Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology. In the past the
term "insect" was more vague, and historically the definition of entomology included the
study of terrestrial animals in other arthropod groups or other phyla, such as arachnids,
myriapods, earthworms, land snails, and slugs. This wider meaning may still be encountered
in informal use. Like several of the other fields that are
categorized within zoology, entomology is a taxon-based category; any form of scientific
study in which there is a focus on insect related inquiries is, by definition, entomology.
Entomology therefore includes a cross-section of topics as diverse as molecular genetics,
behavior, biomechanics, biochemistry, systematics, physiology, developmental biology, ecology,
morphology, paleontology, mathematics, anthropology, robotics, agriculture, nutrition, forensic
science, and more. At some 1.3 million described species, insects
account for more than two-thirds of all known organisms, date back some 400 million years,
and have many kinds of interactions with humans and other forms of life on earth.
History of entomology
Entomology is rooted in nearly all human cultures from prehistoric times, primarily in the context
of agriculture, but scientific study began only as recently as the 16th century.
William Kirby is widely considered as the father of Entomology. In collaboration with
William Spence he published a definitive entomological encyclopedia, Introduction to Entomology,
regarded as the subject's foundational text. He also helped to found the Royal Entomological
Society in London in 1833, one of the earliest such societies in the world;
Entomology developed rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries, and was studied by large numbers
of people, including such notable figures as Charles Darwin, Jean-Henri Fabre, Vladimir
Nabokov, Karl von Frisch and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner E. O. Wilson.
Identification of insects
Most insects can easily be recognized to order such as Hymenoptera or Coleoptera. However,
insects other than Lepidoptera are typically identifiable to genus or species only through
the use of Identification keys and Monographs. Because the class Insecta contains a very
large number of species and the characteristics separating them are unfamiliar, and often
subtle, this is often very difficult even for a specialist. This has led to the development
of automated species identification systems targeted on insects, for example, Daisy, ABIS,
SPIDA and Draw-wing Insect identification is an increasingly common
hobby, with butterflies and dragonflies being the most popular.
Entomology in Pest Control In 1994 the Entomological Society of America
launched a new professional certification program for the pest control industry called
The Associate Certified Entomologist. To qualify as a true entomologist an individual would
normally require an advanced degree, with most entomologists pursuing their PhD. While
not true entomologists in the traditional sense, individuals who attain the ACE certification
may be referred to as ACEs, Amateur entomologists, Associate entomologists or –more commonly–
Associate-Certified Entomologists. Taxonomic specialization
Many entomologists specialize in a single order or even a family of insects, and a number
of these subspecialties are given their own informal names, typically derived from the
scientific name of the group: Coleopterology - beetles
Dipterology - flies Hemipterology - true bugs
Lepidopterology - moths and butterflies Melittology - bees
Myrmecology - ants Orthopterology - grasshoppers, crickets, etc.
Trichopterology - caddis flies Vespology - Social wasps
Organizations Like other scientific specialties, entomologists
have a number of local, national, and international organizations. There are also many organizations
specializing in specific subareas. Amateur Entomologists' Society
Deutsches Entomologisches Institut Entomological Society of America
Entomological Society of Canada Entomological Society of Japan
International Union for the Study of Social Insects
Kansas Entomological Society Netherlands Entomological Society
Royal Belgian Entomological Society Royal Entomological Society of London
Société entomologique de France Museums
Here is a list of selected museums which contain very large insect collections.
Asia Museum Satwa Jawa Timur Park 2, Malang, Indonesia
[jawatimurpark2.com], Africa
Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa [1]
Europe World Museum Liverpool
The Bugworld Experience, Liverpool Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris,
France Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany
Royal Museum for Central Africa, Brussels, Belgium
Natural History Museum, Leiden Natural History Museum, Leiden
Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
Natural History Museum, St. Petersburg Zoological Collection of the Russian Academy of Science
Natural History Museum, Geneva [2] The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Zoologische
Staatssammlung München Natural History Museum, Budapest Hungarian
Natural History Museum[3] Oxford University Museum of Natural History,
Oxford [4] Natural History Museum, Oslo, Norway
United States Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Auburn University Museum of Natural History, Auburn, Alabama
Audubon Insectarium, New Orleans Bohart Museum of Entomology, Davis, California
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh
Essig Museum, Berkeley, California Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
NMSU Entomology Plant Pathology and Weed science. "New Mexico State University Arthropod Museum".
