Tricolored Jewel Beetle, Seram Island.

This specimen was collected by the Victorian naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace in Seram between October 1859 and June 1860. Several years previously Wallace had arrived at a theory of evolution almost identical to that of Charles Darwin, leading to a joint publication presenting their theory for the first time. Darwin carried on his work while Wallace continued his exploration of the Malay Archipelago to collect animals and plants.

This beetle was collected around the same time as the publication of the Origin of Species in November 1859, and is just one of many thousands of Wallace’s specimens in the museum collections.