[cite:1572814

The Louisiana State Arthropod Museum (LSAM) contains approximately 1,000,000 specimens of insects and related arthropods. This includes 900,000 pinned, 18,000 fluid-preserved, and 30,000 slide-mounted specimens. Uncurated specimens in various stages of processing vary through time from 50,000 to 100,000. The LSAM is the principal repository for insects and related arthropods in Louisiana. Significant strengths of the collection include Coleoptera (51%) and Hemiptera (28%). Lepidoptera (6%), Diptera (6%) and Hymenoptera (4%), and other orders (5%) make up the balance of the collection. The collection contains 747 paratypes, 1 syntype, 1 allotype, and 1 holotype. Primary types described by LSAM researchers are normally deposited in dedicated type repositories (e.g., the U. S. National Museum, Field Museum of Natural History, etc.). The majority of specimens are from southeastern United States, and most of the remainder are from elsewhere in North America, Mexico, Central and South America. Recent expeditions have added specimens, mainly Coleoptera, from Ecuador and New Zealand.

A searchable database of curated specimens is approximately 20% complete.