MORE than 28 million insects and spiders are on the move from the Natural History Museum while a state-of-the-art storage and display facility is built.

The insects are currently housed in the entomology building, which no longer meets conservation or safety requirements. This is to be demolished and replaced by a £65.9 million extension to the Darwin Centre. It is the largest number of specimens the museum has ever moved.

The new centre will provide a seven-storey environmen- tally controlled “cocoon” for the vulnerable plant and insect collections, many of which will go on show for the first time.

The collection, which is 300 years old, has been amassed by hundreds of scientists including Charles Darwin and Sir Hans Sloane. The insects are held in more than 140,000 drawers in 7,250 cabinets.

The specimens include the barely visible fairy fly Alaptus magnanimus, which has a wingspan of 0.02cm, and one of the largest insects, the giant moth Thysania agrippina from Central America, with a wingspan of more than 30cm.

The collection is to be divided between temporary homes in the museum and a storage facility in South London.

Nigel Fergusson, an entomologist who is co-ordinating the move, said: “It’s a huge project and an incredible responsibility — the specimens are unique and extremely fragile.”

The move is expected to take 18 weeks and the new building is due in 2008.

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