The U. S. National Parasite Collection is maintained by the Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland and completed its first century of service to parasitologists in 1992.

The Collection contains organisms that parasitize man and animals, is one of the world's largest, and is the major specimen repository for North American parasitologists as well as for parasitologists in countries that lack national collections.

Helminths are the largest group in the Collection. Other groups represented include parasitic protozoans, pentastomes, lice, mites, ticks and other miscellaneous parasites. Many of the parasites were collected during the course of survey and eradication programs of the USDA. About one-half of the specimens are stored in small bottles. The others are permanently mounted on glass microscope slides. Click here to learn HOW TO DEPOSIT SPECIMENS IN THE USNPC.

Accessions to the Collection total about 100,000 lots. A lot consists of one to thousands of specimens. The Collection includes about 10,000 type lots containing about 4,000 holotypes. A catalog of types was published in 1978. Most specimen records have been added to a computerized database. On line access is available by clicking here to perform a search. Direct requests for specimens to EHoberg@anri.barc.usda.gov

Services associated with the Collection include a liberal and efficient loan policy for specimens to researchers and an open door policy for visiting scientists. Literature cannot be borrowed but is available to visitors. Click here to learn HOW TO BORROW A SPECIMENS FROM THE USNPC. A microscope will be provided for visiting scientists, but visits must be prearranged. A library associated with the U.S. National Parasite Collection includes literature-searching tools such as the Index-Catalogue of Medical and Veterinary Zoology, Helminthological Abstracts and computerized literature searches. The National Agricultural Library is within a 10-minute drive. Other resources available to scholars are the 25 professional parasitologists of the three animal parasitology research laboratories in Beltsville and the state-of-the-art facilities of those laboratories.

The value of specimens for molecular studies is limited because most are formalinized, and limited numbers of rare specimens cannot be submitted to destructive processes.  A collection of specimens available for molecular studies is being developed.

The U.S. National Parasite Collection constitutes a critical resource for exploring patterns of abundance, distribution, diversity and historical interactions and biogeography of host and parasitic organisms. We predict that in the coming years, the collection will be the focus of intensive research, coinciding with a revitalization of systematics and the recognition of parasitology as a broadly integrative interdisciplinary science.

Homepage last updated March 28, 2000
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