Description.
The Louisiana State Arthropod Museum (LSAM) is housed on the 5th
floor of the Life Sciences Building on the main campus of LSU. It is
part of the Department of Entomology and is a component collection
of the Louisiana Museum of Natural History. The LSAM contains
approximately 500,000 specimens of insects and related arthropods.
This includes 280,000 pinned, 18,000 fluid-preserved, and 30,000
slide-mounted specimens. Uncurated specimens in various stages of
processing vary through time from 50,000 to 100,000. The LSAM is the
principal repository for insects and related arthropods in
Louisiana. Significant strengths of the collection include
Coleoptera (51%) and Hemiptera (28%). Lepidoptera (6%), Diptera (6%)
and Hymenoptera (4%), and other orders (5%) make up the balance of
the collection. The collection contains 747 paratypes, 1 syntype, 1
allotype, and 1 holotype. Primary types described by LSAM
researchers are normally deposited in dedicated type repositories
(e.g., the U. S. National Museum, Field Museum of Natural History,
etc.). The majority of specimens are from southeastern United
States, and most of the remainder are from elsewhere in North
America, Mexico, Central and South America. Recent expeditions have
added specimens, mainly Coleoptera from West Africa (Ghana) and New
Zealand.
Busy day in the Coleoptera room
A species-level inventory of curated specimens is approximately 80%
complete. Completed portions are available via hard copy, text files
(that can be sent via e-mail). Specimen data are being captured
using R. Colwell's Biota (Sinauer Associates) software package. Our
current computerization priority is data capture related to current
research projects. Retroactive data capture will be accomplished as
data entry resources become available. Specimens are available for
loans to researchers following normal institutional loan guidelines
(contact the Curator for
details). Specialists are encouraged to borrow and identify
undetermined material in exchange for retention of duplicate
exemplars.
Growth.
The Life Sciences Building
opened in 1971 and the former director, Joan Chapin, who designed
the space, was told there would be expansion room within the next 10
years. However it was not until 25 years later, after Dr. Chapin
retired and Chris Carlton became director that additional space was
made available. In 1996 the LSAM expanded into a renovated adjacent
laboratory, which brought the total floor area to approximately 2000
ft2. In 1997 the LSAM received an enhancement grant from
the Louisiana Board of Regents that provided for the purchase of new
cabinetry, laboratory work benches, a microscope, and curatorial
equipment and supplies. As a result, we initiated a major new phase
of growth focusing on poorly represented habitats in Louisiana and
adjacent states and improving our collections of taxa from the
neotropical region that are relevant to the research interests of
the faculty and staff.
During the spring of 2001, the long awaited Life Science Annex was
opened. The Rice Entomology lab moved into the new building and we
inherited their space. As a result the LSAM added 2000 ft2,
bringing our total floor space to approximately 4000 ft2.
Thanks to renovation funds from the LSU College of Agriculture and
Agricultural Center, we took down walls, opened new doorways, and
removed unecessary sinks and lab benches. We now have a modern,
spacious museum and research complex on par with any
university-based collection to go with our dedicated team of insect
systematists and conservation biologists.
The museum's current phase of growth has been fueled in large part
by specimens acquired during domestic fieldwork in Louisiana and
elsewhere in the southeastern United States and recent foreign
expeditions to Ghana, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and New Zealand. We have
also received significant contributions through donations of private
collections. Between 2002 and 2007, Vernon Brou, an avocational insect collector in Abita Springs, donated approximately
34,000 specimens of Lepidoptera and other insects from his world renowned Lepidoptera collection. For several years we have also
received significant contributions of Odonata from William Mauffray,
of the
International Odonata Research Institute in Gainesville, FL and
Gayle Strickland, local collector and expert insect photographer.
Service and research
emphasis. The
LSAM serves the public of the State of Louisana by providing
identifications of insects and related arthropods and serving as a
clearinghouse for information to homeowners, agriculturalists, and
educational institutions. Research conducted by LSAM scientists
focuses on systematics and comparative diversity of insects in
habitats throughout Louisiana, the adjacent Gulf Coastal Plain, the
southern Appalachian Mountains
and circum-Caribbean region. Specialized systematic projects of the
staff and students focus on Coleoptera on a global scale.
Support the LSAM with a donation!
