The University of Hawai'i Insect Museum
Source: https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/insectmuseum
Archived: 2026-04-23 15:31
The University of Hawai'i Insect Museum
University of Hawaii Insect Museum
Donations
Digitized Collection
Museum Tours
Events
Related Links
Contact Us
Welcome to the University of Hawaii Insect Museum!
Previous
Next
About Us
The University of Hawai'i Insect Museum serves as a center for insect identification and systematics-based research. We have workspace, equipment, and resources for detailed taxonomic analysis, and researchers from many different laboratories are able to work and interact under its auspices. Our close association with the extensive collections and staff of the Bishop Museum greatly enhances this interactive museum community.
The University of Hawaii Insect Museum is currently in the midst of digitizing the entire collection, which will result in a fully searchable database that includes images and can generate interactive maps. Some records can already be accessed at the Southwest Collections of Arthropods Network portal and at InvertNet. For an older database that may still be useful, search our Insect Holdings Database.
Areas of Strength
Conservation
We house extensive native insect collections, including the Hawaiian
Drosophila
collection, which serve as historical records. Older collection records help establish patterns of decline and disappearance for different insect species, and may help to identify those factors which have led to the declines.
Agriculture
We house synoptic pest collections for most crops of agricultural importance including historical collections indicating the presence, absence and patterns of invasions for newly introduced insects. This part of the collection is invaluable for tracking the spread of new invasive insects and the effectiveness of control efforts for current and historical invasions.
Donations
Support for the museum helps to preserve the collection, fund events, and support field work and research experience for students from high school to the PhD level. Please consider making a donation.
Donate
We are grateful for any donations made through the UH Foundation at this link. If you would like to be recognized for your donation, please email us at rubinoff@hawaii.edu, kaaustin@hawaii.edu, or slpote@hawaii.edu to let us know about your contribution, as the Foundation will not provide us with contact information for donors.
Digitized Collection
Digitized collection
Digitization in the world of natural history collections means making the information on the specimens, such as photos and the identification and collecting information, available
digitally and online. During a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project that ran up to 2017, about 50% of the UHIM holdings were digitized. These records were uploaded to the Southwest
Collections of Arthropod Network (SCAN), which added them to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). SCAN has been discontinued, but the 129,205 digitized UHIM specimens from this
period remain available and searchable on GBIF:
https://doi.org/10.15468/twdp03
. However, hundreds of thousands of specimens have been added to the UHIM collections since 2017 and await further
funding to be digitized. Feel free to contact us if you would like to inquire about our holdings of a specific group of interest.
Primary types
The UHIM holds over 100 primary type specimens (this includes holotypes, lectotypes, syntypes, isosyntypes, neotypes, and isotypes). These are unique "name bearing specimens" that
connect a Latin name to a species. Whenever new species are discovered, they need to be compared with the primary types of other species to ensure that they are truly new. The UHIM is one of two
insect collections in the State of Hawaii that holds primary types; the other being the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (BPBM). Following the recommendations of the International Commission of
Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), all type specimens deposited in the UHIM are included in the Official Register of Zoological Nomenclature (ZooBank). This ensures the names are indexed in all
major international databases, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Catalogue of Life. View the UHIM primary type catalogue online here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/3/d/e/2PACX-1vRWOYYRYQsD6c3cPYIhg_2ZzYmoQv98Kr9B4OyoMgwIUgJeVn-hai6G3tE9cphx58uLHYYNRPyCIDP4/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true
Insect Museum Tours
Thank you for your interest in visiting the UH Insect Museum!
The main mission of the museum is to provide an important research resource for scientists working on Hawaiian Insects in Agricultural and Urban settings as well to promote the Conservation of
Native Insect communities.
Occasionally, as time permits, some
of our staff may volunteer to offer short tours of the museum
to small and well-supervised school groups of no more than 20
children at a time. Because this is an active research
museum, the activities and information we can offer are usually
most appropriate for well-behaved children in and above the 2nd
grade (especially Middle and High school students). There
are also safety concerns which require a high ratio of adults to children,
to make sure the visit is safe, enjoyable and educational. Unfortunately,
we cannot accommodate drop ins or tours for fewer than five individuals!
Because the Museum staff consists of researchers, rather than educators,
tours are given on a volunteer basis. We receive no funding to
conduct these tours.
We are therefore only able to offer approximately two tours per school
semester on a first-come basis, pending availability of the museum
staff for specific dates.
What we Offer...
The University of Hawaii Insect Museum is a research museum with about
quarter of a million insect specimens. We can introduce students to
some of the incredible biodiversity that insects represent. While we
do not offer specific lesson plans, or activities for all age groups,
certain researchers may provide entertaining explanations of their
research, and occasionally, live insect demonstrations (also including
such non-insect arthropods as spiders and centipedes when available). Depending
on age of participants, tours usually last about 30-45 minutes.
