The Alcohol Tubes of Lepidoptera (ATOLep) collection currently contains over 14,000 specimens, representing 107 families, stored in 100% ethanol at -80 degrees C (suitable for both DNA PCR and RT-PCR). See holdings for a list of the >2000 genera on hand (>10% of the world total).

The ATOLep collection represents over 20 years of contributions from dozens of lepidopterists. We now seek to expand the holdings to as many genera as possible of all lepidopteran families and subfamilies. The ATOLep Collection is intended as a permanent world resource for lepidopteran systematics. Now housed at the University of Maryland, it will be moved to the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, at the conclusion of the Leptree project.

More than a dozen research groups around the world are already using the ATOLep collection, and we welcome inquiries from other lepidopterists who would like to do so (contact C. Mitter). Arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis.

We also welcome inquiries from lepidopterists who would like to contribute to the ATOLep collection.

We also urge other researchers to post information on this site about material for sequencing that they have and would be willing to share. Eventually we hope to add the ability to access, from this site, all available data bases of lepidoptera material preserved for sequencing.