My research interests are focused on macroecology, biogeography and systematics of species-rich Lepidoptera communities. I am methodologically interested in light trapping with UV lamps, camera light traps, and (UV) photography.
I am curating the insect collections at the Phyletisches Museum in Jena. I also am voluntarily managing invasive plant species in the region and am testing appropriate methods.
My major model groups are the species-rich moth clades of Geometridae (looper moths) and Arctiinae (tiger moths and woolly bears). The work has a focus on Central and South America, where thousands of species occur, many of them still undescribed. I carried out field studies mainly in Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica. All collected material is carefully prepared and permanently stored in museums where it is available for further study, for examle on impacts of global heating. The most important projects are shortly presented in the following.
Fieldwork for the DFG project Diversity and key traits of moths along a complete elevational gradient in the Peruvian Andes began in September 2022 and ended in autumn 2023. Yenny Correa Carmona is doing her PhD as part of this project. The project is being carried out in collaboration with PIs Marcell Peters, Alexander Keller, and Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter. Felipe Yon, Juan Grados, and Gerardo Lamas are our partners in Peru. Miles Silman, Adrian Forsyth, and Alejandro Lopera are also involved in the project. Here is a link to the ANDIV website.
The main objective of the project package is to contribute to the understanding of the large-scale factors influencing holometabolous insects and their microbiomes. Lepidoptera are among the “big four” of insects and play an important role as pollinators, plant feeders, and prey, but the factors that determine their diversity in the tropics are still largely unknown. Elevation gradients provide “natural experiments” for diversity studies and are far less influenced by large-scale biogeographic patterns than latitude gradients. The species-rich Lepidoptera groups Geometridae and Arctiinae, as well as the charismatic Saturniidae and Sphingidae, were selected as model groups because they are phylogenetically unrelated and differ in many traits such as body size coloration and life history.
In ANDIV, for the first time, moths were quantitatively recorded along an almost complete altitude gradient in the tropical Andes. Our group has built up a research collection of approximately 30,000 moth specimens and established a DNA barcode library (BOLD systems) with approximately 3,500 species, which will be available for long-term research purposes. We plan to publish electronic catalogues of all model taxa. We use UV photography and automated segmentation software for image analysis and the determination of morphometric characteristics of all species. The data set enables us to analyse diversity patterns and investigate changes in selected traits of moths along the elevation gradient.
In 2025, several papers were published, including a study on mammal diversity in Ecology by Kim Holzmann as lead author and another by her on coldwaves in the Amazon region in Biology Letters. Andrea Piños studied the gut microbiomes of bees along the elevantional gradient, and Yenny Correa is currently revising a manuscript about new algorithms for automated trait measurements of Lepidoptera for Ecological Informatics. Kim Holzmann is also working on the final revision of an article on the limited thermotolerance of tropical insects and their genomic signature for Nature.
We are aiming for a second ANDIV phase and are currently preparing a new DFG proposal.
A DFG project entitled ‘Plant-pollinator interactions: diurnal and nocturnal pollinators’ was launched in 2023 as part of the DFG research group in the DFG FOR Reassembly, lead by Nico Blüthgen. The project PIs were Sara Leonhard (Munich), Alexander Keller (Munich) and Gunnar Brehm. Our group in Jena conducted a field study investigating differences in moth fauna between canopies and understory in primary and secondary forests. We examined moth traits (including proboscis length) and further developed the required methodology, using LepiLED lamps in combination with automated traps and enhanced rain protection. The fieldwork was carried out by Dennis Böttger and PhD student Ugo Diniz. Ugo's latest work focuses on the role of settling moths as pollinators, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. An illustrated catalogue of 330 species of Arctiinae moths from the study area was recently published in Neotropical Entomology.
The second phase of Reassembly was approved by the DFG in September 2025 and begins in 2026. The new project, led by Jörg Müller, Martin Schaefer and Gunnar Brehm, is entitled: ‘Scaling biodiversity: temporal and spatial beta diversity during forest recovery’. Arctiinae moths will play an important role in this phase.
Since November 2023, I have been leading the BMTFR project LEPMON together with Paul Bodesheim (FSU Jena). In the 2025 season, more than 35 new ARNIS (automated recorders for nocturnal insects) were installed throughout Germany, which will provide the first data for the project. Phase 2 began in December 2024 and will run until 2027. The project has a total budget of € 1.8 million. Cooperation partners are Peter Grobe (Bonn), Julie Koch-Sheard (Marburg) and Roel van Klink (iDiv).
The aim of LEPMON is to develop a powerful and stable system that can be used to start monitoring nocturnal insects throughout Germany and neighbouring countries. The system comprises hardware with specially developed ARNIS, corresponding scalable data management and the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) to enable mass species identification of moths and other insects. We are testing the system's performance by analysing urbanisation gradients in eight cities in collaboration with partners in the field and as part of a citizen science project. The system is also being installed in a wide variety of habitats, from salt marshes to alpine locations. We are integrating it into existing monitoring programmes and determining the technical possibilities at extreme locations.
Vivian Holzhauer has just published her paper in Insect Conservation and Diversity, in which she compares which fauna is caught with a camera trap compared to classic trapping methods.
