Skip to main content

Invertebrate Collection

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Ornithoptera alexandrae, Queen Alexandras birdwing butterfly

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Giant octopus

Giant octopus
Plate 26 from Histoire naturelle des Mollusques by Count Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon, 1805

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Entomology Specimens

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Chrysina limbata, silver chafer beetle

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Beetles

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Morpho cypris, blue morpho butterfly

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Phoebis sennae, cloudless sulphur butterfly

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Xanthopan morganii praedicta, sphinx moth

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Plate 17 from Libellulinae Europaeae by de Charpentier

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Extinct marine reptiles

Extinct marine reptiles
Sheet 1 of a series of posters called Extinct Animals by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins c. 1862. This collection of marine reptiles lived during the Jurassic period between 200

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Asteroceras, fossil ammonite

Asteroceras, fossil ammonite
A 16 cm diameter specimen of the Jurassic ammonite Asteroceras from the Lower Jurassic of Dorset, England

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Ophrys apifera, bee orchid

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Ocypus olens, devils coach horse beetle model

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Schistosoma spp. blood flukes

Schistosoma spp. blood flukes
Blood flukes mating. These parasites are found in man and other mammals. Snails are the intermediate hosts

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Mosquito in Dominican amber

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Cladognathus sp. stag beetle

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: H. W. Bates illustrated notebooks

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Cimex lectularius, bed bug

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Longhorn beetle

Longhorn beetle

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Schistocerca gregaria, desert locust

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Heteropoda venatoria, huntsman spider

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Octopus

Octopus
Watercolour 401 by the Port Jackson Painter, from the Watling Collection

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Entomological specimens of Lepidoptera

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Janthina violacea, violet snail

Janthina violacea, violet snail
Watercolour 398 by Thomas Watling, entitled Boala, from the Watling Collection

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Butterflies from the Amazon by H. W. Bates

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Leaf-cutter ants carrying pieces of leaf

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Discosphaera tubifera, coccolithophore

Discosphaera tubifera, coccolithophore
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showing the unicellular planktonic algae Discosphaera tubifera from the North Atlantic surrounded by a sphere of calcite plates - coccoliths

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Beetle illustrations

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Coloured sketches of insects

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Nematode worm

Nematode worm
This nematode worm specimen has an unsegmented, cylindrical body and is also known as a roundworm

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Dragonflies and damselflies

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Gromphadorhina portentosa, hissing cockroach

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Entomological specimens of Lepidoptera

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Simulium damnosum, Simulian blackfly

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Flea illustration

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Snail teeth

Snail teeth

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Ornithoptera alexandrae, Queen Alexandras birdwing butterfl

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Partial fossil remains of the giant millepede, Arthropleura

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: 20th Century Art: Weevil (Rhopalomesites tardyi), 1998 by Ma

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Morpho rhetenor, blue morpho butterfly

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Sir Joseph Banks herbarium and library at Soho Square

Sir Joseph Banks herbarium and library at Soho Square
Sir Joseph Banks herbarium and part library in his house at 32 Soho Square, London. It remained there until 1827 when it was moved to the British Museum at Montagu House

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Eurypterus, a fossil eurypterid

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Pieridae sp. clouded yellow butterflies

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Scolopendra gigantea, giant centipede

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Dressed Fleas

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: Sarcoptes scabiei, scabies mite

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: A fine ripe Pomelo, peeled and cut ornamentally for table

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

Background imageInvertebrate Collection: St. Cuthberts Beads - rosary made from crinoid columnals

St. Cuthberts Beads - rosary made from crinoid columnals
Unidentified crinoid columnals used as beads for jewellery. Specimens from the Carboniferous Yoredale Shales, Ribblehead, Yorkshire



All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping