George Carter Bignell entomology and herbarium collection

Bignell, the 'great entomologist', lived in Saltash and Stonehouse. During his life he donated several specimens to the museum, including some millipedes, reptiles preserved in spirit from West Africa, land and freshwater shells and a 'few foreign insects'.

Bignell sold a large part of his collection in 1908, which includes Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants), Ichneumonidae (parasitic wasps) and pressed sea weeds.

Lepidoptera

Bignell's Lepidoptera collection contains over 9,500 specimens. Included in the collection are complete larval stages of specimens, producing a detailed life cycle of many species. The Lepidoptera collection also contains specimens of parasitic wasps which parasitized the associated moth or butterfly specimens.

Hymenoptera

Bignell's Hymenoptera collection holds over 3,000 specimens, representing the majority of British species of wasps, bees and ants.

Ichneumonidae

Bignell's parasitic wasp collection holds over 3,000 specimens. This important collection contains several type specimens. A type specimen is the most important specimen a museum can hold; designated as the archetype to describe a new species, it always defines that species. A large amount of type specimens from this collection were transferred to the Natural History Museum, London on long term loan in the 1970s.

Pressed seaweed

Bignell also amassed a large collection of pressed marine algae collected in and around Plymouth. They are still in their original bound book which was purchased from auction in 1994. You can view this collection in an online catalogue.

Microscope slides

Plymouth Museum also holds over 300 microscope slides collected and prepared by G C Bignell. The majority of these are the wings of Tipulids (crane-flies), which show small structures in the wing veins used to identify different species. The collection also includes associated glass plate negatives, produced by Bignell.

You can find out more information about George Carter Bignell or return to the natural history collections page for information about the other collections we hold.