We have systematically compared LED lamps in field studies in Jena, i.e. UV lamps against mixed radiation lamps, and lamps that differ in radiation flux. Julia Niermann's lamp comparison paper was published in 2022 in the European Journal of Entomology. It shows that the microhabitat can have a greater influence on the samples than the type of lamp. In 2021, Dennis Böttger and Rachit Singh conducted another study in the Jena Forest to compare the understorey and tree canopy moth fauna. Rachit also has tested the role of vanes in insect traps and published his results in the Journal of Applied Entomology.
In 2021, we published a paper in Insect Conservation and Diversity on a large behavioural experiment with more than 6000 moth individuals (95 species) carried out in the last two years. We showed that short wave radiation, in particular UV and blue radiation is most attractive for the insects. We conclude that outdoor lighting should have no UV radiation (as still found in metal halide lamps) and very low proportions of blue radiation (e.g. LED with low colour temperatures). From the viewpoint of an insect, red light appers to be the best option.
A new methodologial paper was published 2025 about light in standardised insect photography and description of lighting devices. This paper shows some astonishing deficits in light quality in the photography and digitization of insects, which very probably also apply to other areas in biology and beyond. Digitization programs should always check the quality of their lighting and incorporate better light sources if necessary. LEDs with daylight quality represent a high-quality alternative. Capturing color patterns in the UV range enables the documentationof a biologically essential component of the electromagnetic spectrum. It should therefore play a far greater role in digitization programs as well as in ecological analyses.
Work on Eois and other Neotropical geometrid genera is a long term taxonomic project. Eois is an exceptionally diverse genus of looper moths (Geometridae). So far, around 210 species were described in the Neotropical region, but the actual species number is likely to be far more than 1000 species – so most of them still have to be described scientfically. Similar projects were carried out and published for Callipia and Hagnagora. From field work in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru thousands of individuals are available for studies in the collections in Jena. I am currently sorting new material from SE Peru, so far around 170 species with different Barcode Index Numbers (BINs). Constantin Stefan has written his Master thesis about two clades of Eois.
In 2019, Leidys Murillo-Ramos et al. published an extensive phylogenetic study with 2000 terminal taxa of geometrid moths – by far the most comprehensive phylogenetic study of the group and one of the largest in Lepidoptera. Further detailed studies on New World Geometridae and on the subfamily Sterrhinae were published shortly after this. Due to a grant from the Finnish Academy of Sciences to Pasi Sihvonen (Helsinki), the project will be further extended towards an even and global coverage with the aim to include all known Geometridae genera. I will continue the excellent collaboration with Pasi, Leidys, Niklas Wahlberg (Lund) and many others. Leidys as first author recently published another paper about the relationships of Desmobathrinae and Oenochrominae in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
We have tested color traps with different colors and color combinations in Ecuador, Peru and Germany. The master thesis of Janeth Renteria had a focus on wild bees. The main colors were blue, yellow, purple and white. The study was conducted near Jena over a period of six months. The aim was to investigate which taxa can be best attracted with which colors and how strong seasonal fluctuations are. Janeth Renteria has recently published her paper (October 2025), testing different colours and colour combinations in the Journal of Insect Behaviour.
Publications at Google Scholar
Submitted & Preprints
Püls M, Kortmann M, Blüthgen N, Schaefer HM, Rabl D, Thompson M, Grella N, Bittermann J, Schreier HM, Sorger P, Tremlett CJ, Busse A, Seibold S, Kriegel P, de la Hoz M, Grindhard R, Böttger D, Busch I, Mitessser O, Müller J, Brehm G (submitted) Heterogenization response of Arctiinae assemblages (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) to a recovering tropical forest ecosystem. Submitted to Journal of Animal Ecology.
Correa Carmona Y, Böttger D, Peters MK, Brehm G (submitted) From fresh to dry: Moth body weight changes through preservation. Submitted to Nota Lepidopterologica.
Villa Galaviz E, Brehm G, Burneo S, Diniz UM, Donoso DA, Endara MJ, Erazo S, Escobar S, Falconí Lopez A, Farwig N, Feldhaar H, Villamarin MG, Guevara Andono JE, Grella N, Heer K, Heethoff M, Keller M, Landim AR, Leonhardt SD, Armijos DM, Metz T, Müller J, Neira-Salamea K, Neuschulz EL, Pedersen KM, Rödel MO, Schaefer M, Schleunig M, Schmitt T, Tamargo E, Tartara A, Tinoco BA, Tremlett CJ, Tschapka M, Unsicker S, Blüthgen N (submitted) Variation in successional niche turnover of multiple taxa in a recovering tropical rainforest. Preprint at EcoEvoRxiv: https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/8834/
Diniz UM, Böttger D, Viteri Lalama SF, Frühholz K, Pitz M, Windl J, Rasmussen C, Keller A, Leonhardt SD, Brehm G (submitted) Stratification in primary and successional tropical forests enhances pollinator diversity via functionally unique canopy communities. Preprint at BioRxiv: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.23.634515
Holzmann KL, Alonso-Alonso P, Correa-Carmona Y, Pinos A, Yon F, Alvadaro M, Lopera-Toro A, Kolter A, Brehm G, Keller A, Steffan-Dewenter I, Peters MK (submitted) Temperature boosts and constrains dungbeetle diversity along an Andean-Amazonian elevation gradient. Submitted to Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
In revision & Preprints
Holzmann K, Schmitzer T, Abels A, Čorkalo M, Mitesser O, Kortmann M, Alonso-Alonso P, Correa-Carmona Y, Pinos A, Yon F, Alvarado M, Forsyth A, Lopera-Toro A, Brehm G, Keller A, Otieno M, Steffan-Dewenter I, Peters MK (in final revision) Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature. Nature
Seibold S, Rabl D, Sorger P, Blüthgen N, Brehm N, Busse A, Kortmann M, Kriegel P, Morinière J, Püls M, Schaefer HM, Tremlett CJ, Müller J (in revision) Taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity patterns of Saturniidae moth communities along a forest recovery gradient in a tropical forest, Ecuador. Insect Conservation and Diversity.
