Introducing the website

As all pursuers of a fascinating, if somewhat peculiar passion, I wanted to share my research activity and that of my collaborators with other people that, like us, are fascinated by the world of insects, especially Scarabs.

After several year of absence from scientific entomological work, due to logistic reasons (I was resident in politically unstable African countries), in 2006 I moved to Amman overseeing a UN Health Programme covering Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Thus I started again to collect and study my favourite bugs. Being resident in the Near East, or what it is often called “Levant”, is a unique opportunity for an entomologist. The winter and spring seasons offer the possibility to observe and collect insects in a variety of habitats ranging from 200 meters below sea level (the Jordan valley) to 2.000 meters above (Mount Hermon). Many species I had only seen pinned in Museums were beautiful living realities in the natural habitats of the Levant.

A few years ago describing a new Pygopleurus species, I was immediately gripped by this fascinating group, still unknown in its biology and phenology. But other groups of Scarabaeidae are no less interesting, like the misterious Brenskiella flavomicans I collected recently. Many systematic and biological problems are still waiting to be clarified.

Therefore, I developed this website to provide state of the art information on the Scarabs of this Region and I am acting as the coordinator of a group of entomologists who are contributing for their specific groups of expertise.