Sammlung Entomologie Dr. Bernhard Seifert Görlitz
Dr. Bernhard Seifert (Curator of the Entomological Collection Görlitz)

Pterygote Insects

Collection

Entomological Collection

By 14 December 2023 the determined and systematically arranged parts of the collection contained more than 1,036,467 specimens of about 18,500 species (among them 17,500 Palaearctic). These are divided as follows. 

SpecimensSpecies
Ephemeroptera18
Odonata112382
Plecoptera46
Dermaptera43434
Manoptera6817
Blattoptera30225
Isoptera112
Phasmida4028
Saltatoria3921214
Psocoptera34
Phthiraptera9
Thysanoptera12
Heteroptera21284754
Homoptera16438874
Megaloptera532
Raphidioptera21610
Neuroptera106889
Coleoptera209409~8500
Hymenoptera (without Formicidae)536651888
Formicidae (mounted)89411~900
Formicidae (ethanol)524323
Lepidoptera732833307
Trichoptera (mounted)208
Trichoptera (ethanol)16007
Mecoptera2117
Diptera24065467
Siphonaptera215

Type material is present from 255 species, including 134 holo-, lecto- oder neotypes. More detailed:  Formicidae (171, 113), Diptera (19, 11), Cicadina (51, 5), Hymenoptera without Formicidae (5, 1), Coleoptera (3, 1), Sternorrhyncha (5, 2) and Trichoptera (1, 0).

History of the entomological collection

The oldest voucher specimens date to about 1860 and originate from the collections of the then Naturforschende Gesellschaft der Oberlausitz. The Pterygota collection remained rather marginal during the period from 1860 to about 1975. A severe decline in quality and quantity happened in the years between 1921 and 1946: due to financial shortcomings and the only unsalaried leadership of the whole museum, parts of the collections were sold or degenerated.

A significant improvement in state of preservation and systematic order as well as an increase in quantity began with the appointment of Rolf Franke as an Entomological Preparator (1972) and the installation of modern standard cabinets in separate storage rooms (1976). The appointment of a fixed post for a scientist in 1981 formed the fundament for an upswing of research that is focused from this time up to the present on systematic, ecology and evolution of largely Palaearctic ants.

The number of mounted, determined, systematically ordered and catalogued pterygote insects increased from about 130,000 in the year 1981 to about 410,000 in the year 2011 owing to donations, purchases and own collective activities. The ethanol collections of an estimated 500,000 specimens originate mainly from sampling during soil biology projects of the SMNG from the year 1960 up to the present. They are arranged in a very rough systematic order and are not scientifically developed.

Saturniidae
Saturniidae
Sphingidae
Sphingidae
Noctuidae
Noctuidae, including the white witch (Thysania agrippina), the largest butterfly in the world.
Morpho
Nymphalidae of the genus Morpho