ZMH Trichoptera collection

The ZMH Trichoptera collection is one of the most important collection of caddisflies in the world and counts with ca. 479 type species, most of them described by Georg Ülmer, Herbert Holdsworth Ross, and Fernand Schmid, including both dried-pinned and specimens preserved in alcohol, as well part of specimens in slides. Species came mainly from Asia and South America. In the early 20th century, the entomologist Georg Ülmer ascended to eminence as a distinguished trichopterologist of global acclaim. Due to his fragile health, he refrained from participating in the audacious collecting expeditions that characterized the era, opting instead to reside in his native Hamburg, where he explored the Eppendorf moor and other bodies of water and wetlands. Nonetheless, his expertise resonated globally through extensive correspondences with fellow specialists in Trichoptera, with 128 publications solely on the group. He was regarded as a leading expert on caddisflies and also worked on many foreign collections in worldwide correspondence. Ülmer’s original sketches are also deposited in the Museum of Nature in Hamburg, together with letters sent to collaborators through the world as well as his field notebooks.