Creepy-crawlies? Let the children come to them...

When asked his opinion on the most remarkable insect in Malta, Dr David Mifsud admits his personal bias for an endemic beetle which carries his surname: Amaurops mifsudi.

But he insists that this is not because it was named after him but because of its unique features.

The bug is very small and lives in crevices deep in virgin soils where remnants of forest vegetation are still present.

Used to life in this environment, the beetle has not only completely lost the ability to fly but also its eyes - two characteristics it shares with cave-dwelling species.

Mifsud is a grown-up scientist who has dedicated part of his life to documenting insects, but his fascination for them is much like a child's.

Mifsud gives the following advice to parents: "Let your boys and girls play in the fields, let them discover and observe creepy things that they can see and touch."

He regrets that most children spend most of their time in front of a computer or TV, something which he describes as "one of the biggest disasters for the human race".

"If we continue like this, in 30 years' time we will have persons with very little skill and ability, persons that despise nature because they have never been exposed to it. So please leave them to play. There are no dangers out there."

Insects are easily overlooked due to their size, but some species documented by the society have an agricultural and economic benefit.

Through its work, the ESM is also providing updated information on non-indigenous species, which are often the most dangerous to the economy, like the red palm weevil. It has wreaked havoc on some 40,000 palm trees.

The journal includes information on insects associated with ficus trees such as the fig, some of which are considered as important agricultural pests, while others are important for pollination. Other contributions provide detailed information on six beetle families.

"The more information you gain on these species, the easier it will be to control them."

All papers included in the journal are enriched with high-resolution photographs, making insect identification easier.

"In my opinion it will be a powerful tool in the future for students and the public in general."

The five volumes of the Entomological Society's journal provide original information for some 1,400 species of insects that appear in Malta. Of these, one-third are new arrivals.

In these last five years, more than 80 scientists from all over the world have collaborated to work and publish information on Maltese insects.

All this is providing much more information on Maltese biodiversity. "We know a lot about plants, mammals, birds and fish but very little on the most numerous group within the animal kingdom, that of insects".

In fact insects represent more than 60% of all living species, which include plants, animals, fungi and bacteria.

Significantly the journal has described two species of moths which are entirely new to science and probably live only in Malta.

Moths and butterflies are the most studied insects in Malta. The reason is that there are 10 local amateur entomologists studying them on a regular basis, in "a very scientific way".

Some 600 species of moths and about two dozen species of butterflies have been recorded locally.

In Malta there 1,000 known species of beetle, but Mifsud estimates that between 600 and 1,000 are yet to be recorded.

Another large family of insects includes ants, bees and wasps, but this group is one of the least studied. So far more than 60 species of ants have been recorded locally.

Malta has 600 known species of flies, 20 of which the journal reports for the very first time.

A good example of how numbers can skyrocket through research is the growing number of recorded insects from the order Hemiptera, which includes bugs, aphids, scale insects, jumping plant lice, cicadas and leaf hoppers.

"Up to 10 years ago this group was represented locally by some 200 recorded species, but recent studies have shown some 600 species are actually present".

According to Mifsud, Malta could easily be the home of some 6,000 to 8,000 species of insects, even if many of these are yet to be catalogued.

The new ESM journal includes contributions from 24 scientists from Malta, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, the UK and Spain.