Diptera collections

The Diptera collection is one of the world’s leading research collections, with more than 2.5 million specimens, including important type material.

The collection dates back to the 18th century and includes taxa described by E.E. Austen, J.M.F. Bigot, E.A. Brunetti, F.W. Edwards and F. Walker. The collection also incorporates the Diptera collections of the former Commonwealth Institute of Entomology and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 

The collection holds extensive material from all zoogeographical regions of the world, but is particularly strong in historical material from Africa, Asia and Europe. 

Included in the collection is important historical material collected by C.R. Darwin and A.R. Wallace, much of the latter studied and described by F. Walker and material resulting from significant expeditions, including BM(NH) expeditions to the Ruwenzori area in Central Africa (1934-1935), to south-western Africa (1972), east Nepal (1961-1962) and the Project Wallace expedition to Sulawesi, Indonesia (1985).

Although the New World is generally less well represented, there are also some significant collections from there, such as those made by F.W. Edwards (Patagonia and southern Chile), F. Plaumann (Brazil: Nova Teutonia) and the Biologia Centrali Americana collection.

The British and Irish Collection contains 1,200 drawers of pinned specimens covering the vast majority of British and Irish Diptera species.

Older specimens from collectors, such as F.W. Edwards and J.W. Yerbury and of historic as well as taxonomic importance and across the decades this material has been supplemented with collections from dipterists, such as C.N. Colyer, R.W. Crosskey, E.A. Fonseca, L. Parmenter and C.J. Wainright.

Specimens of national significance continue to be acquired, often through donations via the Dipterists Forum, ensuring the collection includes recent additions to the British and Irish fauna.

Most specimens are pinned and are stored dry in state of the art climatically controlled storage facilities. There is also a Data Portal which provides access to the Natural History Museum collection database, with images of many specimens, including several types.

Potential borrowers of material are referred to our Loan Policy. 

Geographical scope

Parts of the world that are particularly well represented are:

• Afrotropical Region
• Indian Ocean islands
• Neotropical Region (Argentina and Chile)
• Oceanian Region
• Oriental Region
• western Palaearctic Region

Significant collections

The international Diptera collection holds important type material dating back to the eighteenth century.

The British Diptera collection includes donations from important collectors of the 20th century.