Marianne Horak

Dr Marianne Horak is currently an Honorary Fellow at the Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra. After completing her PhD degree in Switzerland, she joined the ANIC in 1982 to study the taxonomy and biology of Southern Hemisphere moths, particularly Tortricidae, but also the subfamily Phycitinae of the family Pyralidae and to address other major problems in the Australian Microlepidoptera, including Oecophoridae and Bucculatricidae.

Earlier she spent two years in New Zealand (1967–1969) and two years at Bulolo in Papua New Guinea (1971–1973). Her PhD work on Tortricidae culminated in landmark findings on the phylogeny of the family, and the structures that are important in its taxonomy. She then embarked on a series of revisions of the Australasian Tortricidae. In 2001, she became head of the Lepidoptera unit at the ANIC, a position which she held until retirement in 2010. She has continued as Chief Editor of the Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera series, played a leading role in the establishment of the website, Australian Moths Online, and instituted the regular “Moth Weekend” workshops. She also established the Australian Lepidoptera Endowment Fund to facilitate studies of Lepidoptera in the ANIC. In 2008, Marianne won the inaugural J.O. Westwood Medal for the comprehensive work Olethreutine Moths of Australian (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), which was published in 2006. In 2019, Marianne was awarded the Karl Jordan Medal by the Lepidopterists’ Society, and thus gained the distinct honour of being the first woman to receive this prestigious international award. Marianne fully embraces the concept that one can achieve more by encouraging others than one can by working alone.