The Specola: new collection of pollinating insects

The Museum of Natural History and Physics “La Specola” of the University of Florence has acquired a vast collection of more than 12,000 specimens of Apoidea, a superfamily of Hymenoptera that includes all bees, accounting for about 70 percent of the Italian apidological fauna, made by scholar Vittorio Nobile. This collection will be digitized for easy access by scholars from around the world. The Museum is also integrating classical taxonomy with molecular taxonomy, thus contributing to the knowledge and conservation of the biodiversity of Italian pollinators, especially the most endangered species.