The American Entomological Institute holds the largest collection of ichneumonid holotypes of any organization on Earth, exceeding even the large museums of Western Europe. Currently we have 2,599 holotypes of Ichneumonidae, as well as 1,179 holotypes of other Hymenoptera, and 64 holotypes of Chironomidae (Diptera).

To safeguard the holotypes, it is the preference of the Board that, when practical, high quality photographs should be send in lieu of the actual specimens. Enquiries should be made to The Curator, either by e-mail (aei[at]aei.cfcoxmail.com) or by post.

Approximately 70 percent of the holotypes are included in a searchable database, to which a link is provided below. We also provide a downloadable Excel® file (found here) summarizing the holotypes by author, taxa etc.