Stefan Schmidt
Biographic data
I am employed as curator for Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants) at the Zoologische Staatssammlung in Munich (ZSM, urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34660). The ZSM is part of the Bavarian Natural History Collections, the largest union of natural history institutions in Germany.
Research interests
My research on hymenopterous insects, mainly microhymenoptera and sawflies, focuses on resolving difficult species complexes and inferring phylogenies using on morphological and molecular data applying innovative techniques. The main direction of my research is explaining biodiversity based on sound theoretical foundations. This often demands a multidisciplinary approach using varied methods. This is supported by an interest in evolutionary aspects, in particular the process of speciation. My main groups of interest include:
- Taxonomy and systematics of Chalcidoidea, in particular Aphelinidae
- Taxonomy, systematics, functional and evolutionary ecology of Symphyta, im particular Pergidae
Postal address
- Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
- Zoologische Staatssammlung
- Hymenoptera Section
- Muenchhausenstr. 21
- 81247 Munich, Germany
Countries that I visited
Online ressources
- ZSM Entomology
- Checklist of German Chalcidoidea
- Primary types of Chalcidoidea deposited in German institutions
- Encarsia Online - Encarsia species of Australia and the Pacific Islands attacking Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (hosted by CSIRO Entomology, now CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences).
- Pergidae of the World - An online catalogue of the sawfly family Pergidae
Qualifications
- University of Freiburg, Germany. Diplom-Biologie (1989)
- University of Hamburg, Germany. PhD (1995) - Systematics and ecology of willow feeding sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Tenthredinidae)
Appointments
- Research Scientist, Zoological Institute and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg, Germany (1992-1997)
- Postdoctoral research fellow, Department of Zoology and Entomology (now School of Biological Sciences), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) (1997-1998)
- Hymenoptera section leader, Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Entomology (now CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences), Canberra, Australia (1998-2001)
- Research associate, State Museum of Natural History, Stuttgart, Germany (2001-2002)
- Initiation of the German National Focal Point of the Global Taxonomy Initiative in Stuttgart, Germany (2002)
- Hymenoptera section leader at the Zoologische Staatssammlung (2003-present)