Escobar S, Guevara-Andino JE, Blüthgen N, Brehm G, Burneo S, Diniz UM, Donoso DA, Erazo S, Feldhaar H, Grella N, Keller , Landim AR, Leonhardt SD, Marín-Armijos D, Müller J, Neira-Salamea K, Neuschulz EL, Newell FL, Pedersen KM, Roedel MO, Schleuning M, Tschapka M, Endara MJ (in revision) Recovery of phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic structure in trees and animals along a chronosequence of tropical forest regeneration. Preprint at EcoEvoRxiv: https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/8829/
Correa Carmona Y, Korsch D, Böttger D, Holzmann KL, Alonso-Alonso P, Pinos A, Keller A, Steffan-Dewenter I, Peters MK, Brehm G (in final revision) LEPY: A Python-based pipeline for automated size and colour trait analysis of Lepidoptera images. Ecologial Informatics. Ecological Informatics. Preprint at EcoEvoRxiv: https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/8842/
Metz T, Farwig N,Dormann CF, Schaefer M, Albrecht J, Guevara Andino JE, Brehm G, Burneo S, Chao A, Diniz UM, Donoso DA, Endara M-J, Erazo S, Escobar S, Falconí-López A, Feldhaar H, García M, Grella N, Heer K, Heethof M, Keller A, Landim Rebello A, Leonhardt SD, Tamargo Lopez A, Marín-Armijos D, Müller J, Neira-Salamea K, Neuschulz EL, Pedersen KM, Rödel MO, Schleuning M, Schmitt T, Staab M, Tartara A, Tinoco B, Tremlett CJ, Tschapka M, Unsicker S, Villa-Galaviz E, Blüthgen N (in revison) How biodiversity recovers from deforestation: resistance and resilience of a tropical rainforest.
Accepted & in press
Holzhauer V, Böttger D, Bodesheim P, Brehm G (accepted) Comparison of camera light traps with conventional trapping methods. Insect Conservation and Diversity. Preprint at BioRxiv: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.06.636905
Brehm G, Böttger D, Diniz UM, Donoso DA, Kortmann M, Müller J, Rabl D, Keller A, Laguerre M (2025) Illustrated catalogue and phylogenetic relationships of 330 species of Arctiinae moth species from the Chocó rainforest in NW Ecuador: most species are undescribed. Neotropical Entomology 54: 127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-025-01333-y
Diniz U, Keller A, Brehm G, Lalama V, Fernanda S, Frühholz, K, Pitz, M, Windl J, Erazo S, Burneo SF, Tschapka M, Leonhardt SD (2025) The neglected pollinators: settling moths are keystone floral visitors essential to network connectivity and tropical forest recovery. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 292: 20251981. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1981
Diniz UM, Guevara-Andino JE, Brehm G, Rasmusssen C, Leonhardt SD, Keller A (2025) Low resilience to deforestation in nocturnal bees is counteracted by a broad resource range and reliance on pioneers. Apidologie. 56: 106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-025-01231-7
Renteria E, Brehm G (2025) Is blue the most attractive color for bees? Exploring the attractiveness of different vane colors traps. Journal of Insect Behaviour 38:28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-025-09892-z
Frühholz K, Kuba K, Pitz M, Windl J, Keller A, Brehm G, Rasmussen C, Leonhardt, Diniz U (2025) Improving allometric models to estimate the proboscis length of tropical bees. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 146. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaf093
Pinos A, Alonso-Alonso P, Correa-Carmona Y, Holzmann KL, Yon F, Brehm G, Steffan-Dewenter I, Peters MK, Weinhold A, Keller A (2025) Host identity, more than elevation, shapes bee microbiomes along a tropical elevation gradient. Frontiers in Microbiology 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1671348
Stark AW, Osadre A, Guo M, Gentsch GJ, Böttger D, Brehm G, Franke C (2025) Telecentric stereo 3D-measurement of small Lepidopterans – breaching from macro to micro with isotropic micrometer resolution. Scientific Reports 15: 28690. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13795-6
Böttger D, Singh RP, Friedrich E, Brehm G (2025) The moth fauna is more diverse in the understorey than in the canopy in a European forest. Bulletin of Entomological Research 115: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485324000816
Brehm G (2025) Light in standardised insect photography and description of lighing devices, including the UV range. Nota lepidopterologica 48: 145–164. https://doi.org/10.3897/nl.48.145444
Holzmann KL, Alonso-Alonso P, Correa-Carmona Y, Pinos A, Yon F, Lopera A, Brehm G, Keller A, Steffan-Dewenter I, Peters MK (2025) Net primary productivity but not its remote sensing proxies predict mammal diversity in Andean-Amazonian rainforests. Ecology 106: e70059. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70059
Yu H, Denzler J, Böttger D, Brehm G, Bodesheim P (2025) Exploiting unlabeled images via pseudo-labeling and paste-in augmentation for insect localization in automated monitoring. Accepted for publication at CamTrapAI workshop on camera traps, AI, and ecology, 2025.
