Natural history collections like the SNSB – Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM) in Munich, Germany, are nature’s treasurehouses.

The ZSM holds about 22 million zoological objects, including twelve million butterflies and moths (Lepidopters), 3-4 million beetles (Coleoptera), and 3 million bees, wasps, ants and parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) .

The purpose of this blog is to make information about the treasures housed in the ZSM and the research conducted at the ZSM available to the general public.

The ZSM is part of the Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns (SNSB) that is among the largest union of natural history research institutions in Germany. The research focuses on the past and present bio- and geodiversity and the evolution of animals and plants.