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Butterflies
The section's research work is collection-related and covers the areas of taxonomy, systematics, zoogeography and phylogeny. In addition to the curator herself, scientists from all over the world use the existing collections for their own research. They either borrow material or work directly on the collection during shorter or longer research visits.
In addition to the large butterfly collection, the Lepidoptera section also curates material from the closely related order Trichoptera (caddisflies). The latter are rather small in number, but also contain valuable type material.
The Lepidoptera collection currently comprises more than 3 million specimens, making it one of the largest research collections of this insect order in Germany.
Particularly noteworthy is the large proportion of Chinese butterflies (approx. 600,000 specimens).
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Projects
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The influence of mutualistic and parasitic life forms on the diversification of butterflies
Management: Dr. Marianne Espeland
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Molecular phylogeny, biogeography and colour pattern evolution of the subfamily Chalcosiinae
Management: Dr. Marianne Espeland
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Evolutionary relationships and biogeography of the enigmatic West Indian butterfly genus Calisto
Management: Dr. Rayner Nunez
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Comparative and experimental wing pattern genomics in Lepidoptera
Management: Dr. Marianne Espeland
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The Caribbean cube moth
Management: Dr. Rayner Nunez
Publications
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2025/4
Baers’s Wood Mouse - Hylomyscus baeri
2025/4
Wimmer’s Shrew - Crocidura wimmeri
2025/3
Taxonomic notes on the genus Himantopterus Wesmael (Lepidoptera, Zygaenoidea, Himantopteridae) with descriptions of three new taxa
Zootaxa, 2, 5601
2025/3
Evolutionary history of Neotropical butterflies of the infratribe Neosatyriti based on target enrichment (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Satyrinae, Satyrini, Pronophilina)
Invertebrate Systematics, 4, 39
2025/2
Large scale monitoring of terrestrial small mammals using noninvasive sampling and COI barcoding
Mammal Research
2024/10
Resurrection of the genus Eremothyris Walsingham (Lepidoptera, Zygaenoidea, Lacturidae)
Zootaxa, 3, 5519
2024/10
A new species of Choranthus Scudder (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Heperiinae) from northeastern Cuba
Tropical lepidoptera research, 2, 34
2024/10
Species delimitation under allopatry: genomic insights within and across continents in Lepidoptera
Insect systematics and diversity, 5, 8
2024/10
A snow-dwelling tropical butterfly? An unprecedented discovery of a new genus of the Pedaliodes clade in an extreme, high-altitude Andean environment (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)
Zoological journal of the Linnean Society, 2, 202
2024/10
German Barcode of Life, Entdeckung und Beschreibung neuer Arten
2024/10
The ASV Registry: a place for ASVs to be
Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, 8
2024/9
Two new genus-group replacement names of Riodinidae from Asia (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea, Riodinidae)
Zootaxa, 2, 5512
2024/9
Two new genus-group replacement names of Riodinidae from Asia (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea, Riodinidae)
Zootaxa, 2, 5512
2024/8
Integrative characterisation of the Northwestern European species of Anacharis Dalman, 1823 (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Figitidae) with the description of three new species
Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 97
2024/8
Exkursion in den Kaukasus: Der CaBOL BioBlitz 2022 in Armenien und Georgien
2024/7
Phylogenomics recovers multiple origins of portable case making in caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera), nature’s underwater architects
Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological sciences/Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological Sciences, 2026, 291
2024/7
The riodinid taxa described by Rudolf Emil Mell (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea, Riodinidae), with notes on related ones
Zootaxa, 5, 5481
2024/7
The riodinid taxa described by Rudolf Emil Mell (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea, Riodinidae), with notes on related ones
Zootaxa, 5, 5481
2024/6
Preserving morphology while extracting DNA: a non-destructive field-to-museum protocol for slide-mounted specimens
Biodiversity Data Journal, 12
2024/5
Viridiflavoritia koxiae (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae, Chalcosiinae), a new genus and a new species from China
Zootaxa, 3, 5446
2024/5
Bedazzled: a new, striking species of Corades from the outskirts of Quito questions our knowledge of Andean cloud forest butterflies (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae …
Zootaxa, 2, 5453
2024/4
Comprehensive phylogeny of Pieridae butterflies reveals strong correlation between diversification and temperature
iScience, 4, 27
2024/4
Standardized nuclear markers improve and homogenize species delimitation in Metazoa (vol 14, pg 543, 2023)
Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 4, 15
2024/3
Leibniz Research Network Biodiversity. (2024). 10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science 2024 (Version 1). Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
2024/1
Patterns of speciation in a parapatric pair of Saturnia moths as revealed by target capture
Molecular ecology, 1, 33
2025
2024
Employees
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MSc Svenja Ahlborn
ztm Lepidoptera & Trichoptera Doctoral candidatePhone: +49 228 9122 351
E-mail: s.ahlborn@leibniz-lib.de/leibniz-lib.de/_assets/7abd6609c3f3f81d637bf3fde8bba50e/Standard/Images/specialized-image-default.svg%3F1723800834)
Dr. Marianne Espeland
ztm Lepidoptera & Trichoptera ScientistPhone: +49 228 9122 220
E-mail: m.espeland@leibniz-lib.de/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/01_20241120_MKB_Portraits_LowRes_GeigerKatharina_FKurceren_6N0A6107.jpg%3F1739190106)
Dipl. Biol. Katharina Geiger
ztm Lepidoptera & TrichopteraPhone: +49 228 9122 411
E-mail: k.geiger@leibniz-lib.deMSc Siyao Huang
ztm Lepidoptera & Trichoptera Doctoral candidatePhone: +49 228 9122 351
E-mail: s.huang@leibniz-lib.deUlrike Kleikamp
ztm Lepidoptera & TrichopteraPhone: +49 228 9122 223
E-mail: u.kleikamp@leibniz-lib.de/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/01_20241125_MKB_Portraits_LowRes_LudreschlCarmen_MGeiger_IMG_5326.jpg%3F1739271138)
MSc Carmen Ludreschl
zbm Applied & Experimental Ecology Doctoral candidatePhone: +49 228 9122 351
E-mail: c.ludreschl@leibniz-lib.deDr. Rayner Nunez
ztm Lepidoptera & Trichoptera Postdoctoral researcherPhone: +49 228 9122 220
E-mail: r.nunez@leibniz-lib.de