Leonard Jenyns was an important naturalist of the 19th century and lived in Cambridgeshire for much of his life, making observations and collecting specimens from the local area. A large amount of the material he collected is now stored here at the Museum and offers a fascinating snapshot of Cambridge 200 years ago.

The goal of the Jenyns’ Beetle Voyage Project is to catalogue, for the first time, part of Jenyns’ extensive insect collection. In doing so we hope to gain information on how habitats and species have changed over the last few hundred years and guide future conservation efforts. We are also working to make this fascinating collection more accessible to a wider audience by creating an online database and interactive beetle collecting game!