Our biological collections help identify plant diseases and insects to support biosecurity, research, and pest management.
Queensland Plant Pathology Herbarium
Established in 1901, the Queensland Plant Pathology Herbarium includes more than 60,000 specimens, representing almost all known Australian plant-pathogenic microfungi.
The collection includes:
- a living and permanently preserved culture collection of microfungi
- a non-living collection of herbarium specimens of obligate plant pathogenic fungi.
Each specimen is recorded in a dedicated database with information about the host plant and pathogen names, location and date of collection. This database helps to build distribution maps, pest lists and disease symptom libraries.
Protecting Queensland plants and industries
The collection plays a vital role in biosecurity, agricultural research, and biodiscovery by:
- accelerating the classification of new and emerging plant pathogens
- verifying plant disease records for trade and market access
- providing taxonomic support for agriculture and biotechnology.
Home to Australia’s largest collection of plant pathogens from tropical and subtropical regions, the herbarium supports Queensland’s agricultural industries and the environment through biodiscovery.
Insect collection
Established in 1894, the Queensland Primary Industries Insect Collection (QDPC) is Australia’s largest dedicated collection of insects important to agriculture and plant biosecurity.
The collection includes:
- pinned collection – about 1.6 million specimens, including the world's largest collection of dacine tephritid fruit flies at over 100,000 specimens
- spirit collection – over 9,000 tubes of soft-bodied insects preserved in alcohol, representing around 1,200 species
- slide collection – over 52,000 microscope slides including more than 22,000 scale insects, 22,000 thrips, 3,800 aphids and 2,900 whiteflies.
These associated collections are housed as part of the pinned collection:
- Alan Fletcher Research Station Biocontrol Collection
- Queensland Forestry Insect Collection
- Cairns Collection
- a significant proportion of the Mareeba ‘Ross Storey’ Collection.
Advancing pest management and research
We use the QDPC to identify insects affecting agriculture and support pest management strategies by:
- providing specimens for research and identification
- lending specimens to taxonomic experts in Australia and overseas
- assisting research into integrated pest management and biological control
- identifying beneficial insects that support sustainable farming.
This collection plays a key role in entomological research and helps protect Queensland’s industries and environment by:
- maintaining the most authoritative record of economically important species in Queensland and the region
- housing voucher specimens of exotic insect pests, including the world’s largest dacine fruit fly collection with over 100,000 specimens
- delivering regional training in diagnostics, taxonomy, plant health, and biosecurity
- developing high-throughput molecular diagnostics for improved, efficient, and accurate identification.
Access our collections
Specimens from the Queensland Plant Pathology Herbarium and the QDPC are available for research and biosecurity purposes.
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Last updated: 29 Jul 2025