Zoology

The dry insect collection is housed primarily in our storage facility, although a small portion linked to ongoing projects is still kept at the Grund.

The development of this collection has been uneven across taxonomic groups. Originally conceived as a globally oriented collection, it was enriched by the extensive material gathered in Africa and Brazil by the Luxembourgish explorer Eduard Luja, as well as by acquisitions made by the museum’s first director, Victor Ferrant. This material includes series of specimens from around the world, featuring numerous types and holotypes, among the most notable internationally.

At the same time, the regional collection was strengthened through the work of Victor Ferrant and André Mousset (Coleoptera) and Camille Rollinger Wagner (Lepidoptera), which formed the basis for the first national catalogues.

Since the 1970s, the collection has gradually refocused on the Greater Region, with the aim of becoming a regional scientific reference. This shift has resulted in numerous sampling campaigns across the Grand Duchy, as well as the acquisition of collections from neighbouring regions. The best represented groups are the Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera.

Specimens 

The total number of specimens in the dry collection cannot be estimated precisely, but it is assumed to reach around 500,000. Most have never been catalogued, and historical inventories are highly unreliable, with errors of up to 80% concerning both specimen numbers and identifications. Furthermore, the collection has grown substantially over the past thirty years through acquisitions and major field campaigns carried out as part of various research projects.

Types 

The exact number of type specimens is currently unknown. Some specimens previously listed as types have proven not to be, while others not previously recognised have since been identified as type material. In addition, new types have been added to the collection in recent years. To date, only the Cerambycidae and Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera) have been revised, comprising around 200 types.

The vertebrate collection of the National Museum of Natural History Luxembourg of has developed organically over the years. In its early stages, it relied mainly on donations from private collectors, including Édouard Luja, a major Luxembourgish contributor who worked abroad. The collection was used primarily for exhibition purposes, without systematic collecting.

The large bird collection, significantly expanded in 2003 through the acquisition of an important Palaearctic collection, is one of the museum’s highlights. Today, thanks to partnerships with zoos and wildlife rescue centres, the collection continues to grow for exhibition purposes.

Over the past twenty years, its scientific dimension has gained importance, with particular emphasis on DNA tissue samples, which are essential for research. Thus, the collection now combines educational value with an increasingly significant role in scientific study.

The wet collection of the National Museum of Natural History Luxembourg is housed in a dedicated room within our storage facility, covering a total area of 28 m². It contains mainly invertebrates, although vertebrates occupy roughly one quarter of the space. Some sub collections are identified to species level, particularly within certain taxonomic groups.

At the international scale, the collection stands out for holding one of the largest assemblages of cave dwelling and groundwater species in Central Europe. Groups often overlooked elsewhere such as psyllids, copepods, and aquatic mites are also well represented. National and regional fauna are well covered for hoverflies, ants, spiders, mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies. The processed sub collections, amounting to around 25,000 containers, stem primarily from MNHNL research projects.

A distinctive feature is the archiving of mixed samples from national research and monitoring programmes, such as the LIST pollinator monitoring scheme (MONIPOL) and projects run by the biological stations (SICONA, SIAS, Nature Parks) and natur & ëmwelt. These samples contain multiple taxonomic groups from a given site and period.

Historically, the Congo fish collection assembled by Edouard Pierre Luja (1875–1953) is particularly noteworthy. In total, the wet collection comprises more than 2 million individuals, a number that will continue to grow due to the MNHNL’s role as the national biodiversity centre and the increasing demand for archiving samples from scientific projects.

The zoological microscope slide collection comprises various taxonomic groups which, due to their small size, have been most effectively identified and archived on slides. Particularly noteworthy are the Collembola, but also the Thysanoptera, Aleyrodoidea and Coccoidea, Phoridae, Oligochaeta, as well as the Hydrachnidia and Halacaridae. Geographically, the focus lies on Luxembourg and the Greater Region.

The collection is housed both in the Scientific Annex and in our storage facility. Some specimens have already been digitised and are available on GBIF.

Types

Collembola

• Hymenaphorura arantia Weiner & Stomp, 2001 (Paratypes)
• Protaphorura eichhorni (Gisin, 1954) (Paratypes)
• Pseudosinella lamperti germanica da Gama, 1973 (Holotype)
• Pseudosinella annemariae Stomp, 1972 (Paratype)
• Pseudosinella mauli Stomp, 1972 (Paratype)
• Superodontella euro Weiner & Stomp, 2003 (Paratypes)
• Tomocerus christianseni Stomp, 1969 (Holotype and Paratypes)

Protura

• Eosentomon luxembourgense Szeptycki, 2001 (Paratypes)
• Eosentomon pastorale Szeptycki, 2001 (Paratype)

Diptera

Camptochaeta luxemburgensis Heller, Hippa & Vilkamaa, 2016 (Holotype (Jpeg) and Paratypes)