Entomology Collections Manager Christy Bills is happy to show the collection to scheduled visitors. "I love having people see the collection," she says enthusiastically. "We have some really beautiful specimens." Bills has worked on the collection for eight years, and she enjoys her job duties. "My job has a lot of flexibility and variety. Sometimes I help the museum add insects to their displays, like if they want to highlight a certain part of the world or certain types of plants. I answer people's questions about insects, plus I teach fourth-graders how to mount and preserve insects. Right now I'm working on accessioning a 1,200-specimen donation."
University of Utah donated this insect collection to UMNH in the 1970s, about the time when "naturalists" fell out of academic favor. While naturalists study nature as a whole, newer technologies allowed scientists to study fewer things at greater depth. High-tech research soon swallowed most funding, and the insect collection was seldom used. To preserve the collection, it was donated to the UMNH, where it waited many years for renewed appreciation.
No caretaker could be more appreciative than Bills. Her devotion to the collection is obvious, although almost blind. When hearing that many people want only to kill insects, her face falls in dismay. "Oh, no! How can they think that? Insects are so important, and interesting!" she exclaims.
Bills pulls out drawer after drawer, showing the impressive array of insects arranged by scientific family. Her favorites include blue beetles, small-waisted wasps and giant ichneumon wasps that can lay eggs into tree borer larvae deep inside a tree trunk.
About 70 percent of the collection comprises species native to Utah. Some are so tiny they are mounted on a tiny pin that is stuck into a piece of cork that is pinned down onto the underlying board. The California Prionus beetle is Utah's largest beetle. The world's smallest butterfly, the Pygmy Blue, also lives here in Utah.
Many Utahns fail to appreciate our state's amazing species diversity. Although the exact number of species in Utah is unknown, highly varied habitats and plant materials foster an accordingly large insect diversity. "I don't think anyone knows exactly how many species of insects Utah has, but there are over one million in the world," Bills says.
The insect collection continues to grow, thanks to Bills and some dedicated volunteers. If you have a group who would like to tour the collection, Bills can schedule your visit. Contact her at cbills@umnh.utah.edu.
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* MAGGIE WOLF is an assistant professor for Utah State University Extension in Salt Lake County. E-mail her at maggiew@ext.usu.edu.
