This site was created on the initiative of A.L. Lobanov in 1999 by the staff of the Coleoptera Department of the Laboratory of Insect Systematics of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and their colleagues. The site was created and developed first by the partial support of RFFI (grants N 96-07-89086 and N 99-07-90315) and GNTP "Biodiversity" (2.1.91.бр). In 2002 RFFI gave an individual grant N 02-07-90105-в (chief - Dr. A.G. Kirejtshuk) for development of the site, creating an english version of the site and special coleopterological databases.
All staff members of the Coleoptera Department took part in collecting information and writing texts. However the page with photographs of the authors includes and will include only pictures of those participants who have done something apart from filling in the questionnaire or the personal page, i.e. have written some text or presented image material. We invite everyone who is interested to cooperate and would be happy if the authors' page were constantly supplemented by photographs of new participants. Advice and the necessary information for potential authors are placed on a special page of our site.
Our site is being continuously supplemented and edited. The major changes are placed on a special page "News of Our Site". A large number of pages contain illustrations only or are empty. At first we wanted to hide those pages, but then we decided that empty pages would permit us to get new authors to participate in work on this site. Therefore, please do not be surprised at the sight of empty pages. Their number is declining steadily every week.
The editorial board has no opportunity to verify thoroughly all the material submitted by numerous authors for publication in our site. In those cases when the author's name is indicated on the Web page the author is made responsible for the reliability and originality of the information. The editorial board reserves the right to withdraw material in which serious defects or breach of copyright have been revealed. The editorial board is thankful to all the users of the site for their critical comments and information on errors in the published material.
The site was put on the Internet for the first time on 29 November 1999
Our site has been registered in the following search systems and catalogues:
Last updated: January 7, 2007.