August T, Balzan M, Bodesheim P, Brehm G, Cantú-Salazar L and 42 further authors (2025) Using Image-based AI for insect monitoring and conservation-InsectAI COSTAction. Research Ideas and Outcomes 11: e134825. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.10.e134825
Holzmann KL, Alonso-Alonso P, Correa-Carmona Y, Pinos A, Brehm G, Keller A, Steffan-Dewenter I, Peters MK (2025) Coldwaves in the Amazon rainforest and their ecological impact. Biology Letters 21: 20240591. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0591
Murillo-Ramos L, Ghanavi H, Lee KM, Laiho E, Hausmann A, Staude H, Friedrich E, Brehm G, Sihvonen P (2025) Disjunct distributions and evolutionary diversification of Australasian geometrid moths: subfamilies Epidesmiinae, Desmobathrinae and Oenochrominae (Lepidoptera). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 214: 108450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2025.108450
Beck J, McCain CM, Brehm G (2024) Can you trust comparative trait data based on singleton species? Frontiers in Biogeography 16.1, e62354. https://doi.org/10.21425/F5FBG62354
Ghanavi H, Chazot N, Sanmartín I, Murillo-Ramos L, Duchene S, Brehm G, Sihvonen P, Wahlberg N (2024) Region‐specific diversification dynamics and biogeographic history of one of the most diverse families of insects. Systematic Entomology 50: 206-220. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12651
Korsch D, Bodesheim P, Brehm G, Denzler J (2023) Automated visual monitoring of nocturnal insects with light-based camera traps. CVPR Workshop on Fine-grained Visual Classification (CVPR-WS). Preprint arXiv:2307.15433
Singh RP, Böttger D, Brehm G (2022). Moth light traps perform better with vanes: a comparison of different designs. Journal of Applied Entomology 146: 1343-1352. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13068
Rajaei H, Hausmann A, Scoble MJ, Wanke D, Plotkin D, Brehm G, Murillo Ramos L, Sihvonen P (2022) Online world catalogue and database of geometrid moths: overview of species richness and systematics. Integrative Systematics: Stuttgart Contributions to Natural History 5: 145–192. https://doi.org/10.18476/2022.577933
Niermann J, Brehm G (2022) The number of sampled moths is more affected by microhabitat choice than by UV lamp type in a grassland habitat. European Journal of Entomology 119: 36-42. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2022.004
Enkhtur K, Brehm G, Boldgiv B, Pfeiffer M (2021) Effects of grazing on macro-moth assemblages in two different biomes in Mongolia. Ecological Indicators 133: 108421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108421
Fiedler K Brehm G (2021) Aposematic coloration of moths decreases strongly along an elevational gradient in the Andes. Insects 12: 903. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12100903
Murillo-Ramos L, Sihvonen P, Brehm G, Ríos-Malaver IC, Wahlberg N (2021) A database and checklist of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera) from Colombia. Biodiversity Data Journal 9: e68693. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e68693
Enkhtur K, Brehm G, Boldgiv B, Pfeiffer M (2021) Alpha and beta diversity of moths along a latitudinal gradient in the Eastern Palearctic. Scientific Reports 11: 15018. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94471-3
Gaona FP, Iñiguez-Armijos C, Brehm G, Fiedler K, Espinosa CI (2021) Drastic loss of insects (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in urban landscapes in a tropical biodiversity hotspot Journal of Insect Conservation 25: 395–405. https://doi.org/10.17632/359f5jcvzf.1
Brehm G, Niermann J, Jaimes Nino LM, Enseling D, Jüstel T, Fiedler K (2021) Moths are strongly attracted to ultraviolet and blue radiation. Insect Conservation and Diversity 14: 188–198. https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12476
Murillo-Ramos L, Sihvonen P, Friedich E, Williams S, Brehm G, Wahlberg N (2021) A morphological appraisal of the new subfamily Epidesmiinae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) with an overview of all geometrid subfamilies. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 193: 1205–1233. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa189
Rabl D, Alonso-Rodriguez AM, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2020) Trait variation in moths mirror small-scaled ecological gradients in a tropical landscape. Insects 1: 612. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11090612
Sihvonen P, Murillo-Ramos L, Brehm G, Staude H, Wahlberg N (2020) Molecular phylogeny of Sterrhinae moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae): towards a global classification. Systematic Entomology 45: 606–634. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12418
Brehm G, Murillo-Ramos L, Sihvonen P, Hausmann A, Schmidt BC, Õunap E, Bolt D, Bodner F, Moser A, Mörtter R, Lindt A, Parra LE, Wahlberg N (2019) New World geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae): Molecular phylogeny, biogeography, taxonomic updates and description of 11 new tribes. Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny 77: 457–486. https://doi.org/10.26049/ASP77-3-2019-5
Brehm G, Zeuss D, Colwell RK (2019) Moth body size increases with elevation along a complete tropical elevational gradient for two hyperdiverse clades. Ecography 42: 632–642. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03917
Jaimes Nino LM, Mörtter R, Brehm G (2019) Diversity and trait patterns of moths at the edge of an Amazonian rainforest. Journal of Insect Conservation 23: 751–763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00168-4
Murillo-Ramos L, Brehm G, Sihvonen P, Hausmann A, Holm S, Ghanavi H, Õunap E, Truuverk A, Staude HS, Friedrich E, TammaruT, Wahlberg N (2019) A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Geometridae (Lepidoptera) with a focus on enigmatic small subfamilies. PeerJ 7: e7386. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7386
Rabl D, Gottsberger B, Brehm G, Hofhansl F, Fiedler K (2019) Moth assemblages in Costa Rica rain forest mirror small‐scale topographic heterogeneity. Biotropica 52: 288–301. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12677
Brehm G (2018) Revision of the genus Callipia Guenée (1858) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) with the description of 15 new species. European Journal of Taxonomy 404: 1–54. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2018.404
Brehm G, Knorre D von, Fischer MS (2018) JENA: The scientific zoological collections at the Phyletisches Museum in Jena – historical development and conservational challenges. In: Zoological collections of Germany (ed. L Beck). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44321-8_37
