Entomology is the study of insects, which can informally include minibeasts that aren't scientifically classified as insects. Professional and amateur entomologists sometimes maintain bug collections.
Is there a single word for such a collection – a curated assortment of various species of bugs? Kind of how:
- a beekeeper keeps bees in an apiary
- animals of various sorts are kept in a menagerie or zoo
- taxidermalogical mounts might be presented in a diorama
- a philatelist collects stamps in an album
So, an entomologist keeps bugs in a(n) __________ .
Notes:
- Implying that the insects are living or dead isn't required. (Either implication is fine.)
- Implying professional or amateur interest isn't required. (Either implication is fine.)
- A phrase is fine, as long as it doesn't include the synonyms of "insect/bug/minibeast" or "collection". Because then "bug collection" would do 🙂
Best Answer
An insectarium or insectary is, per Oxford Living Dictionaries,
In practice, web searches suggest that insectarium is preferred for institutions which function as zoos for live insects, whereas insectary refers to the raising of insects, whether for institutional research or to attract beneficial insects to one's garden.
For example, some institutions for public education include The Insectarium, a component of the Space for Life (Espace pour la vie) in Montreal; the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion; the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in New Orleans; and the forthcoming Insectarium of Victoria, about an hour outside Melbourne. Insect zoo is another term for these public-facing collections, like the Smithsonian Institution's O. Orkin Insect Zoo or the Insect Zoo at the Portland Zoo.
On the other hand, facilities where insects are raised primarily for research seem to favor insectary, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, to the entomology or agriculture programs of many U.S. research universities.
Collections primarily of dead insects kept for research or display may simply be referred to as insect collections, like the Iowa State Insect Collection or the Cornell University Insect Collection.
The -arium or -orium suffix, borrowed from Latin, is often used to produce words about a place associated with something, like aquarium or auditorium which may be familiar to you. A xylarium is a wood collection, a formicarium is a pretentious ant farm.