Diptera is a species-rich and diverse group of insects. More than 150,000 species of Diptera are known worldwide. Flies and mosquitoes belong to this group. You can find them in nearly every environment, from petroleum to the permanent ice of Antarctica.
Flies and mosquitoes have a bad reputation because they can transmit diseases or are found on carcasses. However, because some flies feed on decaying organic matter, they play an important role in nature as cleaners. They help slow the spread of bacteria and make minerals available again for plants. Furthermore, many flies act as pollinators, contributing to food supply and biodiversity.
Highlights
The Diptera collection at Naturalis is an excellent scientific collection. Nearly all families are well represented, including rare families such as the Mormotomyiidae, which are found only on a mountain in Kenya. Geographical highlights of the collection include Indonesia, Suriname, and Western Europe.
Within the Diptera, hoverflies are a popular group, as reflected in the size of this subcollection. Hoverflies are important pollinators, and recently, specimens have been used to study a potential decline in populations in the Netherlands and Europe. Additionally, the long-legged midge collection from Brother Theowald and the mosquito collection from Bonne-Wepster are particularly noteworthy.
Brother TheowaldLong-legged midge collection
The long-legged midge collection is of high taxonomic quality. Brother Theowald was a Catholic monk who studied biology and was affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. He had a great interest in long-legged midges and inspired several students, who later became experts in this field. Brother Theowald and his students collected many long-legged midges. The specimens were originally stored at the Zoological Museum Amsterdam. In 2011, the midges were incorporated into the collection of Naturalis.
Bonne-WepsterMosquito collection
Another notable subcollection is the Bonne-Wepster mosquito collection. Johanna Bonne-Wepster was a woman without formal academic training who, alongside her husband, a tropical doctor, conducted extensive research on mosquitoes in Suriname and Indonesia. She described many new species and made an important contribution to the knowledge of disease-spreading mosquitoes.
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Belangrijkstepublicaties
Bonne, C. & Bonne-Wepster J. (1925). Mosquitoes of Surinam. A study of Neotropical mosquitoes. Mededeling Afdeling Tropische Hygiëne 13, 1-558.
Field notebooks of Bonne-Wepster:
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12107/40200330
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12107/40202889
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12107/40204921
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12107/40189482
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12107/40190613
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12107/40192287
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12107/40194364
- https://hdl.handle.net/21.12107/401966229
Reemer, M. (2014). A review of Microdontinae (Diptera: syrphidae) of Surinam, with a key to the neotropical genera. Tijdschrift voor entomologie, 157(1), 27–57. https://doi.org/10.1163/22119434-00002035
Ebejer, M. J. (2023). A first account of Chyromyidae (Diptera: acalyptratae) from continental Central and South America and some Caribbean islands, with descriptions of new species. Zootaxa, 5319(3), 301–331. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5319.3.1
MoreInformation
The types of diptera described by J.C.H. de Meijere. (2000). American Entomologist, 46(4), 267. https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/46.4.267b
Diptera: https://www.gbif.org/dataset/6a0a95c6-c07a-4c35-9e9f-f776e8730fd4
Catalogous Craneflies of the world: https://ccw.naturalis.nl/
