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Blefouti Bay, Northern part of Leros
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The origin of "LEROS" is still unknown but it is first mentioned in an epigram of the 6th century b.c. by Herodotus and by Plinios and Antoninos. During the Byzantine ages the name LEROS and LER(N)OS are used, and it is possible that the name came from "lernus" which means smooth and rocky. Leros is also known as the island of Diana or Artemis, the goddess of hunting. Ancient writers mention the existence of a temple in a swampy area in Partheni, close to the today's airport in the north of the island.
Leros (26°51’E, 39°9’N) is an island of 54 km2 and about 15km long, it has a minimum width of 1km between the bays of Lakki and Pendeli, and a maximum width of 8 km between Clisovra and Pano Zimi (see map of Leros). With its bays and gulfs, Leros lies as an octopus in the see between Patmos in the north and Rhodes in the south of the island in the Aegean see.
The highest mountain, Mt. Scumbara thrones the island with its 328 meters above see level followed by the Mt. Klidi with its 320 m. The island's geology is dominated by both archaic and recent rocks. The archaic rock is mostly composed of christalline schist, quarts and marmor and the recent rock is dominated by dolomite, chalk and muddy schist. The southern part of the island is composed of Eocene flysch and there are two locations on the island and one on Archangelo, (island north of Leros), with fossil deposits.
The first inhabitants were the Kares, the Leleges, the Phoenicians, the Lykies and the Eteokrites. Later on, the Knights of Rhodes will occupied Leros during the 14th century and between 1455 and 1522 several pirate raids took place in order to conquer the island. Then, in 1522, the Turks occupy Leros and they will rule the island until 1821. In 1912 the Italians come to occupy the island until the Germans take over in 1943 and some time after the war Leros together with the Dodecanese returns back to Greece. During the Italian occupation, important defensive and military installations where built. Lakki was rebuilt with a characteristic Italian colonial architecture, unique in its kind for that period and many man made caves were built as bunkers and also used during the bombardments as refuges by the population.
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So far I have collected 10 different species of Cerambycidae (Trichoferus sp., Arhopalus sp., Stromatium sp., Chlorophorus trifaciatus, Nathrius brevipennis), 8 sp. Buprestidae (Ptosima flavoguttata, Perotis lugubris, Acmaeodera ottomana), 7 sp. Curculionidae, some Lampyridae, 8 Tenebrionidae (Probaticus tentyrioides, Pr. lacertosus, Crypticus Platycrypticus castaneus, Pachyscolis villosa, Zophosis punctata, Dailognatha quadricollis, Opatroides punctulatus, Idastrandiella alfardi). And many more unidentified Coleoptera, Heteroptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera...
I have also found a cave living hopper, Dolicopoda sp. which seems to be a new species for Greece. I have visited about 30 different man made caves in which only two where inhabited by this hopper. Seemingly, this species is endemic for each caves they have been found in. This particular one had many similarities with theD. paraskevi from Krete, but some structures in the reproductive apparatus of both the male and the female are sufficiently different to be qualified as a new species for Greece and a new endemic species for Leros. I will suggest in my publication to name it Dolichopoda lerioticus.Photos: © by Markus Engvall
Some insects from Leros.
A walking stick, a hopper, a mantis and a web.
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