The following Checklist of Minnesota Insects is the result of going through the bulk of the pinned determined material in the Entomology Collection, University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus in 1985-1986. I recorded all species having specimens with a Minnesota locality label. It is probable that I overlooked some species given the volume of material in the collection. If a species was from a neighboring state or recorded in the literature as occurring near here, it is enclosed in parentheses suggesting that it may eventually be found in Minnesota. If a species is recorded in the literature as being found in Minnesota but no specimen occurs in the MN collection, the species name is followed by an asterisk (*). On later checking NAspecies lists, if the name of the species in the collection is an older synonym, the new name is followed by =old name. If the name is not recognized in the NA checklist, it is followed by a (?).
Only pinned orders were surveyed. Those in alcohol (Collembola...Ephemeroptera, Mallophaga, Anoplura, Siphonaptera, etc ) were not examined. Pinned Lepidoptera were not checked because their large size obscured their labels. In some instances, the list was prepared from documents, and not specimens (eg. Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, Mutillidae...). Sources are noted in the checklist. Orders having the most complete/accurate lists are in Bold Type.
| 1. | COLLEMBOLA | not checked |
| 2. | PROTURA | not checked |
| 3. | ENTOTROPHI | not checked |
| 4. | MICROCORYPHIA | not checked |
| 5. | THYSANURA | not checked |
| 6. | EPHEMEROPTERA | Wisconsin Hilsenhoff list |
| 7. | ODONATA | |
| 8. | PLECOPTERA | MN Harden Mickel list |
| 9. | EMBIOPTERA | not found in MN |
| 10. | PHASMATODEA | . |
| 11. | ORTHOPTERA | . |
| 12. | GRYLLOBLATTODEA | not found in MN |
| 13. | DERMAPTERA | . |
| 14. | DICTYOPTERA | . |
| 15. | ISOPTERA | not found in MN |
| 16. | ZORAPTERA | not found in MN |
| 17. | PSOCOPTERA | not checked |
| 18. | MALLOPHAGA | not checked |
| 19. | ANOPLURA | not checked |
| 20. | HEMIPTERA | . |
| 21. | HOMOPTERA | (aphids/scales not checked) |
| 22. | THYSANOPTERA | not checked |
| 23. | NEUROPTERA | . |
| 24. | COLEOPTERA | . |
| 25. | HYMENOPTERA | . |
| 26. | TRICHOPTERA | MN Holzenthal and Monson list |
| 27. | LEPIDOPTERA | not checked |
| 28. | MECOPTERA | . |
| 29. | DIPTERA | Nematocera not checked; Chironomidae WS Hilsenhoff list |
| 30. | SIPHONAPTERA | not checked |