The Australian Lepidoptera Research Endowment (ALRE) was established by Marianne Horak, Douglas Hilton and Ian Clark within the Perpetual Foundation to honour the dedication of Ebbe Nielsen and Judith Clark to Australian Lepidoptera. The ALRE intends to support taxonomic and phylogenetic research on Australian moths and butterflies by professional and amateur entomologists and to enhance the curation of the Lepidoptera collection at the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC).

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THE NEED FOR SUPPORT OF RESEARCH ON AUSTRALIAN LEPIDOPTERA

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Moths and butterflies are an iconic part of Australia’s landscape. For many of us they represent one of our first memories of the beauty of nature. They play a crucial role in our diverse ecosystems, acting as obligate pollinators for iconic plants like Boronia and as essential components of our eucalypt forests. They are sentinels to the health of our environment and are important indicator species in conservation efforts. As introduced and endemic pests they have the potential to profoundly affect our agricultural sector and our economy.

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To understand our moths and butterflies requires we appreciate the extent of their diversity, that we provide them with names, unravel their evolutionary relationships and determine their life histories. Australia has a rich moth fauna, estimated to number 30,000 or more species, and is a global hot-spot for many families of moths, especially primitive moths that can provide insight into early Lepidoptera evolution. Despite the importance and scientific interest, at best a third of our species have names and have been described scientifically, and we understand the life-cycle of perhaps a few hundred species in any detail. The Australian Lepidoptera Research Endowment is intended to provide funding to help fill this knowledge gap, and our donors make this possible.

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GRANT INFORMATION

 

A call for applications will be made by the Endowment in January each year and will outline the amount of funding available and the areas that will be considered for support. The deadline for receipt of applications will be 1 March.

 

A decision on which applications to recommend to the trustee to fund from the Endowment will be made by the Scientific Advisory Committee and the trustee will advise successful applicants by 31 May. Researchers must provide the Scientific Advisory Committee with a report showing previously funded research has been completed before becoming eligible for potential new funding.

 

This announcement will be made via email or newsletter to MABA members (sign up for membership to be alerted).
 

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GRANT APPLICATIONS 2025–2026
 

We are pleased to announce grants of up to $4500 from the Perpetual Foundation - Australian Lepidoptera Research Endowment (ALRE) for the financial year July 2025 to 2026, and we are inviting applications.​

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APPLICATION

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Download the application form here: Application Form

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The application form should be submitted by 1 March 2025 by email to Marianne.Horak@csiro.au.

 

For queries please contact Marianne Horak at Marianne.Horak@csiro.au or via telephone 041749438.

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ALRE GRANT PROJECT ELIGIBILITY
 

Any lepidopterist, amateur or professional, working on the Australian fauna, is eligible to apply for any of the activities considered for support. See here for a list of past grants.

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To be eligible, grants can only be handled by organisations that hold Australian Taxation Office Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR1) endorsement (covered by Item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997). Further documentation may be requested during the selection process to confirm an organisation’s eligibility.

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The endowment supports endeavors in the following areas of interest on Australian lepidoptera:

• Support for visitors or students to curate parts of the ANIC Lepidoptera collection

• Collecting trips designed to obtain material for specific taxonomic studies

• Molecular, morphological and life-history research to generate data for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies

• Provision of cabinets to amateur collectors to ensure proper housing of material collected or on loan from Institutions

• Preparation and printing of scientific publications

• Travel and accommodation for international researchers to work in the ANIC to undertake taxonomic research and/or curatorial work enhancing the scientific value of the collection

• Scholarships to support undergraduate, MSc and PhD students undertaking taxonomic and phylogenetic research.

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SELECTION PROCESS
 

The applications will be assessed by the ALRE Scientific Advisory Committee and a recommendation with applications to be funded from the ALRE will be made to the trustee in April 2025.

 

Successful applicants will be advised by the trustee by 31 May 2025 and the grant will be disbursed to the eligible beneficiaries.

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