Kawahara A, Plotkin D, Forero D, Storer C, St Laurent R, Espeland M, Dexter K, Pierce N, Breinholt J, Brehm G, Lohman D, Toussaint E, Vargas S (2018) Phylogenetics of moth-like butterflies (Papilionoidea: Hedylidae) based on a new 13-locus target capture probe set. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 127: 600–605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.06.002
Puchert G, Brehm G (2018) JENA: The teaching collection at the Zoological Institute of the Jena University – its importance, value and conservational problems. In: Zoological collections of Germany (ed. L Beck). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44321-8_38
Wallis CIB, Brehm G, Donoso DA, Fiedler K, Homeier J, Paulsch D, Süßenbach D, Tiede Y, Brandl R, Farwig N, Bendix J (2018) Remote sensing improves prediction of tropical montane species diversity but performance differs among taxa. Ecological Indicators 83: 538–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.01.022
Beck J, McCain CM, Axmacher JC, Ashton L, Bärtschi F, Brehm G, Cizek O, Colwell RK, Fiedler K, Francois CL, Holloway JD, Intachat J, Kadlec T, Kitching R, Maunsell SM, Merckx T, Nakamura A, Odell E, Sang W, Toko P, Zamecnik J, Zou Y, Novotny V (2017) Elevational species richness gradients in a hyperdiverse insect taxon: a global meta-study on geometrid moths. Global Ecology and Biogeography 26: 412–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12548
Brehm G (2017) A new LED lamp for the collection of nocturnal Lepidoptera and a spectral comparison of light-trapping lamps. Nota lepidopterologica 40: 87–108. https://doi.org/10.3897/nl.40.11887
Infusino M, Brehm G, Di Marco C, Scalercio S (2017) Assessing the efficiency of UV LEDs as light sources for macro-moth diversity sampling. European Journal of Entomology 114: 25–33. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2017.004
Strutzenberger P, Brehm G, Gottsberger B, Bodner F, Seifert, CL, Fiedler, K (2017) Diversification rates, host plant shifts and an updated molecular phylogeny of Andean Eois moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). PlosOne 12: e018843. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188430
Brehm G, Hebert PDN, Colwell RK Adams MO, Bodner F, Friedemann K, Möckel L,Fiedler K (2016) Turning up the heat at a hotspot: DNA barcodes reveal 80% more species of geometrid moths along an Andean elevational gradient. PlosOne 11: e0150327. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150327
Colwell RK, Gotelli NJ, Ashton LE, Beck J, Brehm G, Fayle TM, Fiedler K, Forister ML, Kessler M, Kitching R, Klimes P, Kluge J, Longino JT, Maunsell SC, McCain CM, Moses J, Noben S, Sam K, Same L, Shapiro AM, Wang X, Novotny V (2016) Midpoint attractors and species richness: Modeling the interaction between environmental drivers and geometric constraints. Ecology Letters 19: 1009–1022. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12640
Rodríguez-Castañeda G, Brehm G, Fiedler K, Dyer LA (2016) Ant predation on herbivores through a multitrophic lens: how effects of ants on plant herbivore defense and natural enemies vary along temperature gradients. Current Opinion in Insect Science 14: 73–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2016.02.001 Link to ResearchGate
Zenker MM, Wahlberg N, Brehm G, Teston JA, Przybylowicz L, Pie RP, Freitas VL (2016) Systematics and origin of moths in the subfamily Arctiinae (Lepidoptera, Erebidae) in the Neotropical region. Zoologica Scripta 46: 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12202
Brehm G (2015) Three new species of Hagnagora Druce, 1885 (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Larentiinae) from Ecuador and Costa Rica and a concise revision of the genus. ZooKeys 537:131–156 https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.537.6090
Bodner F, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2015) Many caterpillars in a montane rain forest in Ecuador are not classical herbivores. Journal of Tropical Ecology 31: 473-476. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467415000243
Brehm G, Fischer M, Gorb S, Kleinteich T, Kühn B, Neubert D, Pohl H, Wipfler B, Wurdinger S (2015) The unique sound production of the Death’s head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)) revisited. Naturwissenschaften – The Science of Nature 102: 43 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-015-1292-5
Rodner E, Simon M, Brehm G, Pietsch S, Wägele JJ, Denzler J (2015) Fine-grained Recognition Datasets for Biodiversity Analysis, CVPR Workshop on Fine-grained Visual Classification (CVPR-W 2015) Link to dataset
Seifert C, Bodner F, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2015) Host plant associations and parasitism of South Ecuadorian Eois species (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) feeding on Peperomia (Piperaceae). Journal of Insect Science 15: 119 https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iev098 Download pdf
Brehm G, Strutzenberger P, Fiedler K (2013) Phylogenetic diversity of geometrid moths decreases with elevation in the tropical Andes. Ecography 36: 1247–1253. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00030.x
Hünefeld F, Brehm G, Pohl H (2013) A simple "hands-off" apparatus to inflate eversible soft parts of the genitalia of small insect specimens. Microscope Research and Technique 76: 258–263. https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt.22161
Werner F, Jantz N, Krashevska V, Peters T, Behling H, Maraun M, Scheu S, Brehm G (2013) Climate Change: Effects on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning. Pp. 247-263 in: Ecosystem services, biodiversity and environmental change in a tropical mountain ecosystem of South Ecuador (ed by Bendix J et al.), Chapter 18, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38137-9_18
Strutzenberger P, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2012) DNA barcode sequencing from old type specimens as a tool in taxonomy: a case study in the diverse genus Eois (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). PlosOne 7:e49710. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049710
Bodner F, Strutzenberger P, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2012) Species richness and host specificity among caterpillar ensembles on shrubs in the Andes of southern Ecuador. Neotropical Entomology 41: 375–385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-012-0066-4
Brehm G, Bodner F, Strutzenberger P, Hünefeld F, Fiedler K (2011) Neotropical Eois (Lepidoptera: Geometridae): checklist, biogeography, diversity, and description patterns. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 104: 1091–1107. https://doi.org/10.1603/AN10050 Download pdf
Strutzenberger P, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2011) DNA barcoding based species delimitation increases species richness count of (Geometridae) moths in a well-studied tropical mountain forest by up to 50%. Insect Science 18: 349–362. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7917.2010.01366.
