COLLECTIONS AND CURATION, ENTOMOLOGY DEPARTMENT 1993-1997
The entomological collections include insects and other terrestrial arthropods: myriapods and arachnids (but not terrestrial crustaceans). The collections include more than 3 million pinned insects plus a similar number of alcohol-preserved specimens; they thus range among the largest in Europe. All regions of the World are covered, but some areas are particularly well-represented. This is true of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland for all groups; of the Philippine and Bismarck Islands for most insects groups (the "Noona Dan" Expedition 1961-62); of the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania, also for most groups; and of further groups and geographical areas as follows: Protura (general, coll. S.L. Tuxen), Odonata (Oriental region), Heteroptera Gerromorpha (general), Diptera Brachycera (Patagonia), Diptera Orthorhapha, Syrphidae, and Calyptrata (N Europe and Mediterranean area), Coleoptera Carabidae (China, Japan, N America), Coleoptera larvae (esp. Danish), Lepidoptera non-Ditrysia, Lepidoptera general (Patagonia), Lepidoptera Hesperiidae, Pieridae and Nymphalidae (S. America), Lepidoptera Heterocera (tropical Africa), "micro"-Lepidoptera (Iberian peninsula), Lepidoptera genus Erebia (coll. G. Christensen), Diplopoda (Africa, Thailand, Palaearctic), Acari Oribatida (coll. M. Hammer, incl. ca. 1000 primary types), Baltic amber fossils (ca. 8000 specimens).
Historically, the collections date back to the end of the 18th century. The most important old collection is that of I.C. Fabricius (1745-1808). Fabricius described about 10,000 species of insects and a smaller number of other arthropods. The majority of Fabrician type specimens are housed in ZMUC, including those deriving from Fabricius' personal collection, which formally belongs to the Zoological Museum in Kiel, Germany, but which is on permanent loan to ZMUC. Click here for access to the Museum's type data base.
Important acquisitions are due to recent collecting efforts by staff members in Denmark, Greenland, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, South India, Thailand, Tanzania and southern Argentina/Chile. A large proportion of the holdings (in particular but not exclusively Danish Lepidoptera and Coleoptera) derive from amateurs' collections which have been donated to the Museum. The number of identified species in the collections totals about 100,000, i.e., about 10% of the described species. There are about 10,500 primary types.
During 1993-1997, selected parts of all collection sections have been recurated. Basic databasing of the Fabrician types has been initiated and completed. Refinement of this database (with information on individual specimens) is in progress for selected taxa, Diptera in particular (V. Michelsen). A computerized inventory of millipede and spider species in the ZMUC collection has been initiated and completed (H. Enghoff, N. Scharff, S. Langemark) Click here for access to the millipede list Click here for access to the spider list. Sorting/labelling of large-scale accessions from canopy sampling (fogging, light-trapping) in Tanzania have been initiated (supervised by S. McKamey and N. Scharff). A rearrangement of the entire dragonfly collection has been initiated (N.M. Andersen & W. Buch). A rearrangement of the entire Danish beetle collection (involving transfer into unit trays) has been initiated, and major progress made. Major accessions in the Lepidoptera section have been processed/incorporated, and the general butterfly collection extensively reorganized during the process; the con amore assistance from associated amateur lepidopterists (E. Eriksen and H. Hendriksen) has been crucially important in the accomplishment of this task.
During 1993-1997, 24 visitors worked in the entomological collections for at least one week, and there were very numerous short-term visitors.
A total of 555 outgoing loans from the collections were arranged.
Collection accessions. Specified estimates given for major lots (1000+ specimens); * denotes staff collecting activities:
1993: 84.000+ specimens including: The Georg Christensen Lepidoptera collection, 50.000 specimens, mostly Palaearctic butterflies, particularly rich in Erebia. 4050 Danish macro-moths & 1100 Danish/European butterflies (E. Eriksen). 7000 Lepidoptera, including 2000 from Madeira*, 1500 from Turkey* (O. Karsholt). 1700 Danish Lepidoptera (H. Hendriksen). 1000 Lepidoptera-Geometridae from Europe (P. Skou). 1800 Lepidoptera from Oman (B. Skule). 6000 Danish/European Lepidoptera, mostly micro-moths (B. Holm Thomsen). 3000 Coleoptera* from Turkey, Czech republic, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (O. Martin). 2000 Diptera* from Turkey and Spain (V. Michelsen).
1994: 33.000+ specimens including: 5.100 Lepidoptera, mostly from Spain (E. Traugott-Olsen). 8.100 European Lepidoptera, including 1.300 from Greece* and 1.400* from Madeira (O. Karsholt). 2.200+ Eurasian butterflies (J.Petersen). 2.600 Afrotropical butterflies (T. Larsen). 5.000 Coleoptera* from Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden (O. Martin). 2.000 Diptera from Greece* (S. Andersen & V. Michelsen).
1995: 518,000+ specimens, including: Ca. 400.000 arthropods from canopy fogging in Tanzanian rainforests* (S. McKamey). 5,000 spiders from Tanzania* (N. Scharff). 2.000 Myriapoda and other arthropods from Turkey* (H. Enghoff). 2.000 insects from Loja, Equador (B.O. Poulsen, Vertebrate Department). Ca. 100.000 Coleoptera (light-trap material in alcohol) from Thailand (A. Pütz, Eisenhüttenstadt, BRD). 1.200 Coleoptera* from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Czech republic (O. Martin). 1.500 Diptera* from Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Costa Rica (V. Michelsen). 1.800 Danish micro-moths (G. Jeppesen). 1.800 Danish Lepidoptera-Geometridae (H. Hendriksen). 2.800 Lepidoptera-Gelechiidae from C.Asia (R. Puplesis, Vilnius).
1996: 456.000+ specimens, including: Ca. 400.000 arthropods from canopy fogging in Tanzanian rainforests* (S. McKamey). Ca. 5,000 palaeotropical spiders (Frontier Tanzania programme, Vietnam). Ca. 10,000 Danish spiders (Hestehaven project, Jutland*, N. Scharff & coworkers). 3.000 Holarctic Diptera-Anthomyiidae (M. Barták, Prague). Ca 2.000 European Coleoptera-Cerambycidae, adults & immatures (H. Friis Jensen). 1.100 Danish and foreign beetles (O. Mehl). 2.500 Danish beetles (H.J. Petersen). 33,000+ Lepidoptera, including the K. Schnack European collection (23,000+ specimens) and 3,200 Spanish micro-moths (E. Traugott-Olsen).
1997: 50,000+ specimens, including: Ca. 7.500 spiders and 20,000 insects from Tanzania* (P.P. Bjørn, N. Scharff, L. Sørensen). Ca. 1,000 Hemiptera-Gerromorpha* (N.M. Andersen). 19,000+ Coleoptera, including 12,000 from the Frontier Tanzania programme. 5,000+ Lepidoptera.
In addition to being treated in publications by Department staff, specimens from the entomological collections were used in 231 publications by external authors.