REVIEW OF INSECT SYSTEMATICS RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

SUMMARY Southern Africa is endowed with a rich insect fauna of roughly 44000 known or described species in 7700 genera belonging to 570 families. However, the species estimate is thought to represent less than half of the actual species richness. It has taken about 250 years to reach the current level of taxonomic knowledge of the fauna, but with the loss of species through human-induced habitat transformation and the shortage of human and financial resources, the prospect of documenting the remaining fauna in the foreseeable future appears slim. Most of the pre-20th century taxonomy was done in Europe, where much of the early material and types are still housed. During the 20th century much of the descriptive taxonomy was done by local taxonomists and rich collections are housed in the country. Foreign researchers and collections, however, have continued to contribute significantly to documenting the fauna. The current situation is a gradual attrition in the number of local taxonomists (since the majority are past middle age and there is decreasing interest among students), but there is a growing number of foreign taxonomists working on southern African insect groups. There are about 35 practising systematists (of whom eight are retired) based at three universities and seven museums in South Africa. Most collections are housed in five large and a few small museums. About two-thirds of the systematists are older than 40 years of age. There are currently no insect systematists, nor post-graduate students of insect systematics from previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa. Few students are currently registered for post-graduate studies in insect systematics. About 300 foreign researchers are studying South African insects. Most of the systematic work on South African insects is classical taxonomy, with new taxon descriptions and generic revisions making up the bulk. A small percentage is phylogenetic and only a fraction of the total has been applied in conservation planning. Relatively poor funding for systematics research and changing priorities of employers to service-orientated scientific services appear to be impacting negatively on research output. The general conclusion is reached that insect systematics training and research in South Africa are probably lagging behind many other countries with similar faunas and species richness.