Retrieved 2013-07-15. North Carolina State University Insect Museum,
Raleigh, North Carolina Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven,
Connecticut Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus, Minnesota
University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Lawrence, Kansas
University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska
University of Missouri Enns Entomology Museum, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
Canada Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa
Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Ottawa, Ontario
E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Lyman Entomological Museum, Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue,
Quebec Montreal Insectarium, Montreal, Quebec
Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Newfoundland Insectarium, Reidville, Newfoundland and Labrador
University of Guelph Insect Collection, Guelph, Ontario
Victoria Bug Zoo, Victoria, British Columbia Entomology in popular culture
Gil Grissom on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV show is an entomologist, who is played
by actor William Petersen. Similarly, entomologist Jack Hodgins of Bones, portrayed by T. J.
Thyne, helps his team by analyzing insects and "particulates" near to or attached to
decomposed victims, often identifying the precise location a murder originally occurred;
he is also an expert in botany and mineralogy. In Arthur Conan Doyle's story, The Hound of
the Baskervilles, the villain is a naturalist who collects butterflies, making him an "evil"
entomologist. The Aubrey–Maturin sea novels of Patrick
O'Brian have frequent appearances by Sir Joseph Blaine, a Royal Navy intelligence official
who is also an avid entomologist. He recruits Dr. Stephen Maturin, one of the principal
characters, as a spy. Their conferences on espionage activities invariably make room
for their shared interest in naturalist studies. There are numerous science fiction books which
have plots based on humans becoming smaller and having to deal with insects at their level.
Some examples are The Insect Warriors by Rex Dean Levie, Atta by Francis Rufus Bellamy,
Bug Park by James P. Hogan, The Micronauts series by Gordon Williams, and The Forgotten
Planet by Murray Leinster. The Forgotten Planets plot is twisted in that the insects are the
size of men on a planet "seeded" to prepare it for human habitation. Robert Asprin wrote
The Bug Wars, a novel about war between reptiles and insects on an interplanetary scale.
There are quite a few films about insects, or at least prominently featuring them. Widespread
attitudes of revulsion and fear toward insects are often exploited by Horror and Science
Fiction films through insect/insect-like monsters, or by showing humans transformed into or attacked
by insects. Another more positive type of insect film is animation with anthropomorphized
insects as characters. See also
Ethnoentomology Forensic entomology
Forensic entomologist Forensic entomology and the law
Insects on stamps List of entomologists
List of entomological journals Timeline of entomology – 1800–1850
Timeline of entomology – 1850–1900 Timeline of entomology since 1900
Insect thermoregulation References
Further reading Chiang, H.C. and G. C. Jahn 1996. Entomology
in the Cambodia-IRRI-Australia Project. Chinese Entomol. Soc. Newsltr. 3: 9-11.
Davidson, E. 2006. Big Fleas Have Little Fleas: How Discoveries of Invertebrate Diseases Are
Advancing Modern Science University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 208 pages, ISBN 0-8165-2544-7.
Triplehorn, Charles A. and Norman F. Johnson. Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study
of Insects, 7th edition, Thomas Brooks/Cole. ISBN 0-03-096835-6. — a classic textbook
in North America. Grimaldi, D. & Engel, M.S.. Evolution of the
Insects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82149-5. Capinera, JL. 2008. Encyclopedia of Entomology,
2nd Edition. Springer. ISBN 1-4020-6242-7. External links
Professor Andrew Speilman. "Malaria video". Retrieved 2006-12-09.
Rob Hutchinson. "Mosquitoes video". Retrieved 2006-12-09.
University of Vermont. "Entomology Laboratory". Retrieved 2006-12-09.
Iowa State University. "Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources". Retrieved 2011-07-23.
Meganeura, University of Barcelona. "Fossil Insects". Archived from the original on 2006-11-14.
Retrieved 2006-12-09. "Goliathus". Retrieved 2006-12-09.
"Medical Entomology images". Retrieved 2006-12-09. University of Nebraska State Museum. "Division
of Entomology". Retrieved 2006-12-09. Graeme Cocks. "Insects of Townsville, Australia".
Retrieved 2006-12-09. Actronic. "Compendium of References on Flies
and Disease". Retrieved 2006-12-09. USDA Collecting methods.Detailed instructions
Arthropa Extensive photo album sorted by topic. Virtual Insect Museum
Best of the Bugs Entomology Web sites selected by entomologists
G.D. Hale Carpenter, A Naturalist on Lake Victoria, with an Account of Sleeping Sickness
and the Tse-tse Fly; 1920. T.F. Unwin Ltd, London; Biodiversity Archive.
Tereshkin Scientific illustration in entomology Tereshkin, A. 2008: Methodology of a scientific
drawings preparation in entomology on example of ichneumon flies. Euroasian Entomological
Journal, 7(1): 1-9 + I-VII