Plants & insects in the National Archives

The United States National Archives contains a wealth of information in multiple formats. Search the Archival Research Catalog for topics of interest, or search by departments such as:

• Records of the U.S. Food Administration, 1917 - 1920


• Records of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, 1863 - 1956


• Records of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1839 - 1981


• Records of the Extension Service, 1888 - 1995


• Records of International Conferences, Commissions, and Expositions, 1825 - 1972


• Records of the Office of Government Reports, 1932 - 1947


• Records of the Bureau of Land Management, 1685 - 2006


• Records of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, 1879 - 1972


• Records of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1839 - 2002


• Records of the Work Projects Administration, 1922 - 1944


• Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2005


• Records of the Forest Service, 1870 - 2000


• Records of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1875 - 1977


• Records of the Bureau of Reclamation, 1889 - 2008


• Records of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, 1909 - 1992


• Records of the Environmental Protection Agency, 1944 - 2000


• General Records of the Department of Energy, 1915 - 2003


• Audiovisual Collection, 1957 - 2006


• Records of U.S. Foreign Assistance Agencies, 1942 - 1961


• Records of the Cooperative State Research Service, 1888 - 1989


• Records of the Office of Education, 1870 - 1979


• Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, 1826 - 1981


• Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 1876 - 1959


• Records of the Office of War Information, 1926 - 1951


• Records of the Agency for International Development, 1948 - 2003

Sample record:

"Photographs Relating to Entomological Research, compiled ca. 1898 - ca. 1942"

• Series from Record Group 7: Records of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, 1863-1956


• Contact: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001. PHONE: 301-837-3530; FAX: 301-837-3621; EMAIL: stillpixorder@nara.gov


• Subjects Represented in the Archival Material:


• Agricultural experiment stations
  Agricultural machinery
  Agricultural research
  Crops
  Flowers
  Insects
  Clarksville (Montgomery county, Tennessee)
  Columbus (Franklin county, Ohio)
  Farmville (Chatham county, North Carolina)
  Madison (Dane county, Wisconsin)
  Phoenix (Maricopa county, Arizona)
  Richmond (Virginia)
  Ventura (Ventura county, California)
  Whittier (Los Angeles county, California)


• Contributors to Authorship and/or Production of the Archival Materials:
  Department of Agriculture. Federal Horticultural Board. (08/21/1912 - 07/01/1928), Photographer


• Scope & content: This series consists of images relating to entomological research conducted on plants and insects from 1898 to 1942. These images were collected primarily from offices within the Division of Entomology and later the Bureau of Entomology and Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine. The photographs show experimental farm fields and orchards, agricultural research facilities, pests, insect damage to various crops, including mushrooms and potatoes; and insect eradication efforts. There are also images of agency research activities, including field work and various types of machinery and equipment used in Bureau facilities in Clarksville, Tennessee; Farmville, North Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; Madison, Wisconsin; Phoenix, Arizona; Richmond, Virginia; Hogen, Utah; Whittier, California; and Ventura, California. In addition, there are a few of the photographs obtained from the Federal Horticultural Board that show flower bulbs, insect pests, insect damage to flowers, and pest eradication efforts.