Dr. Armin Ionescu is a collection manager of ants (Formicidae) and 18 additional families of Aculeata (Hymenoptera) at the Steinhardt Museum; he is also in charge of maintenance of the alcohol-preserved insect collections. He received his PhD from Tel Aviv University in 2001. His main interests include taxonomy and systematics of ants, their evolutionary ecology and control of tramp species. His current research focuses on ant taxonomy, in particular a partial revision of the harvester ants (Messor) of Israel.