Legal Notice
Because the Museum is the site of active scientific research, there are many
potentially fragile items in the Museum, including the insect specimens
themselves. For this safety reason we request a chaperone to
child ratio of at least 1 parent to 5 children, and that parents actively
assist us in keeping the children safe and focused.
We ask that all parents sign a photograph permission waiver form.
This allows the UH Insect Museum to use pictures taken during your
tour for outreach that will benefit visitors to our website. We will
not use a child’s name and most pictures will be in a group setting. They
will help future prospective visitors, both parents and children, understand
what to expect on a tour. A waiver form will be sent to you before
your visit and a copy signed by all parents or guardians must accompany
your group.
Waiver Form
For more information, or to arrange a tour of the museum please contact Kyhl Austin (
kaaustin@hawaii.edu
) or Spencer Pote (
slpote@hawaii.edu
).
Insect Museum Events
Insect Art Show
Insect Museum Patagonia Event
Darwin Day Event
Insect Museum Sorting Event (© Conrad .P.D.T. Gillett)
Past Insect Museum Tours
Community Outreach: Kindergarten Trip to Museum
×
×
Darwin Day Through the Years
Darwin Day 2026 Event
Darwin Day 2019 Event
(© Jared Bernard)
Darwin Day 2018 Event
(© Jared Bernard)
Related Links
General Links
Termite Project
Fruit Fly Control
Hawaiian Entomological Society
Insects of Hawaii
Kamehameha Butterfly Project
SCAN Database
Insect Systematics and Biodiversity
Insect Museum Links
Digitized Collection
Digizitation Project
All of Hawaii's Butterflies and a Selection of Cool Native Insects
Ants of Hawaii
Creative Hawaiian Species Art
Insect Museum Facebook Page
Loan Policy
Gallery of Insect Specimen Images from Zhongqi Wang
Contact Us
Director
:
Daniel Rubinoff
Affiliated Graduate Students and Post-Docs
:
Bradley Reil
,
Mike San-Jose
,
Camiel Doorenweerd
,
Jared Bernard
,
Sandra Schachat,
Kyhl Austin
,
Spencer Pote
Collections Manager
:
Camiel Doorenweerd
Associate Faculty
:
Mark Wright
,
Ken Kaneshiro
,
Leyla Kaufman
,
Donald Drake
,
Paul Krushelnycky
,
Curtis Daehler
,
Alison Sherwood
,
Gernot Presting
Affiliated Researchers
:
Luc Leblanc
,
Brenden Holland
,
Gordon Bennett
The University of Hawai'i Insect Museum. All rights reserved.
University of Hawaii Insect Museum
Donations
Digitized Collection
Museum Tours
Events
Related Links
Contact Us
Welcome to the University of Hawaii Insect Museum!
Previous
Next
About Us
The University of Hawai'i Insect Museum serves as a center for insect identification and systematics-based research. We have workspace, equipment, and resources for detailed taxonomic analysis, and researchers from many different laboratories are able to work and interact under its auspices. Our close association with the extensive collections and staff of the Bishop Museum greatly enhances this interactive museum community.
The University of Hawaii Insect Museum is currently in the midst of digitizing the entire collection, which will result in a fully searchable database that includes images and can generate interactive maps. Some records can already be accessed at the Southwest Collections of Arthropods Network portal and at InvertNet. For an older database that may still be useful, search our Insect Holdings Database.
Areas of Strength
Conservation
We house extensive native insect collections, including the Hawaiian
Drosophila
collection, which serve as historical records. Older collection records help establish patterns of decline and disappearance for different insect species, and may help to identify those factors which have led to the declines.
Agriculture
We house synoptic pest collections for most crops of agricultural importance including historical collections indicating the presence, absence and patterns of invasions for newly introduced insects. This part of the collection is invaluable for tracking the spread of new invasive insects and the effectiveness of control efforts for current and historical invasions.
Donations
Support for the museum helps to preserve the collection, fund events, and support field work and research experience for students from high school to the PhD level. Please consider making a donation.
Donate
We are grateful for any donations made through the UH Foundation at this link. If you would like to be recognized for your donation, please email us at rubinoff@hawaii.edu, kaaustin@hawaii.edu, or slpote@hawaii.edu to let us know about your contribution, as the Foundation will not provide us with contact information for donors.
Digitized Collection
Digitized collection
Digitization in the world of natural history collections means making the information on the specimens, such as photos and the identification and collecting information, available
digitally and online. During a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project that ran up to 2017, about 50% of the UHIM holdings were digitized. These records were uploaded to the Southwest
Collections of Arthropod Network (SCAN), which added them to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). SCAN has been discontinued, but the 129,205 digitized UHIM specimens from this
period remain available and searchable on GBIF:
https://doi.org/10.15468/twdp03
. However, hundreds of thousands of specimens have been added to the UHIM collections since 2017 and await further
funding to be digitized. Feel free to contact us if you would like to inquire about our holdings of a specific group of interest.
