Charles Darwin (1809–82) was an enthusiastic beetle collector and, with his friend and cousin William Darwin Fox, rarely attended lectures at Cambridge, preferring to go ‘beetling’ instead.  

The box contains some of the many beetles that Darwin collected during his time in the city. Some of the species that he collected can still be found around Cambridge, particularly in local wetland reserves. However, others have become rare or have disappeared. It’s a reminder of the importance of zoology collections in recording what life on our planet is like.