DIVISION or INSECTS ALDRICH. 
373 
label with this number, and the word " Type," "Allotype," or " Para- 
type." In the Division of Insects the record of these numbers is in 
the sixth volmne, and includes 22,969 numbers. 
INVENTORY. 
In 1886 Riley estimated the collection which he transferred to the 
Museum at more than 115,000 specimens. In his report for 1894 he 
estimates that the collection contained 45,000 species of insects, repre- 
sented by 610,000 specimens. In 1901 Dyar announced by actual 
count 16,653 species and 129,789 specimens in the Lepidoptera. In 
1905 in a special report Schwarz estimated the Coleoptera at 30,000 
species. There appear to be no other estimates on file until June, 
1919, when an effort was made to get an inventory of all the orders. 
On account of the magnitude of the task and the shortage of workers 
in some orders it was necessarj'^ to make estimates rather than abso- 
lute counts in some cases ; these, however, were made from examina- 
tion and are conservative. In summarizing below the results by 
orders, the items are reduced to two — the number of named species 
and the total number of specimens. Of these the former is by far the 
more significant, as a specimen may be an3'thing from a duplicate 
housefly to a moth which a generous benefactor purchased for $100 
and presented to the Museum. In groups where single specimens are 
likely to have little value the figures have, however, been reduced to 
a very conservative basis — in scale insects, for instance, onl}^ speci- 
mens mounted on microscope slides are included. 
Summary of collection, June, 1910. 
Order. 
Thysanura., 
Odonata — 
Isoptera 
Ephemerida 
Plccoptera.. 
Corrodentia. 
Mecoptera . . 
Trichoptera. 
Neuroptera. 
Mallophaga. 
Dermaptera 
Named 
species. 
» 100 
70-5 
173 
1 12.5 
180 
Total 
speci- 
mens. 
1700 
16,642 
1100,000 
' 1,250 
1,098 
Order. 
Orthoptera . . . 
Hemiptera 
Lepidoptera . . 
Diptera 
Siphonaptcra. 
C.ooptera 
Hymenoptera 
Thysanoptera 
Sirepsiptera.. 
Total... 
Named 
species. 
2,556 
> 3, 876 
30,653 
10,253 
U30 
'32,500 
17,638 
200 
159 
98,925 
Total 
speci- 
mens. 
25,988 
1244,637 
275, 920 
210, 880 
1432 
'738,000 
493, 757 
750 
414 
2, 125, 189 
1 Estimated. 
The collection is unique among those of the great museums in the 
large number of immature stages which it includes ; this is a natural 
result of the immense amount of biological work on insects carried 
12573°— 21 25 
