From fear to discovery: An Albanian entomologist’s journey through EU-backed science

Once terrified of insects as a child, Anila Paparisto has grown into an entomologist who not only cherishes them but also feels deeply grateful for their presence. Her journey shows how determination can open doors to unknown and fascinating worlds.

As a decorated high school student with a gold medal, Anila’s grandmother urged her to pursue medicine. Yet, captivated by the mysteries of DNA and the secrets of chromosomes, she dreamed of becoming a geneticist and chose to study biology instead. To her grandmother, this path meant she would merely become a teacher. But Anila discovered something greater: a way to challenge time, to test herself, and to explore a world invisible to the human eye.

In 1994, she became a young professor at the University of Tirana, breaking barriers as the only woman in the biology department and carving out her place in a male-dominated world. She soon realised that she had left school with knowledge, but not with abilities; that she had arrived with a macro concept of the world, but not a micro one. Appointed professor of teaching methodology, a subject others avoided, she later earned a Tempus scholarship (the predecessor of Erasmus) to pursue a master’s degree in biotechnology in Brussels.

Upon returning, she engaged with civil society and helped found Albania’s first environmental association, the Perla Club. Alongside teaching and volunteering in schools and women’s programmes, she turned to insects, initially out of necessity for her doctorate, as her dream of becoming a geneticist or working in biotechnology was not feasible in Albania at the time.

“At that time, I met Kastriot Misja, an entomologist and my mentor. After struggling with aphids, he directed me towards Coleoptera, the immense beetle group, which had no experts in Albania. Through my research, I collected and identified 109 species new to the country. With his help, I examined them under the microscope, using identification books in Russian to distinguish subtle traits, a hair on a leg, a tiny hole in the tarsus, or a faint white-tipped bump,” she recalls.

After years of study, insects helped her understand that the knowledge humans possess is only a grain of dust compared with what lies ahead. “Insects taught me that the world extends beyond what we see. Nature, with its colours, forms and hidden mechanisms, is balanced and ingenious. It evolves by draining and using interconnected channel systems. Its solutions may seem simple, yet they reveal a magical coordination we should learn from to live better,” she notes.

EU Delegation to Albania

Paparisto became a Doctor of Science and began working with dragonflies, studying 70 of their species—out of the 140 found in Europe, and publishing her findings. Her experience with beetles changed the way she understood the world around her. “Once afraid of insects, I came to see that they teach us sensitivity and the need to look beyond appearances. You have to dig beyond what is visible to understand what lies beneath. What is that small thing we touch unintentionally when we touch something big? What do we harm with this simple act?” she asks, while highlighting the extraordinary contribution insects make to the planet.

“We cannot exist without insects; they are at the base of every food chain. Sometimes we call them harmful, but that is only from our point of view. If it weren’t for insects that feed on plants, balance would not be maintained. If something is allowed to grow endlessly, it becomes an invader. Nature maintains balance, it does not allow anything to become an invader. It gives space to everyone to exist, and that is wonderful,” she explains.

Paparisto began working with butterflies only at her mentor’s request. “He was the father of butterflies, so I never entered his territory, even though I admired them. In his nineties, he told me, ‘Don’t let them die,’” she recalls. Invited to join Belgian entomologists, she took up the task and later created a biodiversity page at the University of Tirana. There, each butterfly species in Albania has a ‘passport’ with maps, coordinates, photos, diet and conservation status, openly shared in the spirit of science, because, as she says, they no longer belong only to her.

EU Delegation to Albania

Butterflies reveal shifts in climate, vegetation and even urban development, as they feed on plants and quickly reflect ecological imbalances without transmitting disease. Recently, she and fellow scientists have been studying them in Drenova’s spruce forests with support from COST, the European Cooperation in Science and Technology. According to Paparisto, the so-called ‘May butterfly’, which lives only one day, is not a butterfly at all but an Ephemeroptera, an insect that survives just long enough to lay eggs. Butterflies can live from a few days to over a year, with the Monarch being the longest-lived, reaching nearly two years.

The latest discovery in Albania is cryptic butterflies, species that look identical to known ones but reveal major genetic differences in their mitochondrial DNA. “These hidden species arise from isolated populations and cannot be distinguished by eye. One example is Luraj, named after Lura. It appears sky blue, yet its genes tell a different story,” she explains.

“Albania hosts nearly 220 butterfly species, about half of Europe’s total. Though small, Albania is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. Its varied altitudes, geology and water sources create microhabitats where species thrive, and butterflies make this clear,” says Paparisto, as we mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by celebrating a woman who broke every barrier.

Background information

COST, European Cooperation in Science and Technology, is a funding organisation for research and innovation networks. It connects research initiatives across Europe and beyond and enable researchers and innovators to grow their ideas in any science and technology field by sharing them with their peers. COST Actions are bottom-up networks with a duration of four years that boost research, innovation and careers. By funding networking, COST acts as a pre-portal for further research and innovation funding such as Horizon Europe, the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.