Primary types
The UHIM holds over 100 primary type specimens (this includes holotypes, lectotypes, syntypes, isosyntypes, neotypes, and isotypes). These are unique "name bearing specimens" that
connect a Latin name to a species. Whenever new species are discovered, they need to be compared with the primary types of other species to ensure that they are truly new. The UHIM is one of two
insect collections in the State of Hawaii that holds primary types; the other being the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (BPBM). Following the recommendations of the International Commission of
Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), all type specimens deposited in the UHIM are included in the Official Register of Zoological Nomenclature (ZooBank). This ensures the names are indexed in all
major international databases, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Catalogue of Life. View the UHIM primary type catalogue online here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/3/d/e/2PACX-1vRWOYYRYQsD6c3cPYIhg_2ZzYmoQv98Kr9B4OyoMgwIUgJeVn-hai6G3tE9cphx58uLHYYNRPyCIDP4/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true
Insect Museum Tours
Thank you for your interest in visiting the UH Insect Museum!
The main mission of the museum is to provide an important research resource for scientists working on Hawaiian Insects in Agricultural and Urban settings as well to promote the Conservation of
Native Insect communities.
Occasionally, as time permits, some
of our staff may volunteer to offer short tours of the museum
to small and well-supervised school groups of no more than 20
children at a time. Because this is an active research
museum, the activities and information we can offer are usually
most appropriate for well-behaved children in and above the 2nd
grade (especially Middle and High school students). There
are also safety concerns which require a high ratio of adults to children,
to make sure the visit is safe, enjoyable and educational. Unfortunately,
we cannot accommodate drop ins or tours for fewer than five individuals!
Because the Museum staff consists of researchers, rather than educators,
tours are given on a volunteer basis. We receive no funding to
conduct these tours.
We are therefore only able to offer approximately two tours per school
semester on a first-come basis, pending availability of the museum
staff for specific dates.
What we Offer...
The University of Hawaii Insect Museum is a research museum with about
quarter of a million insect specimens. We can introduce students to
some of the incredible biodiversity that insects represent. While we
do not offer specific lesson plans, or activities for all age groups,
certain researchers may provide entertaining explanations of their
research, and occasionally, live insect demonstrations (also including
such non-insect arthropods as spiders and centipedes when available). Depending
on age of participants, tours usually last about 30-45 minutes.
Legal Notice
Because the Museum is the site of active scientific research, there are many
potentially fragile items in the Museum, including the insect specimens
themselves. For this safety reason we request a chaperone to
child ratio of at least 1 parent to 5 children, and that parents actively
assist us in keeping the children safe and focused.
We ask that all parents sign a photograph permission waiver form.
This allows the UH Insect Museum to use pictures taken during your
tour for outreach that will benefit visitors to our website. We will
not use a child’s name and most pictures will be in a group setting. They
will help future prospective visitors, both parents and children, understand
what to expect on a tour. A waiver form will be sent to you before
your visit and a copy signed by all parents or guardians must accompany
your group.
Waiver Form
For more information, or to arrange a tour of the museum please contact Kyhl Austin (
kaaustin@hawaii.edu
) or Spencer Pote (
slpote@hawaii.edu
).
Insect Museum Events
Insect Art Show
Insect Museum Patagonia Event
Darwin Day Event
Insect Museum Sorting Event (© Conrad .P.D.T. Gillett)
Past Insect Museum Tours
Community Outreach: Kindergarten Trip to Museum
×
×
Darwin Day Through the Years
Darwin Day 2026 Event
Darwin Day 2019 Event
(© Jared Bernard)
Darwin Day 2018 Event
(© Jared Bernard)
Related Links
General Links
Termite Project
Fruit Fly Control
Hawaiian Entomological Society
Insects of Hawaii
Kamehameha Butterfly Project
SCAN Database
Insect Systematics and Biodiversity
Insect Museum Links
Digitized Collection
Digizitation Project
All of Hawaii's Butterflies and a Selection of Cool Native Insects
Ants of Hawaii
Creative Hawaiian Species Art
Insect Museum Facebook Page
Loan Policy
Gallery of Insect Specimen Images from Zhongqi Wang
Contact Us
Director
:
Daniel Rubinoff
Affiliated Graduate Students and Post-Docs
:
Bradley Reil
,
Mike San-Jose
,
Camiel Doorenweerd
,
Jared Bernard
,
Sandra Schachat,
Kyhl Austin
,
Spencer Pote
Collections Manager
:
Camiel Doorenweerd
Associate Faculty
:
Mark Wright
,
Ken Kaneshiro
,
Leyla Kaufman
,
Donald Drake
,
Paul Krushelnycky
,
Curtis Daehler
,
Alison Sherwood
,
Gernot Presting
Affiliated Researchers
:
Luc Leblanc
,
Brenden Holland
,
Gordon Bennett
The University of Hawai'i Insect Museum. All rights reserved.