Professor in Entomology
BSc. (UKM), MSc, PhD (Iowa State University)

Systematics, the cornerstone of biodiversity is the science dedicated to the discovery, organization, and interpretation of biodiversity. Systematics documents the properties of species, integrates data from other fields of biology and provides conceptual framework for interpreting biological information.

Systematic Entomology is specifically dedicated to the science of insect diversity. My research interests in systematic entomology began with the order Siphonaptera in Borneo, particularly Sabah, where I had been documenting the flea fauna of Mt. Kinabalu and Mt. Trus Madi back in 1984. Apart from that, being in one of the megadiverse countries in insect diversity, I had the opportunity to work on various insectan orders, from the caddisflies to beetles for the past 20 years. My current interests include the following:

• The diversity and biogeography of butterflies from offshore islands off Borneo.
• The diversity and distribution of the butterflies (Rhopalocera) of Sarawak.
• The moth diversity in various habitats in Sarawak and Sabah from peat swamp to the canopy of the lowland mixed dipterocarp forest.
• The systematics and distribution of the longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) of Sarawak.

The insects are such a diverse group and form a major component of the Earth?s biodiversity. Hence, we will never be able to achieve our goal in inventorying this diverse group. Therefore in my work, I now focus my interest in some indicator groups such as the butterfly and moths of Borneo in order to get more information on the fascinating world of insects.

Selected Publications

Abang, F. 2002. Entomological collections in Sabah and Sarawak. In Zahra Yaacob, Stella Moo-Tan & Sylvia Yorath (eds)). Proceedings. of the International Conference on In-situ and Ex-situ Biodiversity Conservation in the New Millennium. Yayasan Sabah/Innoprise Corporation Sdn. Bhd.165- 183.

Abang, F. 2002. First Record of Appias nephele Hewitson (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) for Borneo. The Butterfly Society of Japan ? Butterflies No. 31. 57-58.

Abang, F & G. Ismail. 2002. The Role of Entomological Collections in Research and Education : A Case for Malaysia. The Sabah Museum Monograph Vol 6.

Abang, F. & D.S. Hill. (2003). Doleschallia bisaltide Fruhstorfer (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Sarawak. The Butterfly Society of Japan ? Butterflies No.36: 16-17.

Vives, E. & F. Abang. 2003. Notes on the Lepturinae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) of the Sarawak Museum insect Collection. Sarawak Museum Journal.

Abang, F. & Catherine Ak Karim 2003. A checklist of moths (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) from Kota Samarahan, Sarawak. SERANGGA, 8 (1 & 2): 13-23.

Abang, F. 2003. A checklist of the longhorn beetles from Sarawak. SERANGGA, 8 (1 & 2): 24-30.