Bugs and beetles are so tiny that they are often overlooked as research subjects. This was a fact a local researcher form the University of Venda, Mr Colin Schoeman, realised when embarking on his three-year-long study on endemic bugs of the Soutpansberg (more specifically ground beetles) to complete his PhD study.

No one has actually tried to update the current state of beetle taxonomy in the region; so much so that the exact number of described genera from southern Africa is not known.

It was for this reason that the Zoutpansberger was privileged to be involved in Schoeman’s research in his quest to document and report on the number of different species of ground beetle since the publication of the core texts. Schoeman needed to photograph his carefully gathered pinned collection of beetles to present in his paper and asked the help of the newspaper.

In most of the cases, it was the first time ever that a photograph was taken of a particular species. Research in Schoeman’s specific field is so uncommon that the last update on the descriptions of beetle species was in 1896. Schoeman is confident that he has discovered new species of ground beetles, endemic to the Soutpansberg, and will also present his findings to a registered taxonomist.  

“The beetle fauna of southern Africa is staggering, even rivalling the richness in the tropical rainforests. It is believed that there are an estimated 7 000 species that exist here, which means that if one was to actually research and quantify the data, our country could be home to more than half of all the species,” said Schoeman.

The majority of beetles, especially Carbids and Tenbrionds, do not seem to have any use for humankind; none of them plays a significant role as pollinators or provides any ecosystem service. This does not, however, mean that we should not have respect for them, explains Schoeman. “We can argue that they have a special aesthetic significance – but beetles are a hard group and developing an appreciation for them comes at the cost of time and some effort. Most of these beetles have been walking on the earth since the beginning of time, and that is something worthy of our respect,” said Schoeman.