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Purdue Entomological Research Collection

@purdueentcoll.bsky.social

The Purdue Entomological Research Collection is the largest collection of insects in Indiana—over 1.3 million specimens (& counting)! #PERCBugs Managed by @ageofarthropods.bsky.social

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Purdue Entomological Research Collection @purdueentcoll.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Natural history collections, like the PERC, are the closest thing we have to a time machine! purdueag.exposure.co/perc

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Purdue University’s ‘Time Machine’ - Purdue University College of Agriculture

Smith Hall, home of Purdue’s Entomology department, is a small brick building, over a century old, tucked behind much younger trees. But inside a hidden, world-renowned gem-a time machine of sorts, an...

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Reposted by Purdue Entomological Research Collection

Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Although preserved specimens, the contents of this box, including several Callophrys, was no less stunning—part of a donation received by @purdueentcoll.bsky.social this year

A box containing columns of pinned, spread hairstreak butterflies in a range of colors including brown, yellow, green, and purple.

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Purdue Entomological Research Collection @purdueentcoll.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Troxler’s collection of an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 specimens, many from southern Indiana & northern Kentucky, was donated to Purdue in 1944, forty years after his death, by two of his grandchildren (excerpt from the Journal & Courier)

A newspaper clipping titled: "Huge Collection Of Butterflies" and reading: "A collection of butterflies, moths and beetles, ranging from the exotic to the ordinary, and including between 6,000 and 7,000 specimens, has just been donated to Purdue university by Charles Troxler, of Louisville, Ky.
The collection was made between 1875 and 1900 by Constantine Troxler, father of Charles. It is now the property of Purdue through the efforts of two of the former's grandchildren, Capt. Dorothy Stratton of the Spars, dean of women, on leave of absence from Purdue, and C. Gordon Troxler, Purdue graduate in mechanical engineering.
Most of the collection, which fills 54 glass topped drawers, was made by Troxler himself in southern Indiana and Kentucky. These native species will be used for purposes of study. The more exotic specimens, which include some rare and beautiful butterflies, will be put on exhibition."

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Purdue Entomological Research Collection @purdueentcoll.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

From our collection—a Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea) collected 124 years ago by Constantine Troxler, a “Veteran Shoe Dealer And An Entomologist of Reputation—A Native of Germany” (from an obituary in The Courier Journal 1904) #PERCBugs #Lepidoptera

A dorsal and ventral view of a preserved butterfly with white and orange-tipped wings and its label

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