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.