Sihvonen P, Mutanen M, Kaila L, Brehm G, Hausmann A, Staude HS (2011) Comprehensive molecular sampling yields a robust phylogeny for geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). PlosOne 6: e20356. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020356
Larsen TH, Brehm G, Navarrete H, Franco P, Gomez H, Mena JL, Morales V, Argollo J, Blacutt K, Canhos V (2011) Range Shifts and Extinctions Driven by Climate Change in the Tropical Andes: Synthesis and Directions. Pp. 47-67 in: Herzog SK, Martínez R, Joergensen PM, Tiessen H (eds) Climate Change and biodiversity in the tropical Andes. Inter-American Institute of Global Change Research and Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, Sao José dos Campos, Brazil, and Paris, France. Download pdf
Aguirre LF, Anderson EP, Brehm G, Herzog SK, Joergensen PM, Kattan GH, Maldonado M, Martínez R, Mena JL, Pabón JD, Seimon A, Toledo C (2011) Phenology and nterspecific Ecological Interactions of Andean Biota in the Face of Climate Change. Pp. 68-92 in: Herzog SK, Martínez R, Joergensen PM, Tiessen H (eds) Climate Change and biodiversity in the tropical Andes. Inter-American Institute of Global Change Research and Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, Sao José dos Campos, Brazil, and Paris, France.
Beck J, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2011) Links between the environment, abundance and diversity of Andean moths. Biotropica 43: 208–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00689.x
Laurance WF, Useche DC, Shoo, LP, Herzog SK, Kessler M, Escobar F, Brehm G, and 40 authors (2011) Global warming, elevational ranges and the vulnerability of tropical biota. Biological Conservation 144: 548–557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2010.10.010
Brehm G (2010) Diversity of geometrid moths in two Neotropical montane rain forests. Pp. 192–196 In Bruijnzeel LA, Scatena FN, Hamilton LS (eds) Tropical montane cloud forests. Science for Conservation and Management. Cambridge University Press.https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511778384.021
Bodner F, Brehm G, Homeier J, Strutzenberger P, Fiedler K (2010) Caterpillars and host plant records for 59 species of Geometridae (Lepidoptera) from a montane rainforest in southern Ecuador. Journal of Insect Science 2010; 10: 67. https://doi.org/10.1673/031.010.6701 Link to pdf
Rodríguez-Castañeda G, Dyer LA, Brehm G, Connahs H, Forkner RE, Walla TR (2010) Tropical forests are not flat: How mountains affect herbivore diversity. Ecology Letters 13: 1348-1357. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01525.x Download pdf
Strutzenberger P, Bodner F, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2010). Molecular phylogeny of Eois: historical signal of wing patterns and host plant use in a group of species rich tropical moths. Zoologica Scripta 39: 609-620. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6409.2010.00440.x
Axmacher J, Brehm G, Hemp A, Tünte H, Lyaruu HVM, Müller-Hohenstein K, Fiedler K (2009) Determinants of diversity in afrotropical herbivorous insects (Lepidoptera: Geometridae): plant diversity, vegetation structure, or abiotic factors? Journal of Biogeography 36: 337-349. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01997.x
Brehm G (2009) Patterns of arctiid diversity. Pp. 223-232 in: Conner WE (ed) Tiger Moths and Woolly Bears: Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution of the Arctiidae. Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York. Download pdf (proof)
Colwell RK, Brehm G, Cardelús C, Gilman AC, Longino JT (2008) Global warming, elevational range shifts, and lowland biotic attrition in the wet tropics. Science 322: 258-261. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1162547 Download pdf
Brehm G, Fiedler K, Häuser CL, Dalitz H (2008) Methodological challenges of a megadiverse ecosystem. Pp. 41-47 in: Beck E, Bendix J, Kottke I, Makeschin F, Mosandl R (eds) Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador. Springer, Ecological Studies 198. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73526-7_5 Download pdf
Brehm G, Homeier J, Fiedler K, Kottke I, Illig J, Nöske NM, Werner F, Breckle S-W (2008) Mountain rain forests in southern Ecuador as a hotspot of biodiversity - limited knowledge and diverging patterns. Pp. 15-24 in: Beck E, Bendix J, Kottke I, Makeschin F, Mosandl R (eds) Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador. Springer, Ecological Studies 198. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73526-7_2 Download pdf
Fiedler K, Brehm G, Hilt N, Süßenbach D, Häuser CL (2008) Variation of diversity patterns across moth families along a tropical altitudinal gradient. Pp. 167-180 in: Beck E, Bendix J, Kottke I, Makeschin F, Mosandl R (eds) Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador. Springer, Ecological Studies 198. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73526-7_17 Download pdf
