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Mariella Herberstein is Professor of Systematic Zoology at the University of Hamburg and Head of the Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology (ztm), as well as Deputy Director General of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) in Hamburg.
Her research focuses on all aspects of spider behavior (and occasionally that of insects), including mating behavior, foraging, and the use of color and shape for camouflage, aggressive mimicry, and communication.
Mariella Herberstein views research as a creative process that raises new questions and develops unconventional methods. Her enthusiasm for spiders began during her undergraduate studies and grew into a passion. Under her leadership, the Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology will be more closely integrated to bring together research collections and digital data. In this way, she aims to forge closer ties between museums, science, and practical applications, and to make knowledge about biodiversity accessible to conservation efforts and the general public.
At the Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology (ztm), everything revolves around the diversity of life on Earth—from the tiniest insects to majestic vertebrates. Our researchers seek to understand which species inhabit a given region, how they are related to one another, and what physical adaptations enable them to survive.
The work at the ztm represents basic research at its best: Only by discovering, describing, and correctly classifying species can we understand the evolution of life and recognize the complex interrelationships within our ecosystems. This knowledge is the indispensable foundation for effectively protecting biodiversity and detecting changes in habitats at an early stage.
The Centre’s extensive scientific collections—a true “library of life”—form the heart of this research. They are continuously expanded, digitized, and made accessible worldwide so that knowledge about biological diversity benefits not only researchers but also schoolchildren, college students, and the interested public.
With every new species, every analysis, and every digital processing effort, the Centre’s staff lays the groundwork for understanding and preserving our planet’s biological diversity and setting the course for the future of our ecosystems.
Projects
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Cooperation and deception in subsocial spiders
Management: Prof. Dr. Mariella Herberstein
Publications
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2026/05
Crab spider vision improves their prey capture despite low visual system investment
Royal Society Open Science, 5, 13
2026/04
Are Toxic Butterflies More Easily Detected by Human ‘Predators’?
Ecology and Evolution, 4, 16
2026/03
Seasonal climatic variability shapes immune responses and infection risks in the common bluetail damselfly
Oecologia, 4, 208
2026/01
OzButterflies – a high quality open database of multispectral images and spectra of tropical to temperate Australian butterflies
Database, 2026
2025/12
Predictors of Wing Attacks by Birds Across Australian Butterflies
Ecology and Evolution, 12, 15
2025/11
Patterns of water mite and gregarine parasitism in Ischnura heterosticta (Odonata: Zygoptera) damselfly populations and their impact on body condition
Austral Entomology, 4, 64
2025/10
Complementary approaches to measure predation pressure on butterfly populations in Australia
Royal Society Open Science, 10, 12
2025/09
A parasitic or mutualistic conundrum: can symbiotic protists increase thermal tolerance in a semi-aquatic insect?
Royal Society Open Science, 9, 12
2025/08
Volumetric Comparison of Overall Brain and Neuropil Size Between Social and Non‐social Spiders: Exploring the Social Brain Hypothesis
Integrative Zoology
2025/07
Seasonal plasticity of thermal tolerance indicates resilience to future climate in Australian damselflies
Oecologia, 7, 207
2025/05
Behavior across time and space – how large scale “trait-based” approaches can shape behavioral ecology
Behavioral ecology, 4, 36
2025/05
Batesian Mimicry Converges Towards Inaccuracy in Myrmecomorphic Spiders
Systematic Biology
2025/04
Sexual differences in defensive strategies: investigating chemical defences and visual signals in a wasp moth Amata nigriceps
Royal Society Open Science, 4, 12
2025/03
Latitudinal gradient of thermal safety margin in an Australian damselfly: implications for population vulnerability
Royal Society Open Science, 3, 12
2025/02
Sperm Transfer Under Behavioral and Morphological Constraints in the Orb‐Web Spider Genus Argiope
Integrative Zoology
2025/01
Comparing microCT Staining and Scanning Methodology for Brain Studies in Various Sizes of Spiders
The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 1, 533
2024/11
Small Brains: Body Shape Constrains Tissue Allocation to the Central Nervous System in Ant‐Mimicking Spiders
The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 11, 532
2024/10
Asymmetric arms races between predators and prey: a tug of war between the life–dinner principle and the rare-enemy principle
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2032, 291
2024/07
Current evidence of climate‐driven colour change in insects and its impact on sexual signals
Ecology and Evolution, 7, 14
2024/07
How vulnerable are populations of semi-aquatic insects (Odonata) to global temperature increases?
ESS Open Archive eprints, 849
2024/04
Amazons Are Back: Absence of Males in a Praying Mantis from Uruguayan Savannas
Neotropical Entomology, 2, 53
2024/02
Morphological ant mimics: constrained to imperfection?
Biology letters, 2, 20
2024/02
Cooler and drier conditions increase parasitism in a subtropical damselfly population
Ecology and Evolution, 2, 14
2024/01
Dense Sampling Phylogenomics Reveals Highly Dynamic Evolution of Batesian Mimicry Accuracy in Two Clades of Myrmecomorphic Spiders
2024/01
Predator selection on multicomponent warning signals in an aposematic moth
Behavioral ecology, 1, 35
2023/11
Golden mimics use multiple defenses to counter generalist and specialist predators
Behavioral ecology, 6, 34
2023/11
Intraspecific body size variation and allometry of genitalia in the orb-web spider—Argiope lobata
PeerJ, 11
2023/10
A state with increased arousal threshold in Araneus diadematus (Araneidae) measured in the wild: new evidence for sleep in spiders
bioRxiv
2023/10
Amata variation analysis for Eco-geographic hypotheses do not explain variation in warning signals in diurnal Amata nigriceps wasp moths
2023/04
Assassin bugs enhance prey capture with a sticky resin
Biology letters, 4, 19
2023/01
Male cooperation improves their own and kin-group productivity in a group-foraging spider
Scientific reports, 1, 13
2022/11
Stabilized morphological evolution of spiders despite mosaic changes in foraging ecology
Systematic Biology, 6, 71
2022/10
Fast acrobatic maneuvers enable arboreal spiders to hunt dangerous prey
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 40, 119
2022/08
Aggressive behaviour in the skyhoppers of the Australian Alps
Evolutionary Ecology, 4, 36
2022/08
Parasite‐mediated sexual selection in a damselfly
Ethology, 8, 128
2022/07
Additive genetic variation, but not temperature, influences warning signal expression in Amata nigriceps moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiinae)
Ecology and Evolution, 7, 12
2022/07
Sexual and developmental variations of ecto-parasitism in damselflies
PloS one, 7, 17
2022/06
AnimalTraits-a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size
Scientific data, 1, 9
2022/03
Novel decorating behaviour of silk retreats in a challenging habitat
PeerJ, 10
2022/03
Limitations of sperm transfer in the complex reproductive system of spiders
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 3, 135
2022/03
The effect of predator population dynamics on Batesian mimicry complexes
The American Naturalist, 3, 199
2022/01
Male courtship reduces the risk of female aggression in web-building spiders but varies in structure
Behavioral ecology, 1, 33
2021/10
Evolution of silk anchor structure as the joint effect of spinning behavior and spinneret morphology
Integrative and Comparative Biology, 4, 61
2021/08
Measuring mimicry: methods for quantifying visual similarity
Animal behaviour, 178
2020/01
International scientists formulate a roadmap for insect conservation and recovery
Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2, 4