Agriculture & Forestry, Vol. 62 Issue 4: 125-145, 2016, Podgorica 125 DOI: 10.17707/AgricultForest.62.4.16 Halil BOLU 1 SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA REGION INSECT FAUNA I (COLEOPTERA I: CARABOIDEA; DYTISCOIDEA; BOSTRICHOIDEA; CHRYSOMELOIDEA; CLEROIDEA; CUCUJOIDEA) OF TURKEY SUMMARY The aim of this study was to determine Insect fauna Southeastern Anatolia Region. Surveys on insect species in various ecologies have been conducted in the provinces (Adıyaman, Batman, Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak) of Southeastern Anatolia region between the years 1948-2013. Almost 2600 species and subspecies among 180 families belonging to 13 insect orders are defined owing to these studies. Coleoptera species formed about 20% of the collected insects. Coleoptera included 32 families were recorded. During this study totally 268 species were found in 13 families and in 6 superfamilies of Coleoptera. Those superfamilies are Caraboidea, Dytiscoidea, Bostrichoidea, Chrysomeloidea, Cleroidea and Cucujoidea. The distribution of determined insect types according to the provinces, plant hosting and feeding type is also done. Information about their identification, host plants, and distribution in Southeastern Anatolia Region was presented as detailed. Keywords: Southeastern Anatolia Region, Insect Fauna, Coleoptera, Turkey. INTRODUCTION Insects (Insecta) are the most numerous group of animals in the world, with over one million species that have been described (Price, 1997). Insects are difficult to study because they represent the most species-rich, yet one of the least known, of all taxa of living organisms, a problem that is compounded by a dearth of skilled entomologists. Although the number of described insect species is uncertain due to synonyms and the lack of a global list, most authorities recognize 900000–1000000 named morpho-species, representing 56% of all species known on Earth (Groombridge, 1992; Anonymous, 2003). Sensible estimates of the number of insects yet to be discovered range from another 1 million to 30 million species (Erwin, 1982; 1991), although most predict around 2–8 million more species (May, 1990; Gaston, 1991; Stork, 1997; Ødegaard, 2000). Conservative estimates suggest that 50–90% of the existing insect species on Earth have still to be discovered, yet the named insects alone comprise more than half of all known species of organism. Insects constitute the most diverse form of animal life in terrestrial ecosystems. Most species are innocuous and essential components of natural 1 Halil Bolu, (corresponding author: besni@dicle.edu.tr) Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbakır, TURKEY. Notes: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. Authorship Form signed online.