2013 Collection Renovation and Improvements

Recent improvements to the UAIC were made possible with generous support from the University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and two grants from the National Science Foundation.

NSF Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI-1203398)
Collections in Support of Biological Research
"Critical Renovation and Revitalization of the University of Arizona Insect Collection"

NSF Emerging Frontiers (EF-1206382)
Advancing Digitization of Biological Research Collections "Southwest Collections of Arthropods Network (SCAN): A Model for Collections Digitization to Promote Taxonomic and Ecological Research"

The renovated, digitized UAIC will enhance our competitive position to obtain extramural funding by improving our capacity to conduct research on pest management, invasive species, and effects of climate change; and it will position the UA Department of Entomology as a global center for specimen-based insect research.

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Collection History

The University of Arizona Insect Collection (UAIC) began as a small accumulation of insect pests found in crop-growing regions of Arizona. Over the years, entomologists associated with UA Department of Entomology have transformed the UAIC to one of the largest and most important arthropod collections in the desert Southwest. Today the UAIC research collection contains extensive pinned, alcohol, microscope slide collections, plus a growing frozen tissue collection.  Altogether, these collections contain approximately 2.0 million specimens representing an estimated 35,000 species.

UAIC Founders: Laurence Carruth, Don Tuttle, Floyd Werner, George Butler, Bill Nutting, David Maddison and Carl Olson.

Laurence A. Carruth

Donald M. Tuttle

Floyd G. Werner

George D. Butler

William L. Nutting

David R. Maddison

Carl A. Olson