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UWI Land Arthropod Collection

The UWI Land Arthropod Collection, administered by the Department of Life Sciences, is one of about 14 such working collections in the Caribbean Islands. It comprises an estimated 20-25 thousand specimens, mainly pinned insects, with much smaller holdings of arachnids, myriapods and larval insects. Curation is to a relatively high level (mostly Smithsonian level 5).

The collection's principal geographic mandate is the Eastern Caribbean subregion, with special emphasis on Trinidad & Tobago. There is also some material from elsewhere in the wider Caribbean region and, more selectively, from elsewhere in the neotropics. Greatest taxonomic strength is in the Odonata, Lepidoptera and aculeate Hymenoptera.

This is primarily a reference collection, with emphasis on synoptic series. As a matter of policy, it does include primary type specimens. There are a very few paratypes, mainly of Mickel mutillids. The Land Arthropod Collection has recently entered into discussions with the nearby International Institute of Biological Control (IIBC) insect collection, with a view to reaching a more effective division of labour between them.

Address inquiries to the Curator Dr Ayub Khan