Database

Natural History collections often yield large series of specimens. While this material is useful for identification, the associated data (like locality, date of collection, additional information such as host plant, trapping technique, etc) can yield relevant information for studying aspects such as biogeography, phenology, or host range.

The RMCA has created a relational database incorporating all information that is associated with collection specimens of Afrotropical frugivorous tephritids.
This database comprises all specimens housed at the RMCA but also at those from more than 70 institutions and private collections worldwide. In addition it also includes locality records extracted from more than 200 bibliographic references that are reporting relevant information. This has lead to an unique database that is considered a suitable tool for anyone studying Afrotropical fruit flies.

The complete database, developed in the MS Access software, is downloadable from here (Microsoft Access Database - 28/11/2023, 21 Mb - Zip file).

The part dealing with the RMCA collections can be consulted online through the DaRWIN website of the museum.

An earlier version of the database is also still consultable at the Belgian Biodiversity Information Facility BeBIF.