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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
colorful insects blue butterflue and beetles against a dark background
Ground Floor | Exhibit

Dazzling Diversity

Open Until December 16, 2025

Explore the illustrated insect world!

Celebrate the vast and varied insect world through the pages of early natural history books from the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. Dazzling Diversity provides a glimpse into the wealth of recorded scientific knowledge in these books, and the continuing relevance of historical science to contemporary biodiversity research. It offers a snapshot of different classes of insects and their habitats, while showcasing the careful artistry of scientific illustration.

a yellow and red insect illustration

LOOK FOR:

several colorful insects against yellow background
Illustrations that depict the different stages in the lifecycles of an insect
colorful shades of blue butterflies against a cream background
The pollinators who help their habitats thrive
illustrations of colorful beetles against a cream paper
The order of insect so numerous they make up around one quarter of all known animal species
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TO DO:

  • Marvel at detailed illustrations that record these insects’ unique traits.
  • Learn about the 36-year-long effort to publish descriptions of all known plants and animals in Mexico and Central America.
  • Read these digitized books and more online on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.

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