The Cornell University Insect Collection contains the important Plecoptera collections of Peter W. Claassen and James G. Needham. This page provides access to a database of the slide mounted specimens. Both adult and immature specimens were prepared and include mounts of whole specimens, terminalia and gonads, antennae, cerci, mouth parts, legs, and disarticulated body sclerites. The collection is comprised primarily of North American species, with a minor component of South American, Asian (primarily Himalayan), and Palearctic specimens.
The database contains the following information: family, genus, species, author, locality, date of collection, collector, number of slides, parts mounted on slide, and remarks. The collection is arranged phylogenetically by family and within family alphabetically by genus. The arrangement of genera into families has undergone extensive revision since the time of Claassen and Needham, especially the families Perlidae, Chloroperlidae, and Perlodidae. All specimens are cross referenced in the database by the original generic and species name assigned by Needham and Claassen, and all known synonymies using Joel Hallan's Plecoptera list. The specimens are arranged in the collection by the most recent name.
The easiest way to search for specific species is by species-name. Please be aware that misspellings might occur because the handwritten labels are sometimes difficult to interpret and some names could not be found anywhere in the literature. An attempt was made to cross reference each species for all synonymies. The notes field provides a complete list of the synonymies.
We use an open keyword search to look for terms in any one of the following fields: family, genus, and species. The best search strategy would be to have any of the following information before hand:
The database is also browsable, so don't worry if you're not sure what exactly you're looking for. If you are looking for type specimens of species described by J.G. Needham or P. W. Claassen then please check the type database as these are not listed in the general Ephemeroptera database.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you are interested in borrowing slides. Just contact the curator James Liebherr (jkl5@cornell.edu) or the collections manager Rick Hoebeke (erh2@cornell.edu).