The Hymenoptera Section (bees, wasps, and ants)

The Hymenoptera include the bees, wasps, and ants. With currently about 115,000 described species and an estimated number of species ranging from 300,000 to 2.5 million, the Hymenotera belong, together with Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, to the megadiverse insect orders. The majority of Hymenoptera species are parasitic wasps which probably account for between 6.5 and 20% of all insect species and about two third of all Hymenoptera species.

The Zoologische Staatssammlung houses about three million specimens of Hymenoptera, and is by far the largest Hymenoptera collection in Germany. The Hymenoptera specimens are stored in about 10,000 standardised drawers (51 x 42 x 6 cm).

The collection hall is situated underground and fully airconditioned. It was built in 1985 according to modern curatorial requirements.

The collection contains about 6,500 type specimens. Most of these are parasitic wasps (about 4,300 specimens, mainly Ichneumonidae), and there are about 1,250 type specimens of aculeate wasps and about 620 types of Symphyta.