University of Nebraska State Museum - Division of Entomology

Museum Trip to Budapest and Vienna
June, 2006
Brett Ratcliffe

In June 2006 I traveled to the collections of the Magyar Termeszettudomanyi Muzeum Allatatara (Hungarian Natural History Museum) in Budapest, Hungary, and Das Naturhistorische Museum Wien (Natural History Museum, Vienna) . The Hungarian Natural History Museum contains the important Sebo Endrodi dynastine collection that has many species and type specimens related to the biodiversity inventory of the Dynastinae of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize that I am conducting with Ron Cave (University of Florida). The Vienna Museum of Natural History is long-established, but I had no idea as to its holdings of scarabs, and so an exploratory visit was in order.

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Parliament building in Pest from Buda castle with the Margaret Bridge
crossing the Danube in the background.

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Entrance to the research collections of the
Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest.

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Dr. Ottó Merkl is is the Curator of the Coleoptera collections.
His specialty is Tenebrionidae and Lagriidae.

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Part of the Endrodi collection of Dynastinae.

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Part of the Coleoptera collection room at the Hungarian Natural History Museum
showing visitor workspace.

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My in-country host, Dr. Mihaly Medvedy, who studies scarabs and cerambycids. We went collecting in a forest reserve at Pomaz near his country house.

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Lucanus cervus found walking in the grass!

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Lucanus cervus . . . a warm afternoon . . . the company of a good
colleague . . . and a magnificent Hungarian forest. Perfect!

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Morinus funereus on fresh-cut logs.

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"Collecting" from the "duplicate" jars at Mihaly's summer cottage.

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More "collecting" from the "duplicate" jars at Mihaly's
summer cottage near Pomaz.

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Train station in Budapest for travel to Vienna.

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Quintessential Vienna!

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Hofburg, the imperial palace, Vienna.

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Belvedere Palace in the southeastern part of Vienna.

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Das Naturhistorische Museum Wien
(the Natural History Museum, Vienna).

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Dr. Heinrich Schönmann, Curator of Coleoptera.
Aquatic beetles are his specialty.

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The beetle collection is housed in compactors.

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The scarab collection consists mostly of European and older South American material.
No unit trays in the scarabs.

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The Hall of Insects in the public galleries has some very impressive large models!

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Scarab exhibit in the Hall of Insects.

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Statue to Johann Strauss in Stadt Park.

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Statue to Wolfgang Mozart in Stadt Park.

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Statue to Franz Schubert in Stadt Park.

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Statue to Ludwig van Beethoven in Beethoven Platz.

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Statue to Johannes Brahms in Karlsplatz.

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More quintessential Vienna: Demel Bakery at Kohlmarkt.

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Behind the scenes at Demel Bakery.

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