Nöske NM, Hilt N, Werner FA, Brehm G, Fiedler K, Sipman HJM, Gradstein SR (2008) Disturbance effects on diversity of epiphytes and moths in a montane forest in Ecuador. Basic and Applied Ecology 9 :4-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2007.06.014 Download pdf
Brehm G (2007) Contrasting patterns of vertical stratification in two moth families in a Costa Rican lowland rain forest. Basic and Applied Ecology 8: 44-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2006.02.002 Download pdf
Brehm G, Colwell RK, Kluge J (2007) The role of environment and mid-domain effect on moth species richness along a tropical elevational gradient. Global Ecology and Biogeography 16: 205-219. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2006.00281.x
Brehm G, Hartmann T, Willmott KR (2007) Pyrrolizidine alkaloids and pharmacophagous Lepidoptera visitors of Prestonia amabilis (Apocynaceae) in a montane rain forest in Ecuador. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 94: 465-475. https://doi.org/10.3417/0026-6493(2007)94[463:PAAPLV]2.0.CO;2 Download pdf
Fiedler K, Brehm G, Hilt N, Süssenbach D, Onore G, Bartsch D, Racheli L, Häuser CL (2007) Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Geometridae, Hedylidae, Pyraloidea, Sphingidae, Saturniidae, and Uraniidae (moths) - Checklist Reserva Biológica San Francisco (Prov. Zamora-Chinchipe, S. Ecuador). Ecotropical Monographs 4: 155-217. Download pdf
Fiedler K, Hilt N, Brehm G, Schulze CH (2007) Moths at tropical forest margins - how mega-diverse insect assemblages respond to forest disturbance and recovery. Pp. 39-60 in: Tscharntke T, Leuschner C, Zeller M, Guhardja E, Bidin A (eds) The stability of tropical rainforest margins, linking ecological, economic and social constraints of land use and conservation. Springer, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30290-2_3 Download pdf
Häuser CL, Fiedler K, Bartsch D, Brehm G, Kling M, Süssenbach D, Onore G (2007) Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) - Checklist Reserva Biológica San Francisco (Prov. Zamora-Chinchipe, S. Ecuador). Ecotropical Monographs 4: 145-154. Download pdf
Hilt N, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2007) Temporal dynamics of rich moth ensembles in the montane forest zone in southern Ecuador. Biotropica 39: 94-104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00219.x Download pdf
Brehm G, Axmacher JC (2006) A comparison of manual and automatic moth sampling methods (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Geometridae) in a rain forest in Costa Rica. Environmental Entomology 35: 754-764. https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-35.3.757
Hilt N, Brehm G, Fiedler K (2006) Diversity and ensemble composition of geometrid moths along a successional gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes. Journal of Tropical Ecology 22: 155-166. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467405003056 Download pdf
Brehm G (2005) A revision of the Acrotomodes clota Druce, 1900 species-group (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Ennominae). Entomologische Zeitschrift 115: 75-80. Download pdf
Brehm G, Fiedler K (2005) Diversity and community structure of geometrid moths of disturbed habitat in a montane area in the Ecuadorian Andes. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 38: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.266542 Download pdf
Brehm G, Pitkin LM, Hilt N, Fiedler K (2005) Tropical Andean rain forests are a global diversity hotspot of geometrid moths. Journal of Biogeography 32: 1621-1627. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2005.01304.x Download pdf
Brehm G, Sullivan B (2005) Unusual flight activity of a new species of Hagnagora Druce, 1885 (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) from Costa Rica. Entomologische Zeitschrift 115: 256-260. Download pdf
Axmacher JC, Holtmann G, Scheuermann L, Brehm G, Müller-Hohenstein K, Fiedler K (2004) Diversity of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) along an Afrotropical elevational rainforest transect. Diversity and Distributions 10: 293-302. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1366-9516.2004.00101.x Download pdf
Brehm G (2004) A new species of Oenoptila Warren, 1895 from the Andes (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Ennominae). Entomologische Zeitschrift 114: 278-280. Download pdf
Brehm G, Fiedler, K. (2004) Bergmann's rule does not apply to geometrid moths along an elevational gradient in an Andean montane rainforest. Global Ecology and Biogeography 13: 7-14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-882X.2004.00069.x Download pdf
Brehm G, Fiedler K (2004) Ordinating tropical moth ensembles from an elevational gradient: a comparison of common methods. Journal of Tropical Ecology 20: 165-172. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467403001184 Download pdf
