During 1951-1953, the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic jointly conducted route surveys and semi-stationary field studies in southwestern Turkmenistan. These investigations were initiated in connection with plans to construct a canal that would divert water from the lower Amu Darya through the Karakum Sands and the Uzboy Valley to irrigate the clay deserts of southwestern Turkmenistan. The Academy of Sciences of the USSR organized extensive multidisciplinary studies (geomorphological, soil, botanical, hydrogeological, meteorological, and others) over a vast territory extending from the lower Amu Darya and the Aral Sea in the north to the Atrek River Valley in the south, and from the Caspian coast in the west to the western slopes of the Kopet Dag Mountains in the east. Zoological investigations formed part of this integrated research program, but owing to their specific nature were carried out largely according to a specialized plan. The principal zoological objectives were as follows: To obtain a general understanding of the fauna of the region, which had previously been studied only very inadequately. To reveal the ecological relationships of mammals and insects with the principal soil types and geobotanical communities. To study mammals and insects damaging sand-fixing woody and shrub species as well as pasture vegetation. To investigate the arboreal insect fauna of the western Kopet Dag Mountains and the irrigated zone of the Sumbar River Valley, together with their feeding relationships. To collect life-history data on a number of abundant insect species. To study the beneficial activities of pollinating insects and certain natural enemies, as well as the soil-forming activities of woodlice, termites, and ants. To address these objectives, a route expedition was organized in 1951 and surveyed most of the study area, collecting preliminary faunal materials. The expedition consisted of two teams. The first included G. P. Dementyev (Moscow University), N. N. Kartashev (Moscow University), O. L. Kryzhanovsky (Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR), and E. A. Klyupin (Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR, botanist). The second team included A. N. Lupova, O. N. Nurgeldyev, and B. K. Tishkin (Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR), together with D. M. Steinberg (Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR) (see the 1951 route reports of O. L. Kryzhanovsky and D. M. Steinberg). In 1952, the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR established two semi-stationary field stations: (1) on takyr terrain approximately 20 km north of Kyzyl-Arvat (provisionally named “Takhrabad”), where teams of soil scientists, geobotanists, and agronomists also worked on problems of agricultural utilization of takyr lands; and (2) at Kara-Kala, based at the Subtropical Crops Station of the All-Union Institute of Crop Cultivation. The latter station conducted observations in the western Kopet Dag Mountains and the Sumbar River Valley. In addition, route surveys covered many other areas of western and southwestern Turkmenistan (see the 1952 route reports of O. L. Kryzhanovsky and D. M. Steinberg). Participants in the 1952 investigations included K. B. Borisova, T. N. Bushchik, O. L. Kryzhanovsky, V. I. Kuznetsov, R. A. Ogintsova, K. G. Romakina, and D. M. Steinberg (Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR); O. N. Nurgeldyev (Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR); O. M. Ivanova-Kazas (Leningrad State University); and students V. V. Ilyichev, A. N. Kiryakova, E. I. Slepyan, and V. I. Tobias. In 1953, the main emphasis was placed on semi-stationary research. Several sites representing different landscapes were selected approximately along the meridian of Kyzyl-Arvat, from north to south: the salt marshes of Kara-Dzhepiz and the sands of the Kara-Bogaz region (about 40 km north of Kyzyl-Arvat); the takyr lands around “Takhrabad”; the foothill plain and northern foothill zone of the Dzhanakhyr area (12 km southwest of Kyzyl-Arvat); the slopes of Mount Shuyit in the western Kopet Dag; and the Sumbar River Valley near Kara-Kala. At these locations, systematic collections and biological observations of various insects were conducted throughout the summer. Individual route surveys served only as supplementary investigations (see the 1953 route reports of O. L. Kryzhanovsky and D. M. Steinberg). Participants in the 1953 field season included E. V. Garnovskaya, O. I. Ivanovskaya, O. L. Kryzhanovsky, V. I. Kuznetsov, R. A. Ogintsova, V. A. Fokanov, G. Kh. Shaposhnikov, and D. M. Steinberg (Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR); O. N. Nurgeldyev (Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR); D. V. Panfilov (Zoological Museum, Moscow University); and students E. A. Alens, A. N. Kiryakova, V. A. Maslennikova, L. V. Osipova, E. I. Polivanova, A. A. Ponomaryova, I. V. Stebayev, and A. S. Utochkin. Research in western Turkmenistan continued in subsequent years. In 1954, V. I. Tobias and O. I. Ivanovskaya worked at Kara-Kala; in 1955, A. A. Ponomaryova continued the studies; and in 1956-1957, the work was carried on by G. S. Medvedev. The processing of the extensive collected material was not an easy task. Some preliminary results had already been published in individual journal articles. This volume of the Proceedings of the Institute of Zoology presents the results of studies on certain groups of insects from Turkmenistan, based primarily on material collected during the expeditions of 1951-1953. Some articles (by V. I. Kuznetsov, T. N. Bushchik, and A. A. Ponomaryova) deal with the fauna of relatively small areas in the western Kopet Dag. Articles by O. L. Kryzhanovsky and S. I. Medvedev cover the scarab beetle fauna of western and southwestern Turkmenistan as a whole. Finally, papers by M. Mroczkowski, M. N. Nikolskaya, and O. I. Ivanovskaya address the fauna of Turkmenistan as a whole. The collection also includes articles by L. V. Arnolidi, A. V. Bogachev and O. L. Kryzhanovsky, and V. V. Popov describing a number of new species collected during the expeditions. Altogether, this volume describes six new genera, fifty-nine new species, and two new subspecies. The processing of expedition materials is still ongoing, and further publications will appear by taxonomic groups.