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The Smithsonian Department of Entomology is a department in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), located in Washington, D.C. The department houses the U.S. National Insect Collection, one of the largest entomological collections in the world, with over 35 million specimens. In addition to staff from the Smithsonian Institution, the department also includes research scientists and technical staff from the USDA Systematic Entomology Lab (SEL) and Department of Defense Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (WRBU).

History
Prior to 1862, the U. S. government’s entomological work for agriculture was handled by the Patent Office. With the establishment of the Department of Agriculture in 1862, the responsibility was transferred to the newly appointed USDA Chief Entomologist, Townsend Glover. Upon his retirement in 1877, he was succeeded by C. V. Riley, who resigned in 1879 after a personal disagreement and was replaced with J. H. Comstock. Riley was reinstated as USDA Chief Entomologist in 1881, and the same year, appointed Honorary Curator of the newly created department of entomology at the United States National Museum (USNM; now known as the National Museum of Natural History). Although the USNM had been established in 1842, insufficient funding in the 1860’s led to the Smithsonian’s insect collection being distributed to collaborating scientists, with the understanding that the material could be reclaimed at any time. In the 1870’s, the USDA became the repository for the Smithsonian insect collection, which was added to the USDA collection. Upon Riley’s appointment as Honorary Curator, the USDA insect collection was officially transferred to the USNM. The first salaried Smithsonian entomologist was the lepidopterist John B. Smith, who served as assistant curator from 1885 to April 1889. With the donation of Riley’s personal collection (by his account, approximately 150,000 specimens representing 20,000 species) in 1886, the USNM insect collection achieved status as a major entomological depository. Riley was succeeded as USDA Chief Entomologist and Honorary Curator by L. O. Howard, who served until 1927. In 1925, taxonomic work was established as a separate division of the department, and underwent a series of names and reorganizations before being established as the Systematic Entomology Laboratory in 1967. In 1964, the Department of Defense joined as an affiliated agency because of the impact of mosquito-borne disease on national defense and public health.

Collections
The U. S. National Insect Collection is the second largest insect collection in the world, with approximately 35 million specimens representing over 300,000 species. The collection includes over 100,000 holotypes and many additional paratypes and secondary types. The size and quality of the Nearctic and Neotropical collections are unparalleled, but there are specimens from all over the world, with especially strong representation from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. The specimens represent approximately 60% of the known insect families, with especially strong collections of butterflies and moths, flies, mosquitoes, beetles, and wasps. The majority of the collection is stored dry in drawers, but there are also specimens in alcohol, on slides, and in envelopes. They are housed at three major locations: the National Museum of Natural History in downtown Washington, D. C., the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, MD, and the Museum Support Center (MSC) in Suitland, MD. In order to enhance research and study, the collections are loaned to scientists and students from around the world, and the department hosts many visiting scientists each year who come to study the collections on-site. The department also houses the Entomology Illustration Archive, a collection of approximately 6000 illustrations created to support the department's research and publications.

Staff
As of 2013, the combined Department of Entomology (including Smithsonian Institution, USDA SEL, and WRBU) employs about 80 permanent, full-time staff and about 30 resident research associates, postdoctoral and predoctoral fellows, students, and volunteers. The Smithsonian Institution employs six research entomologists, a collections manager, a collections information manager, five pre- and post-doctoral fellows, four emeritus researchers, and sixteen technical staff members, in addition to administrative staff, all of whom work primarily at the NMNH. The USDA SEL employs 40 staff members located at both the NMNH and the BARC in Beltsville, MD. The WRBU employs six staff and a research associate and is primarily based at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD.

Outreach and Education
In order to enhance public interest and knowledge of entomology, the Department of Entomology provides support and collaboration for the "Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution" exhibit, Butterfly Habitat Garden, and the O. Orkin Insect Zoo, all located in or around the National Museum of Natural History.