Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 91, July 2009, pp. 1-31. | Page 14

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Invertebrates:
Because invertebrates were decimated by human activity less than higher classes were,
they are the best example of the country's position as a meeting ground for creatures of
extremely divergent geographic origin. The number of insects, spiders, crustaceans and
other invertebrates reaches an estimated 30,000 species, and there is an incredible
variety of forms and colours. In addition to countrywide species, many are restricted to
limited areas. Richest in invertebrate fauna are regions which abound in warmth, water
and vegetation, such as the Hula Valley, the valleys around the Sea of Tiberias, and
some of the northern parts of the Coastal Plain. The use of insecticides and biological
warfare against crop pests or plagues succeeds in reducing the attacked species greatly,
but only rarely makes it disappear. The introduction of new farming crops also brings
the appearance of new pests, previously unknown; cotton growing, since the beginning
of the 1950s, caused the spreading of the Egyptian cotton bollworm (Earias insulana).
The introduction of groundnuts brought other species; citrus growers must wage
constant war against the Mediterranean fruit fly or medfly (Ceratitis capitata). Of
creatures harmful to man, best known are scorpions, among them the common black
scorpion (Nebo hierichonticus) and the more dangerous yellow scorpion (Buthus
quinquestriatus). The bite of a large spider, the black widow (Latrodectus
tredecimguttatus), may cause considerable trouble (Khalaf, 2001, in “Gazelle: The
Palestinian Biological Bulletin” Website).

The newly discovered Palestinian arctiid moth (Olepa schleini Witt et al., 2005).
www.zsm.mwn.de/lep/e/israel.htm
Gazelle – Number 91 – July 2009