Our Insect Collections their finial destination??.

[nomad]

Those that have insect collections will have to make up their minds what to do with them one day. If you have a very valuable insect collection containing many rarities a large museum or institution may take your collection in, but they do not always accept them. Even you are thinking of leaving your collection, which you have spent so much effort on to a local museum then beware. These local museums rarely have the time or money or perhaps the interest to probably look after your collections. So your cherished specimens may end up all dust and pins. I remember recently the member Dunc viewed a important British collection in a local museum that contained many specimens by a famous collector with rare aberrations and extinct species but saw much evidence of Museum Beetle attack. An American collector has told a similar story. The best plan would be to sell them off to those that would look after them, such as other collectors, but of course we do not want to part with what may have taken a life time to achieve. The trouble is once we are dust the problem is out of our hands. So what plans have you for your insect collections?

[africaone]

to be realist
- or your collection have a real scientific value and it is probable that a museum will accept (and sometimes pay for it)
- or your collection don't have a real scientific value (then having no interest for a museum) and then it is better to give or sale it to another collector before you become dust (otherwise your successor will take a decision for you that you probably would not be accepted).
In a word, be proactive !

[Deleted]

My collection will go to my youngest child. The purpose of my collecting is to be able to have a hobby that allows me to spend time outside with my kid. I grew up catching butterflies and now we do it together. I am sure my collection won't contain any priceless rarities but I am sure that one of these days when I check out for good it will contain priceless memories. My hope is when she looks at it that she remembers all of the fun times running around and catching bugs with dad

[leptraps]

When I turned 60, I realized that I was in the twilight of my life. I had originally planned on leaving my collection to the Smithsonian and they agreed to take it. However, when the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity opened its doors, I paid it them a visit along with my wife. What we learned was this institution would not only take my collection, they will use it. My wife and sons agreed with my choice, I changed my Will and contacted the McGuire Center and they acknowledged my decision. They get it all, collection, all 100,000+ specimens, the library, equipment and a freezer full of papered specimens.

However, Leptraps LLC will go to the highest bidder.

I feel comfortable with my decision and I know that my collection, my life's work, will be in good hands.

From dust to dust, ashes to ashes. No one lives forever. Spare your family from the agony of making those choices when you are gone.

[dynastinae]

I have thought about this issue many times, and so far I haven't changed my mind. I will sell my beetles individually before I lose sanity and mobility, say around 65 years old. I have heard many stories of museums not giving dedication to donated specimens, either having a part-time lady spreading them carelessly (breaking appendages), or leaving them to fungi and pests. If I should die suddenly before 65, I have already told my wife to sell them, as many of them will fetch good money. There is no point donating them to institutions who don't care.

[bichos]

I'll just get buried with mine, a death bed of needles and mandibles...

[Deleted]

Mine are in trust for my children, my son, who is gaining in knowledge and market value very quickly will be in charge of them. There are many vultures out there in the entomological world who will round on your loved ones after your demise and offer to take the lot off their hands for a miserable fee, I sort of know the value of my collection in monetary terms and it is substantial, it will have given me a lifetime of pleasure and give my children financial security once I am gone, I won't be donating my rarities to any museum as the ones that I have met with do not have the time or resources to look after it and I have found their attitude deplorable, it seems to me gone are the days when we had knowledgeable, enthusiastic curators to be replaced by younger people with only a general, limited knowledge of the subject and a general apathy towards most things.

Dunc

[bobw]

My Colias and Castniidae collections are promised to the Natural History Museum in London. They no longer take many collections but mine are among the largest private collections of these groups and contain many taxa that are poorly or not at all represented in the NHM collections. Anything else I hope to sell to contribute towards my pension fund.

I would imagine that most people would sell their collections as they get older or leave it to their dependents to sell. If not, a good thing to do is to give it to a young enthusiast (if you can find one) to boost their interest.

Bob

[beetlehorn]

My grandson will turn six this October. He already expressed interest in collecting, and admires my collections as much as a five year old can. I hope he will continue to develop an appreciation not only for insects, but all of nature. It is my hope we can go collecting together as he grows. It is also my hope that he will cherish my collection, because it is my intention for him to own it some day. If not, I will probably sell it off to pay for expenses in my later years, but I will definitely not donate it so that it can become neglected and eaten by dermestids. I have too much time and effort invested for it to go to waste. Tom

[nomad]

Some interesting thoughts here. I am not sure yet where my collection will end up, although no spring chicken, those more valuable rarities might help in my older age. I would like to leave my collection to the Oxford University Museum , as they have been so kind in allowing easy access. Much of the rare material I process, they do not have. Nothing is fail safe, even in the larger museums after all the precaution they still get the odd museum beetle outbreak, I myself have even seen evidence of this, where very historical specimens have met its end by those horrors of all insect collectors. Passing on your collections on to your younger generation sounds very nice, but the smaller members of our family, influenced by us, may go through major changes in their teens and believe that our dads and grandparents hobby is not for them. Selling the collection to another collector will not guarantee their safely. No one unfortunately can live forever.

Peter.

[dynastinae]

In my opinion, if a collection is looked at on a fairly regular basis (by the curator or visitors), pest infestation doesn't get out of hand (something can be done immediately if evidence of pest is found in the early stages). If they are neglected for too long, only powder remains. And that could be a problem in some museums, where they just lock up collections (no access to visitors).
You are right. What happens to our collections once they leave our hands is out of our control; they may eventually end up destroyed anyway, even in the hands of those who paid for them. I think the practical ways is, if they are going to be gone anyway in the long run, might as well get some monetary values for them by the time we retire, which could be used in various ways.

[mygos]

My very large collection of Cymothoe joined the largest african butterflies collection of A.B.R.I. (African Butterflies Research Institute) from Steve COLLINS in Nairobi Kenya in 2005. I always wanted my collection to end there, and I did before I will become dust ...
Now I have to think about my very large library and haven't decided yet !

A+, Michel

[wollastoni]

I guess my Delias collection will be taken by a National museum, most of them are rather poor in Delias as many species has been discovered in the end of XXth century.

The rest will be sold at Drouot or Ebay one day (when I will have time).

[lordpandarus]

I only made it for my enjoyment. I'm not even sure anyone but me could even handle the type of frames I used without breaking everything

[ozzicada]

My collection is still ongoing at 65! However, it was started in 1991 as a hobby with my kids and their introduction to the bush and nature and the natural order of life and death. They also had keener hearing than I! We are publishing the important undescribed species to give the kids a competitive head start in the research area: and holotypes have to be stored in museums on submission of papers. The fate of the rest of the collection will be decided by them but will probably end up in the Australian Museum (where we spend loads of time now with photography)