Research Projects

One of the major projects of the Entomology Department is the study of the evolution of wasteland grasshoppers, mainly with phylogenetic and phylogeographic, but also with morphological and behavioural methods. Our results so far have shown that the evolution of this group is very complex ... [ more ]

The negative effects of Varroa mites on honey bees are well known. However, many wild bees, especially bumblebees, also frequently carry mites. These mites can theoretically also serve as vectors of bee diseases. This is especially important if the individual mite species are not specialised in one bumblebee species ... [ more ]

In collaboration with Jan Habel from TUM (Freising), we are investigating the biogeography of the North African region with a special focus on the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Many Mediterranean species groups are particularly species-rich in North Africa and are thought to have originated in this region ... [ more ]

Population and conservation genetic studies usually involve only single sampling and therefore represent only snapshots of evolution. The analysis of genetic time series allows changes in genetic diversity to be analysed directly. In addition, time series can be used to calculate effective population sizes ... [ more ]

Types are the archetypes of species. They serve as references for taxonomic revisions and redescriptions. However, these special individuals are still mostly not genetically accessible, which means that the ultimate references in barcoding studies are generally lacking. We want to close this gap ... [ more ]

Species, often still completely unknown, are dying out every moment, losing their last refuges in the course of global change. Some of these retreats have existed since the last ice ages as islands in the middle of our landscape, such as the boulder dumps of native low mountain ranges with their unique climate and cave system ... [ more ]

Scientific collections represent an inexhaustible database for numerous scientific and applied questions. In order to make this database available to as many users as possible, data (finding data, taxonomic position, etc.) are digitised ... [ more ]

In the scientific entomological collections of the ZMH, the Trichoptera collection Ulmer occupies a place of special value. A new and further processing of the material includes the designation of lectotypes, new descriptions from previously undetermined material and the optimisation of the collection from a curatorial point of view ... [ more ]

In collaboration with Tehran University, we are studying insect diversity in Iran to draw conclusions about diversity hotspots in the region and make suggestions for protected areas. The data are also used to understand the biogeography of the region. Our studies focus on grasshoppers ... [ more ]