Renowned naturalist Guido Lanfranco has presented to Heritage Malta’s National Museum of Natural History a collection of over 1,000 insects he has put together over the years.

The collection includes specimens of butterflies and moths, grasshoppers, dragonflies, bees and wasps and flies, all collected on the Maltese Islands.

These have been transferred into glass boxes and, with the help of Mr Lanfranco, are now being systematically organised and catalogued.

The insects are all identified, as is the date and the place from where they were collected. Without such details, as Mr Lanfranco explained, the collection would not be as valuable and significant.

Mr Lanfranco’s interest in nature’s fascinating ways was born during World War II when he was just a little boy with lots of energy, creativity and time to spare.

Curiosity soon turned into a strong commitment and dedication towards Maltese nature, which he describes as vast and rich.

As a young adult he bought nature books from overseas and little by little taught himself how to observe nature closely without causing any harm.

In 1962 he set up the Natural History Society of Malta, the first society of its kind in the country. The society is now known as Nature Trust.

His career as a biology and science teacher gave him the opportunity to share his infectious passion for nature with his students, many of whom accompanied Mr Lanfranco on his countless nature outings and also joined his Natural History Society.

In recent months, the National Museum for Natural History has received various other collections from locals as well as foreigners.

These include two mineral collections, marine seashells, a stuffed-bird collection and a number of insects.

In preparation for future projects, Heritage Malta is currently refurbishing a hall that will host an exhibition on sites of ecological importance in the Maltese Islands.

Work on this display and its interpretation is at an advanced stage, with models of Filfla, Fungus Rock and Comino already completed.

Initial preparations are also underway for a completely new mammals display.

Rather than having the various animals exhibited in isolation, the plan is to create a number of dioramas of various habitats, including European woodland, the African savannah, the tropical forest and the Australian bush, where mammals can be seen in relation to nature and to other animals.

The National Museum for Natural History, which is situated in Mdina’s Vilhena Palace, is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Last admission is at 4.30pm.