Cornell University’s Pyraloid slide collection comprises the efforts of several researchers spanning over a century on this group of Lepidoptera. There are more than nine hundred slides prepared by several workers, including thesis students and researchers of other institutions, some of whom began their studies at Cornell. Major contributors to the collection include Stanis?aw B?eszy?ski (Crambinae), Hahn Capps (Pyraustinae), E.P. Felt (Crambinae), W.T.M. Forbes (all taxa), Carl Heinrich (Rupela; Phycitinae), A.B. Klots (Crambinae), Albert Miller (Pyraustinae), B.D. Schaber (Dioryctria), and J.C. Shaffer (Phycitinae: Peoriinae).
The collection contains mostly material from the Nearctic Region, but many specimens were collected in South and Central America, the Greater Antilles, and elsewhere. The nomenclature is current, following the publications cited below. The easiest way to search for slides is by entering the current nomenclature and preparator. Subfamiliar and specific names in this database are more stable than generic names. With the help of this database we want to make this valuable collection of Lepidoptera more accessible to workers on the Pyraloidea.
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, please check the types 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).
References for nomenclature:
Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 14 September 2005]
Munroe, E.G. and Klots, A.B. 1983. Pyraloidea. in Hodges, Ronald W. et al. Check List of the Lepidoptera of America North of Mexico. London: E.W. Classey, ltd. and the Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, 1983.
Munroe, E.G., V.O. Becker, J.C. Shaffer, M. Shaffer, and M.A. Solis. 1995. Pyraloidea. in J.B. Heppner (ed.), Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 2. Hyblaeoidea – Pyraloidea - Tortricoidea, 80-105. Gainesville, FL: Assoc. Trop. Lepid.
Neunzig, H.H. 2003. Pyraloidea, Pyralidae (part), Phycitinae, in Dominick, R.B. et al., The Moths of America North of Mexico, fascicles 15.2 through 15.5.