British and Irish butterflies and moths: The Cockayne collection

The Museum's British and Irish Lepidoptera collection is the most important in existence, containing a wealth of material of both scientific and historic importance.

The collection, consisting of half a million specimens, was formed in 1970 by the amalgamation of the Rothschild-Cockayne-Kettlewell collection with the many other important British and Irish Lepidoptera collections already at the Museum. The whole collection is known as the Cockayne collection.

Taxon search

Search the database for scientific or common names. Taxon name can be Suborder, Family, Subfamily, Genus or Species.
Specimen search

Find a specimen from a particular country, county or locality, or search for a particular collector.
Typical British moths

Search for typical British moths in the Cockayne collection.
Typical British butterflies

Search for thumbnail images of typical British and Irish butterfly specimens.
Notes on the database

Information on searching the Cockayne collection database and understanding the results.
About the Cockayne collection

More information on the collection, the trustees and the Cockayne Committee.
The Cockayne Trust

Founded in 1951, this fund was set up for the promotion and study of the science of entomology by making improvements to and by furnishing information about the Rothschild-Cockayne-Kettlewell Collection.
The Cockayne Fellowship

The Cockayne Research Fellowship is a charity linked to and supported by The Cockayne Trust, to stimulate new work on Lepidoptera.
The Rothschild Cockayne Kettlewell Collection

Popularly known as the 'RCK', this superb collection was formed in 1947 by the amalgamation of the Rothschild collection with that of Cockayne and Kettlewell.