Vortragender: Dr. Ralph S. Peters (Leibniz Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels (LIB))

The diversity of our country’s insects is greater and more complex (and to a greater extent unknown) than is generally assumed. New findings show that there are around 35,000-40,000 insect species in Germany. Each species has its own characteristics and requirements, its own interactions in ecosystems, its own evolutionary history, and its own right to be protected. The Diptera (flies, midges, and mosquitoes) and the parasitoid wasps (i.e., species that develop on or in a host and kill it) alone represent a good proportion of insect diversity. They are the focus of our research within the GBOL (German Barcode of Life) III: Dark Taxa project.  Much is still unknown or knowledge is limited and incomplete, but we are slowly coming closer to discovering this enormous diversity. The talk gives an insight into our current progress, our research concepts, our integrative approaches, and the possible applications of our results and data.