Les collections particulières d’hétéroptères (Insecta, Hemiptera) conservées au Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris)

One of the peculiarities of the insect collections of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris is to have preserved, in many orders, quantity of private collections, also called “nominal collections”, next to the general collection. Over the course of two centuries (19th and 20th) and right up today, these collections, acquired by donation, bequest or purchase, have enriched the national collections, and many have remained in their original state. At the request of several French and foreign colleagues, and in response to frequently-asked questions, we present here an annotated inventory of the 32 private collections of Heteroptera currently separated from the general collection. For each of them, we give biographical details about the author, as well as the following information: state of the collection, presence of typical material, scientific interest and, where applicable, historical interest. Details are also given on the specimens from three dismantled old collections (Bosc d’Antic, Fieber and Lethierry), now scattered throughout in the general collection, or in other private collections. In addition, information is provided on the old general collection of Heteroptera collection created at MNHN during the 19th century and kept separately from the current general collection under the name of “Collection Amyot & Serville”. This inventory highlights an all-too-often forgotten fact: having a collection in its original state is always a rich source of information, and dismantling it is an irretrievable loss of information.