Our research is based on the extensive scientific collections of the Museum. As databases of life they are the indispensable reference source for all profound analyses of biodiversity on earth.
The ZFMK Biobank is a specialized archive storing ultra-deep frozen animal samples (e.g. DNA and tissue) for non-commercial molecular research. The biobank is closely linked to the morphological collections of the museum.
There are about 300,000 specimens in the collection, including type material. The section also houses collections or parts of collections of Erwin M. Beyer, Bernhard Mannheim, Hermann Schmitz, Hans Mendl and Hans Ulrich.
In the Hymenoptera section, additional to the Hymenoptera, the following collections of organisms are curated: Heteroptera, "Homoptera", Orthopteroidea (heterogeneous collection including Mantodea, Blattodea, Phasmatodea, Dermaptera, and Saltatoria), Phthiraptera and Siphonaptera.
The Lepidoptera collection currently includes nearly 2 million specimens and is therefore one of the largest research collections of this insect order in Germany.
The collection has been steadily expanded since 2010 and now comprises around 15,000 digitally recorded specimens (status 2018). The focus is on millipedes (Diplopoda), especially on Sphaerotheriida, Glomerida and Spirobolida, as well as the basal group Glomeridesmida [Limacomorpha].
The herpetological collection of the ZFMK documents biodiversity and serves as a repository for researchers who are working on the taxonomy, biogeography, (macro)ecology, phylogenetics, evolution, parasitology, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles.
The focus of the collection of preserved mammals are small mammals of the Palearctic and Africa. Of special international significance are the African collections, together with the museums in Berlin, Frankfurt and Stuttgart.
