A recently discovered insect was named after the coronavirus, the lockdown rules of which help a biologist complete his work.
Professor Halil Ibrahimi had worked for years on a research report on a species of caddisfly found in the western Bjeshket e Nemuna (Cursed Mountains) National Park of Kosovo.
The species has now been named Potamophylax coronavirus.
“Coronavirus was the liveliest around the time the species was discovered,” said Prof. Ibrahimi.
As an associate professor in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Pristina, Prof. Ibrahimi collected the species that were found to be endemic in the national park, 120 km west of the capital Pristina, and found that they were clearly different from the other species in the Balkans.
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Halil Ibrahimi discovered a new insect and named it after coronavirus. Pic AP
It is considerably smaller and lives in a different habitat in open elevation zones, about 2,000 meters above sea level.
During his research, he also found that the Lumbardhi i Decanit river, where the new species was found, has deteriorated significantly in recent years due to the construction of a hydroelectric power station.
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Kosovo and the Balkans have a long history of pollution of all kinds, from sewage pumped directly into rivers to deforestation and mismanagement of hydropower plants.
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“It has the same effect on the species living in the rivers that the coronavirus is causing to mankind today,” said Prof. Ibrahimi.
The general environmental situation in Kosovo has deteriorated in recent years, with increasing construction, traffic and industrial pollution, as well as government efforts to promote small hydropower plants as an alternative energy source.
People should “rethink their attitudes towards the environment” because these insects are “the first barrier before pollution spreads to people,” said Prof. Ibrahimi.
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The Caddisfly species comes from a national park in Kosovo. Pic AP
“They are the first indicators that something is going wrong in the environment … to be prepared for the pollution that directly affects us.”
He discovered a new species of fly that is now called Potamophylax coronavirus.
He is an associate professor at the Natural Science Faculty of the University of Pristina and collected the insects that turned out to be endemic in the national park for his research.
The species differed from others found in the Balkans.
It is considerably smaller and lives in open elevation zones.
“Coronavirus was the most vivacious in the time the species was discovered,” he said.
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