Entomology

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term insect was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans. 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, overlaps with a cross-section of topics as diverse as molecular genetics, behavior, neuroscience, biomechanics, biochemistry, systematics, physiology, developmental biology, ecology, morphology, and paleontology.
Over 1.3million insect species have been described, more than two-thirds of all known species. Some insect species date back to around 400million years ago. They have many kinds of interactions with humans and other forms of life on Earth.
History
Entomology is rooted in nearly all human cultures from prehistoric times, primarily in the context of agriculture (especially biological control and beekeeping). The natural philosopher Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) wrote a book on the kinds of insects, while the scientist of Kufa, Ibn al-A'rābī (760–845 CE) wrote a book on flies, . However scientific study in the modern sense began only relatively recently, in the 16th century. Ulisse Aldrovandi's (Concerning Insect Animals) was published in 1602. Microscopist Jan Swammerdam published History of Insects, correctly describing the reproductive organs of insects and metamorphosis. In 1705, Maria Sibylla Merian published the book about the tropical insects of Dutch Surinam.
Early entomological works associated with the naming and classification of species followed the practice of maintaining cabinets of curiosity, predominantly in Europe. This collecting fashion led to the formation of natural history societies, exhibitions of private collections, and journals for recording communications and the documentation of new species. Many of the collectors tended to be from the aristocracy, and there developed a trade involving collectors around the world and traders. This has been called the "era of heroic entomology." William Kirby is widely considered as the father of entomology in England. In collaboration with William Spence, he published a definitive entomological encyclopedia, Introduction to Entomology, regarded as the subject's foundational text. He also helped found the Royal Entomological Society in London in 1833, one of the earliest such societies in the world; earlier antecedents, such as the Aurelian society date back to the 1740s. In the late 19th century, the growth of agriculture, and colonial trade spawned the "era of economic entomology" which created the professional entomologist associated with the rise of the university and training in the field of biology.
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 (winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine), and twice Pulitzer Prize winner E. O. Wilson.
There has also been a history of people becoming entomologists through museum curation and research assistance, such as Sophie Lutterlough at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Insect identification is an increasingly common hobby, with butterflies and dragonflies being the most popular.
Most insects can easily be allocated to order, such as Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants) or Coleoptera (beetles). However, identifying to genus or species is usually only possible through the use of identification keys and monographs. Because the class Insecta contains a very large number of species (over 330,000 species of beetles alone) and the characteristics distinguishing them are unfamiliar, and often subtle (or invisible without a microscope), 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.
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 (ACE). To qualify as a "true entomologist" an individual would normally require an advanced degree, with most entomologists pursuing a PhD. While not true entomologists in the traditional sense, individuals who attain the ACE certification may be referred to as ACEs or Associate Certified Entomologists.
As such, there are also other credential programs managed by the Entomological Society of America, that have varying credential requirements. These other programs, are known as Public Health Entomology (PHE), Certified IPM Technicians (CITs), and Board Certified Entomologists (BCEs) (ESA Certification Corporation). To be qualified in Public Health Entomology (PHE), one must succeed in passing an exam, that refers to the types of arthropods that have the capability, of being able to spread diseases and lead to medical complications (ESA Certification Corporation). Along with this, these individuals also have to "agree to ascribe to a code of ethical behavior" (ESA Certification Corporation). Individuals who are planning to become Certified IPM Technicians (CITs), need to obtain at around 1-4 years of experience in pest management and successfully pass an exam, that is based on the information, that they are acquainted with (ESA Certification Corporation). Like in Public Health Entomology (PHE), those who want to become Certified IPM Technicians (CITs), also have to "agree to ascribe to a code of ethical behavior" (ESA Certification Corporation). Additionally, these individuals have to be approved on being able to use pesticides (ESA Certification Corporation). In respects to those, who plan on becoming Board Certified Entomologists (BCEs), these individuals have to pass two exams and "agree to ascribe to a code of ethical behavior" (ESA Certification Corporation). As with this, they also have to fulfill a certain amount of educational requirements, every 12 months (ESA Certification Corporation).
Subdisciplines
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 (but not always) derived from the scientific name of the group:
Coleopterology – beetles
Dipterology – flies
Odonatology – dragonflies and damselflies
Hemipterology – true bugs
Isopterology – termites
Lepidopterology – moths and butterflies
Melittology (or Apiology) – bees
Myrmecology – ants
Orthopterology – grasshoppers, crickets, etc.
Trichopterology – caddisflies
Vespology – social wasps
Entomologists
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
Entomological Society of America
Entomological Society of Canada
Entomological Society of Japan
Entomologischer Verein Krefeld
Entomological Society of India
International Union for the Study of Social Insects
Netherlands Entomological Society
Royal Belgian Entomological Society
Royal Entomological Society of London
Russian Entomological Society
Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut
Société entomologique de France
Australian Entomological Society
Entomological Society of New Zealand
Research collection
Here is a list of selected very large insect collections, housed in museums, universities, or research institutes.
Asia
Zoological Survey of India
Insect Museum, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
National Pusa Collection, Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India
Pakistan Museum of Natural History Garden Avenue, Shakarparian, Islamabad, Pakistan
Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Indonesia
Africa
Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Australasia
Lincoln University Entomology Research Collection, Lincoln, New Zealand
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua, Auckland, New Zealand
Europe
Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Zoologische Staatssammlung München
Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, France
Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany
Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
Natural History Museum, Budapest Hungarian Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum, Geneva
Natural History Museum, Leiden, the Netherlands
Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
Natural History Museum, Oslo Norway
Natural History Museum, St. Petersburg Zoological Collection of the Russian Academy of Science
Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford
Royal Museum for Central Africa, Brussels, Belgium
Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
World Museum Liverpool, the Bug House
United States
Academy of Natural Sciences of 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
Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland
Entomology Research Museum, University of California, Riverside
Essig Museum of Entomology, Berkeley, California
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois
J. Gordon Edwards Museum, San Jose, California
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
New Mexico State University Arthropod Museum
North Carolina State University Insect Museum, Raleigh, North Carolina
Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, Connecticut
San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, California
The National Museum of Play, Rochester, New York
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus (UMSP), 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, Ontario
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
Newfoundland Insectarium, Reidville, Newfoundland and Labrador
Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario
University of Guelph Insect Collection, Guelph, Ontario
Victoria Bug Zoo, Victoria, British Columbia
J. B. Wallis / R. E. Roughley Museum of Entomology, Winnipeg, Manitoba
See also
Arachnology
Carcinology
Cultural entomology
Ethnoentomology
Forensic entomology
Forensic entomologist
Forensic entomology and the law
Insect thermoregulation
Insects on stamps
List of entomological journals
Medical entomology
Myriapodology
Timeline of entomology – 1800–1850
Timeline of entomology – 1850–1900
Timeline of entomology since 1900
References
Further reading
Chiang, H.C. and G. C. Jahn 1996. Entomology in the Cambodia-IRRI-Australia Project. (in Chinese) Chinese Entomol. Soc. Newsltr. (Taiwan) 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, .
Cedric Gillot: Entomology. Second Edition, Plenum Press, New York, NY / London 1995, .
Triplehorn, Charles A. and Norman F. Johnson (2005-05-19). Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, Thomas Brooks/Cole. . — a classic textbook in North America.
Capinera, JL (editor). 2008. Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd Edition. Springer.
External links
Subfields of arthropodology