entomology

 

study of insects, an arthropod class that comprises about 900,000 known species, representing about three fourths of all the classified animal species. Insects are studied because of their importance as pollinators for fruit crops; as carriers of bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases; as parasites of humans or livestock; as destroyers of economically important plants; or as predators of other destructive insects. The role of insects in ecosystems and their control by insecticides or by biological methods are studied in ecology. Some insects such as the fruit fly, Drosophila, are used in the laboratory to study genetics; others are used to study behavior and physiology. The ability to increase productivity of insect populations that supply commercially important products such as dyes, silk, and honey and the deliberate introduction of insect diseases into populations of insect pests involves knowledge of microbiology and biochemistry as well as entomology.

Part of a Series on Zoology

Branches of Zoology

Anthrozoology · Apiology Arachnology · Cetology Entomology · Ethology Herpetology · Ichthyology Malacology · Mammalogy Myrmecology · Neuroethology Ornithology · Paleozoology Primatology

Notable Zoologists

Georges Cuvier · Charles Darwin William Kirby · Carolus Linnaeus Konrad Lorenz · Thomas Say

History

pre-Darwin post-Darwin

Entomology, from the Greek: entomo-/εντομο- "that which is cut in pieces or engraved/segmented", hence "insect"; and logos/λόγος, "knowledge",^[1] is the scientific study of insects. Insects have many kinds of interactions with humans and other forms of life on earth, so it is an important specialty within biology. Though technically incorrect, the definition is sometimes widened to include the study of terrestrial animals in other arthropod groups or other phyla, such as arachnids, myriapods, earthworms, and slugs.

History of entomology

See also: Timeline of entomology

Entomology is rooted in nearly all human cultures from prehistoric times, but scientific study began only as recently as the 16th century. Entomology has even entered popular modern culture; Gil Grissom on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV show is an entomologist, who is played by actor William Petersen.

Identification of insects

Insects other than Lepidoptera are typically identifiable only through the use of Identification keys and Monographs. Because the class Insecta contains a very large number of species and the characters separating them are unfamiliar, and often subtle (or invisible without a microscope), this is often very difficult even for a specialist.

Insect identification is an increasingly common hobby, with butterflies and dragonflies being the most popular.

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 (but not always) derived from the scientific name of the group:

• Apiology (or melittology) - bees
• Coleopterology - beetles
• Dipterology - flies
• Heteropterology - true bugs
• Lepidopterology - moths and butterflies
• Myrmecology - ants
• Orthopterology - grasshoppers, crickets, etc.
• Trichopterology - caddis flies

Organizations

Like other scientific specialties, entomologists have a number of local, national, and international organizations. There are also many organizations specializing in specific subareas.

• Centre for Entomological Studies Ankara (CESA)
• Amateur Entomologists' Society
• Deutsches Entomologisches Institut
• Entomological Society of America
• Entomological Society of Canada
• Royal Belgian Entomological Society
• Royal Entomological Society of London
• Société Entomologique de France
• Netherlands Entomological Society
• Entomological Society of Japan

Museums

Many museums contain very large and important insect collections. Here is a list of some of the most important.

Europe

• Natural History Museum, Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum.
• Natural History Museum, Paris Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
• Natural History Museum, Berlin Humboldt Museum
• Natural History Museum, London Natural History Museum
• Royal Museum for Central Africa, Brussels Royal Museum for Central Africa
• Natural History Museum, Leiden Natural History Museum, Leiden
• Natural History Museum, Sweden Swedish Museum of Natural History
• Natural History Museum, St. Petersburg Zoological Collection of the Russian Academy of Science
• Natural History Museum, Geneva [1]
• The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Zoologische Staatssammlung München

United States

• National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
• American Museum of Natural History, New York
• California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
• Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
• Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles
• Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
• University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Lawrence, KS
• University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE
• Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven
• Colorado Plateau Museum of Arthropod Biodiversity Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, Arizona

Canada

• Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
• Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa
• Montreal Insectarium, Montreal

See also

• List of entomologists
• List of entomological journals
• Insects on stamps
• Ethnoentomology

For 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, ISBN 0-8165-2544-7.
• 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. ISBN 0-03-096835-6. — a classic textbook in North America.

External links

• Professor Andrew Speilman. Malaria video. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• Rob Hutchinson. Mosquitoes video. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• University of Vermont. Entomology Laboratory. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• Iowa State University. Annotated Entomology directory. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• Meganeura, University of Barcelona. Fossil Insects. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• Goliathus (Entomology hobbyist site). Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• Linda Treadwell. Coleoptera (Beetles). Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• Medical Entomology images. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• University of Nebraska State Museum. Division of Entomology. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• Graeme Cocks. Insects of Townsville, Australia. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• Actronic. Compendium of References on Flies and Disease. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
• USDA Collecting methods.Detailed instructions
• Arthropa Fascinating site from France.Extensive photo album sorted by topic.
• Virtual Insect Museum
• Best of the Bugs Great entomology Web sites selected by entomologists.

Footnotes

tet:Entomolojia

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