A box of beetles collected by Dr David Livingstone 150 years ago have been discovered during a routine museum collection check

© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

Science Uncovered runs September 26 2014, 3pm-10.30pm. Admission free.

© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

In a dream behind-the-scenes discovery, Max Barclay, a beetle curator at the Natural History Museum, chanced upon an “unusual” box filled with 20 pinned beetles, each inscribed with the name Dr Livingstone.Found during a routine check of the incredible London collection, the specimens turned out to be the donations of Edward Young Western, a lawyer and amateur entomologist who is thought to have bought the beetles from a member of David Livingstone’s infamous expedition along the Zambezi River 150 years ago, when he discovered Lake Malawi.“I have worked here for more than 10 years and it was a complete surprise and incredibly exciting to find these well-preserved beetles, brought back from Africa 150 years ago almost to the day,” says Barclay.“These specimens are still valuable to science. Museum researchers use historical specimens to study the effect of changing environments on plants and animals around the world.”Dr Livingstone – described as a “Victorian hero” by the museum – led the expedition between 1858 and 1864. The specimens are the only surviving examples known to have been collected by him in Zambezi, and will go on show to the public in their original box during the annual Science Uncovered evening of exploration at the museum next week.Hitoshi Takano, an entomologist at the museum, has retraced Dr Livingstone’s path into Africa.“The most exciting thing for me is knowing that beetles I collect will be preserved in the collections of the Natural History Museum next to those collected by the great explorers of the past like Dr Livingstone,” he enthuses.“My specimens will remain to be studied by scientists not yet born, maybe to answer questions we have not yet asked.”Science fans will also be able to take part in hundreds of activities and meet leading researchers on the night.“The Natural History Museum holds one of the largest, oldest and most comprehensive collections of its kind, consulted every year by hundreds of scientists from all over the world,” says Barclay.“The beetle collection alone includes almost 10 million specimens, assembled over centuries. To study them all will take a lifetime.”