Brehm G, Fiedler, K. (2003) Faunal composition of geometrid moths changes with altitude in an Andean montane rain forest. Journal of Biogeography 30: 431-440. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00832.x Download pdf
Brehm G, Homeier J, Fiedler K. (2003) Beta diversity of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in an Andean montane rainforest. Diversity and Distributions 9: 351-366. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1472-4642.2003.00023.x Download pdf
Brehm G, Süssenbach D, Fiedler K (2003) Unique elevational diversity patterns of geometrid moths in an Andean montane rainforest. Ecography 26: 456-466. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0587.2003.03498.xDownload pdf
Settele, Steiner R, Reinhardt R, FeldmannR, Herrmann G, Musche M, Kühn E, Brehm G (to be published 3/2025) Schmetterlinge – Die Tagfalter Deutschlands. 4th edition. Ulmer, Stuttgart, Germany
Niermann J, Brehm G (2019) Zweijährige Erfassung von nachtaktiven Großschmetterlingen an Ködern an einem Auwald-Fragment an der Saale in Jena. Mitteilungen des Thüringer Entomologenverbandes e. V. 26: 54-63
Brehm G (2017) Migration, Ausbreitung und Verschleppung: Auswirkungen auf biologische Vielfalt. Pp. 153–163 in Tittel C (ed) Migration der Dinge. Kulturtransfer und Wissenszirkulation in Zeitaltern der Globalisierung. Schriften des Internationalen Kollegs für Kulturtechnikforschung und Medienphilosophie 31, Weimar. ISBN 978-3-95773-243-9
Brehm G (2017) Prologue, subfamily and phylogeny texts. Pages 6-7,31,32-34,50,75,83,97,139,171,203,209,229,248,261 in Dett A (ed) Moths of Costa Rica's rainforest. Benteli, Salenstein. ISBN 978-3-7165-1840-3
Brehm G (2016) Erforschung biologischer Vielfalt in Neotropischen Brennpunkten der Vielfalt. Nachrichtenblatt bayerischer Entomologen 65: 99–102. ISSN 0027-7452
Brehm G, Gaona FP, Fiedler K (2016) Andean rainforests: studying the global hotspot of Lepidopteran diversity. Pp 110–115 in Bogner FX, Bendix J, Beck E (eds) Biodiversity Hotspot Tropical Mountain Rainforest. NCI Foundation, Loja, Ecuador. ISBN 978-9942-14-583-3
Brehm G, Fiedler K (2016) Lepidoptera. Pp 464–496 in Schaefer M (ed) Brohmer, Fauna von Deutschland. 24. Aufl, Quelle & Mayer, Wiebelsheim. ISBN 978-3-494-01668-9
Brehm G (2015) Die Zoologischen Sammlungen am Phyletischen Museum. Pp. 25–30 in Christoph A, Brehm G, Elschner E (eds) Zoogeographie. Die Welt der Tiere in den Sammlungen des Phyletischen Museums Jena. Laborberichte 8 (Siegel S, Klinger K eds) Verlag und Datenbank für Geisteswissenschaften, Weimar. ISBN 978-3-89739-842-9.
Brehm G, Waechter R (2015) Wie stellt man einen Farbkatalog für Peter Halley her? / How to make a catalogue for Peter Halley. Pp. 92-96 in Fischer MS, Happe B, Siegel S (eds) Peter Halley – Prisons. ISBN 978-3-9806431-7-7
Brehm G, Fischer MS (2014) Phyletisches Museum im Institut für Spezielle Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie. Pp 209–220 in Werneburg R, May R (eds) Thüringer Natur-Schätze. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg. ISBN 978-3-7954-2729-0
Brehm G (2013) Biologische Invasionen – Wachsende Probleme mit der Globalisierung. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau 66: 117–123
Hoßfeld U, Brehm G (2012) Darwins Finken: „Alle diese Spezies sind diesem Archipel eigentümlich“. Praxis der Naturwissenschaft – Biologie in unserer Schule 61: 45–48
Brehm G, Hoßfeld U (2011) Von bunt zu braun – Bärenspinner (Utetheisa spp.) der Galápagos-Inseln. Praxis der Naturwissenschaft – Biologie in unserer Schule 60: 47–49
Fischer MS, Brehm G, Hoßfeld U (2008) Das Phyletische Museum in Jena. Institut für Spezielle Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie mit Phyletischem Museum. ISBN 978-3-9811758-3-7
Brehm G, Schrumpf M (2006) Seidenschwänze fressen Schnee. Ornithologische Mitteilungen 58: 261-262. Runterlad pdf
Brehm G (2003) Host-plant records and illustrations of the larvae of 19 geometrid moth species from a montane rainforest in Ecuador (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 24: 29-34. Runterlad pdf
Brehm G (2002) Diversity of geometrid moths in a montane rainforest in Ecuador. Dissertation, Universität Bayreuth. https://epub.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/1012
Brehm G, Brehm K (1997) Anmerkungen zur Gefährdung des Mosel-Apollos (Parnassius apollo vinningensis Stichel, 1899) durch den Straßenverkehr - Wie groß sind die Populationen an der Mosel tatsächlich? (Lep., Papilionidae). Melanargia 9: 32-37.
Eitschberger U, Reinhard R, Steiniger H, Brehm G (1991) Wanderfalter in Europa. Zugleich Aufruf für eine internationale Zusammenarbeit an der Erforschung des Wanderphänomens bei den Insekten. Atalanta 22: 1-67, Tafeln I-XVI.
Brehm G (1989) Silage als neues Umweltproblem. Die Heimat 96: 202-210.
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