Niklas WahlbergView profile
Professor
Niklas Wahlberg is a Professor in Biological Systematics at Lund University, Sweden. He holds roles including Museum Director of the Biological Museum and Principal Investigator in the BECC biodiversity initiative. His primary affiliation is with the Department of Biology, focusing on evolutionary biology and systematics of Lepidoptera. Education & Career: PhD in Evolutionary Biology from University of Helsinki (2000) Postdoc at Stockholm University (2000–2002) Academy Research Fellowship at University of Turku (2006–2011) Professor in Genetics at Turku (2014) before moving to Lund in 2015 Research Interests: His work centers on the evolutionary history of Lepidoptera, particularly diversification patterns linked to angiosperm evolution and mass extinction events. He employs molecular systematic methods, next-gen sequencing, and museum specimens to study clade origins and biogeography. Key topics include Cretaceous diversification, post-mass extinction radiation, and genomic discordance in butterflies. Awards & Recognition: Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (2017, 2018) Elected to Kungliga Fysiografiska Sällskapet (2016) Grants & Projects: Swedish Research Council: Testing gene-trait associations in genome modifications (2025–2029) Infrastructure leader for museum collections and holistic specimen projects Labs & Collaborations: Head of the Systematic Biology Group at Lund, managing the Biological Museum’s collections. Active in global entomology networks and co-organizes major conferences like the International Congress of Entomology.







