Insects are everywhere

They pollinate crops, break down organic matter, regulate pest populations, and serve as indicators of ecosystem health.

Slowing down to look at them closely is one of the simplest ways to see how much of the living world goes unnoticed.

The Digital Insect Collection

This collection began as a project for ENTO 818 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, but it draws on years of fieldwork and observation across multiple continents. Most specimens were photographed in and around Antigua Guatemala, where tropical diversity about a dozen insect orders within walking distance on any given afternoon. Others come from agricultural landscapes in Nebraska, Indiana, and the broader Midwest.

Each entry includes a photograph, collection data, taxonomic identification to Order and Family, the morphological characters used for identification, and notes on how the specimen would be preserved in a physical collection.

A special thanks to FLAAR Mesoamerica and the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala for their collaboration on this project.

Browse by Order using the image blocks below

The Orders