Museum of Zoology

Lepidoptera

Butterflies and Moths

In the entire realm of organisms the butterflies and moths are the largest community of descent of herbivorous species. So far about 160,000 species have been described, but it is estimated that 500,000 butterfly and moth species live on Earth. About 1,000 new species are described each year. The large and ever-increasing number of known species is the reason why there is no comprehensive compendium on the butterflies and moths of the world. The description of the species (taxonomy) and the analysis of their relationships (phylogeny) are therefore closely linked to the work with scientific collections. In the following pages an overview of the butterfly and moth collection of the Museum of Zoology Dresden and current research is given here. This focuses firstly on the global exploration of Snout moths (Pyraloidea) and insect species occurring in Central Europe.

Our research contributes to the Research Field Biodiversity and Systematics.

Similar topics

Gary Bendig

Lepidoptera Research

Since the introduction of the binary nomenclature in zoology in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, about 15,500 species of Pyraloidea have been described. Still up to the middle of the 20th Century, the actual biodiversity has been largely underestimated.

Evie S.

Lepidoptera Collection

Butterflies are not only very rich in species, but also very aesthetic insects. Since the mid-19th Century, significant progress has been made in the management of insects and their protection against mold, pests and sunlight. Dresden has developed in that time a true metropolis of Lepidopterology.

Jubal Kenneth Bernal

Publications

Freestock

Lepidoptera Team

Malacology

Beside the molluscs the section in Dresden is in charge of the collections Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Crustacea, Echinodermata, and Tunicata.

Adrian Giacomelli

Mammalogy

Our research is mainly embedded in the research area Biodiversity and Systematics. Other research includes morphological and ecological aspects of Rodents and Carnivora (eg.. Castor fiber, Lutra lutra, Felis silvestris).

Adrian Giacomelli

Molecular Laboratory

The use of molecular biological methods in state of the art evolutionary research has two major advantages: the methodology can be implemented universally in all organisms and enables insight along a long time interval of many million years.

Bälge südostasiatischer Pittas (Pittidae)

Heidi & Hans Jürgen Koch

Ornithology

The Dresden collection of birds houses approximately 91.000 objects including whole skins, mounted specimens, skeletons, eggs, nests and feather mounts.

SGN

Museum of Zoology

The Museum of Zoology in Dresden, with more than 6 million specimens, is one of the approximately 10 large zoological collections of Germany. The Dresden collections originate from all over the globe, and their international significance is due not least to the abundance of name-bearing types represented (holotypes, lectotypes and syntypes of some 15,000 species and subspecies; if paratypes and paralectotypes are considered, about 53,000 type specimens).

A. B. Meyer-Bau, Außenansicht, Foto F. Höhler, 2003

Senckenberg Natural History Collections

Since January 1, 2009 the group formerly known as the State Natural History Collections of Dresden has been a member of the Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research, together with the Zoology Museum and the Museum for Mineralogy and Geology. The roots of the Dresden Natural History Collections extend back into the 16th century.