands (1731) Vol 1 by Mark Catesby (1683-1749)

Stuart Hine with Scolopendra gigantea, giant centipede
Natural History Museum Entomologist, Stuart Hine with a giant centipede which was brought into the Museums Insect Identification service after being found in a living room in London

Scarab beetles
The largest shown here, (Scarabaeus sacer), was regarded as sacred in ancient Egypt. Today the species are important to agriculture for their dung burying activities

Triatoma infestans, kissing bug
This insect is a member of the Triatomine group, which are associated with the transmission of disease to humans

Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, mole cricket
Detail from plate 456 of an illustration of a mole cricket from British Entomology: Original Drawings Vol 10, by John Curtis, 1862

Coleoptera sp. metallic beetles
A pair of gold and silver metallic beetles side by side

Pieridae sp. clouded yellow butterflies
Original drawing for a plate in A field guide to the butterflies of Britain and Europe. Artwork by Brian Hargreaves. This picture must not be used without permission from Brian Hargreaves

Thespesia populnea, portia tree
Finished watercolour by Sydney Parkinson made during Captain James Cooks first voyage across the Pacific, 1768-1771

Motacilla alba, white wagtail
Plate 2 from John Goulds The Birds of Great Britain, Vol. 3 (1873). Hand coloured lithograph

Smokejacks Brickworks, Surrey
Smokejacks Brickworks in Ockley, Surrey shows part of the Upper Weald Clay Formation of Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) age

Calymene blumenbachii brongniart, trilobite
This trilobite originates from the 425 million year old Devonian Wenlock Limestone, Dudley, Worcestershire

Peppered moth
Two specimens of peppered moths exhibited on a soot-covered tree. This is a good demonstration of genetic selection through changing environment

Tupus diluculum, Bolsover dragonfly
Painting of Tupus diluculum (Bolsover dragonfly), a giant dragonfly from the Upper Carboniferous (354 to 290 mya)

Plate 45 from Libellulinae Europaeae by de Charpentier
Illustration of dragonflies. Plate 45 from Libellulinae Europaeae illustrated and described by Toussaint von Charpentier (1780-1847), 1840

Apatura iris, purple emperor
Plate 20 from Illustrations of British Butterflies and their Larvae (1892) by Theo Johnson. Cropped image of illustration

Phacops, a fossil trilobite
This Moroccan Devonian Phacops is enrolled, measuring 4.5 cm in width, and has a glabella covered in tubercles

Fire ant
Watercolour 405 by the Port Jackson Painter, entitled Mong, from the Watling Collection

Lanius collurio, red-backed shrike
Plate 15 from John Goulds The Birds of Great Britain, Vol. 2 (1873). Hand coloured lithograph

Astacus astacus Linnaeus, crayfish
Suppl. Tb LVI from Insecten-Belustigung 1756-61, Volume 3 by August Johann R� von Rosenhof (1705-1759)

Scorpio orientalis, scorpion
Suppl. Tab LXV from Insecten-Belustigung 1746-61 Volume 3, by August Johann R� von Rosenhof (1705-1759)

Dalmanites, a fossil trilobite
This example of the Silurian trilobite Dalmanites, 4.2 cm long, shows to perfection the complex dorsal exoskeleton of these extinct arthropods

Phragmites australis (Cav. ), common reed
A herbarium sheet containing Phragmites australis (Cav.), a common reed which grows in wetlands throughout the America, Europe and parts of Asia. This specimen is from Panama

Ananas comosus (pineapple) & Philaethria dido
Pineapple tree (Ananas comosus) with butterfly, caterpillar & crysalis (Philaethria dido). Plate 2 from Metamorphosis Insectorum (1705) by Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717)

Examples of mimicry among butterflies
Plate from On the lepidoptera of the Amazon Valley. Transactions of the Linnean Society, by H.W. Bates, 1862

Oligonychus ununguis, red spider mite
Red spider mites are arachnids with four pairs of legs and no antennae. They are a plant-sucking pest mainly active in the hot summer weather

Urogomphus eximus, fossil dragonfly
A fossil Jurassic dragonfly about 140 million years old, from the Kimmeridgian Lithographic Stone, Solenhofen, Bavaria, Germany

Aeshna sp. dragonflies
Dragonflies illustrated and described by Toussaint de Charpentier in Libellulinae europaeae descriptae e depictae (1840)

Papilio polytes & Papilio polymnester
The common mormon (Papilio polytes) and the blue mormon (Papilio polymnestor). Plate 20 from Insects of India by Edward Donovan (1768-1837)

Kingfisher
Plate 336, hand coloured copperplate etching from George Edwards The Gleanings of Natural History, Vol. 3 (1764). Annotated Crested kingfisher

H. W. Bates illustrated notebook
Plate 7 from a notebook of Henry W. Bates (1825-92) relating to the insect fauna of the Amazon Valley or DRW, 1851-1854

Chrysolina menthastri, mint leaf beetle eating a mint leaf
A bronze-green rounded leaf beetle feeding on a mint leaf. These beetles are common in the U.K and favour damp waterside habitats

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