Entomology (from Greek ??t???

, entomos, "that which is cut in pieces or engraved/

segmented", hence "insect"; and -????a, -logia[1]) is the scientific study of in
sects, 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 foc
us on insect related inquiries is, by definition, entomology. Entomology therefo
re includes a cross-section of topics as diverse as molecular genetics, behavior
, biomechanics, biochemistry, systematics, physiology, developmental biology, ec
ology, morphology, paleontology, mathematics, anthropology, robotics, agricultur
e, nutrition, forensic science, and more.
At some 1.3 million described species, insects account for more than two-thirds
of all known organisms,[2] date back some 400 million years, and have many kinds
of interactions with humans and other forms of life on earth.
Contents [hide]
1 History of entomology
2 Identification of insects
3 Entomology in Pest Control
4 Taxonomic specialization
5 Organizations
6 Museums
6.1 Africa
6.2 Europe
6.3 United States
6.4 Canada
7 Entomology in popular culture
8 See also
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links
History of entomology[edit]
Plate from Transactions of the Entomological Society, 1848.
See also: Timeline of entomology
Entomology is rooted in nearly all human cultures from prehistoric times, primar
ily in the context of agriculture (especially biological control and beekeeping)
, but scientific study began only as recently as the 16th century.[3]
William Kirby is widely considered as the father of Entomology. In collaboration
with William Spence he published a definitive entomological encyclopedia, Intro
duction to Entomology, regarded as the subject's foundational text. He also help
ed to found the Royal Entomological Society in London in 1833, one of the earlie
st such societies in the world; (earlier antecedents, such as the Aurelian socie
ty date back to the 1740s.)[4]
Entomology developed rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries, and was studied by
large numbers of people, including such notable figures as Charles Darwin, JeanHenri Fabre, Vladimir Nabokov, Karl von Frisch (winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize i
n Physiology or Medicine,[5]) and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner E. O. Wilson.