Reference Request
Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Record Unit 418
National Museum of Natural History. Division of Hemiptera
Records, 1963-1984, with related records from 1949
Historical Note
The Division of Hemiptera was created when the Department of Entomology was established in July 1963. The Department was organized by discipline into five divisions: Neuropteroids, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Myriapoda and Arachnida, and Hemiptera.
For administrative purposes, the Division of Hemiptera also processed transactions relating to Hymenoptera, until a separate division could be created. Since Hymenoptera did not separate from Hemiptera until 1984, the title Division of Hemiptera and Hymenoptera was frequently used during the 1960's and 1970's. Curators represented in these records include Richard Charles Froeschner, Karl V. Krombein, Paul D. Hurd, Jr., and Gerald I. Stage.
Froeschner was appointed Associate Curator in 1963, a position he still held as of 1993. Krombein was Chairman of the Department from 1966 to 1970, and a Senior Entomologist from 1971 to 1980, at which time his title was changed to Senior Scientist. Hurd succeeded Krombein as Chairman in 1970, and in 1977 he became a Curator in the Division of Hemiptera and Hymenoptera. Hurd's title was changed to Senior Scientist in 1980, and he remained with the Division until his death in 1982. Stage was an Assistant Curator from 1966 to 1970.
Descriptive Entry
These records consist of incoming and outgoing professional correspondence of the Division of Hemiptera concerning the identification, acquisition, distribution, and loan of specimens from 1963 to 1984. Related correspondence created between 1949 and 1963 by Louise M. Russell, Entomologist at the Insect Identification and Parasite Introduction Branch, United States Department of Agriculture, is also included. Russell gave her correspondence concerning insects of the order Homoptera to Richard Froeschner when he became responsible for that order in the United States National Museum (USNM). These records also include annual reports for the Division of Hemiptera written by Froeschner and administrative memoranda of the Division. A small amount of correspondence created by Froeschner before he came to the USNM is also included.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.
Name
- Russell, Louise M. (Louise May), 1905-
- Froeschner, Richard C.
- Krombein, Karl V.
- Hurd, Paul David, 1921-
- Stage, Gerald Irving, 1935-
- United States. Department of Agriculture. Insect Identification and Parasite Introduction Research Branch
- National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Department of Entomology
Subject
Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 418, National Museum of Natural History. Division of Hemiptera, Records