The UQIC is a research collection first started in the 1920's by F.A. Perkins, the first lecturer in entomology at the University of Queensland. The collection now consists of more than 1,000,000 specimens of insects and related arthropods and contains material from all Australian states and territories and a limited amount of foreign material. The orders best represented are Coleoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera.

Several important private collections have been given to the UQIC. These include the:

• moth and butterfly collection of E.J. Dumigan, a school teacher who lived in Toowoomba

• Rowland Illidge beetle collection; the Cedric Deane beetle collection

• Joe Manski's collection of Neuroptera

• part of Charles King's collection of hepialid moths and

• Henry Rauber collection.

The collection of Australian bees is possibly the largest in Australia as a result of more than 30 years of collecting by E.M. Exley and her students.

The mosquito collection resulting from the work of E.N. Marks and the bulk of that from the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Sydney are now in the UQIC. Mosquito species from Asia and the Pacific represent the primary risk of arbovirus vector incursion into Australia. Accurate identification of arbovirus vectors is critical to anticipation of incursions and The University of Queensland Insect Collection is the primary repository in Australia of accurately-identified mosquitoes from Asia, the Pacific and Australia.

The collection is one of Queensland's most important reference collections and also serves as a repository for voucher specimens from applied research such as surveys of insects associated with particular crops and pollination studies. Voucher specimens are identified by yellow data labels and are incorporated into the main collection. Use of material for studies in systematics, taxonomy, comparative morphology, etc. are encouraged and loans are readily made available to specialists and supervised students in Australia and overseas.

Dr Elizabeth Exley

Dr Elizabeth Marks

Fireant information

Queensland insects

Major mosquito vectors of arboviruses in Qld

Arboviruses

Acknowledgements

Mosquitoes, Humans & Arboviruses in Qld

Acarina catalogue

Insect catalogue

Other mosquitoes in Qld

UQIC contact