Enrico Schifani

My name is Enrico Schifani and I have been loving insects since I was a child exploring the countryside of Sicily, where I developed a particular excitement just watching ants for hours. During high school I renewed this passion by reading two iconic books of Hölldobler and Wilson, Journey to the Ants and Sociobiology, and I decided to enrol for a scientific course at the University of Palermo, focusing on nature and biodiversity. There, during my bachelor, I felt decisively sure: I wanted to become a researcher working on ants.

My first aim was to understand which species were living around me, finally giving names to the ants whose diverse behaviours I had observed when I was younger, so I naturally leaned towards taxonomy, learning and how much still is to be discovered even in Europe. Soon after, I also moved to embrace other topics, working on biogeographical, ecological, evolutionary and behavioural aspects, while taxonomy remained a core interest. Finally, I have just got my PhD in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology (Feb 2024) at the University of Parma under the supervision of Donato Grasso, studying the complex and diverse interactions between ants and agricultural pests of Mediterranean agroecosystems. So far, the journey of scientific research and myrmecology has been incredible, and I look forward to continuing this exploration!

My Contacts: enrsc8@gmail.com; Twitter