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.
The Entomological Society of America (ESA) was founded in 1889 and today has more than 7,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, private industries, colleges and universities, and state and federal governments. It serves the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. To facilitate communication among members, the ESA is divided into four sections based on entomological interests, and six branches, based on geographic proximity. The national office is located in Annapolis, Maryland.
John Lawrence LeConte was an American entomologist of the 19th century, responsible for naming and describing approximately half of the insect taxa known in the United States during his lifetime, including some 5,000 species of beetles. He was recognized as the foremost authority on North American beetles during his lifetime, and has been described as "the father of American beetle study".
Benjamin Dann Walsh was an English-born American entomologist who served as the first official state entomologist in Illinois. He was a leading influence during a time of significant transition in American entomology. Walsh championed the application of scientific methods to control agricultural pests. He was a proponent of biological control as an effective means to manage insects. He was also one of the first American scientists to support Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and was instrumental in securing its broad acceptance in the entomological community.
The organ pipe mud dauber is a predatory wasp in the family Crabronidae. They are fairly large wasps, ranging from 3.9–5.1 cm, and have been recorded to fly from May to September. Female and male are similar in colour, a shiny black, with the end part of the back leg being pale yellow to white. The organ pipe mud dauber feeds mainly on three genera of spider: Neoscona, Araneus, and Eustala. Melittobia, a parasitoid wasp, is a common ectoparasite of T. politum prepupae. Other sources of parasitism include the Bombyliid fly Anthrax, Chrysidid wasps, and various species of scavenger flies (Miltogramminae). The tufted titmouse is a known predator of T. politum, and may feed on them more commonly than previously thought as the holes made by the titmouse are similar in shape and size to those made by T. politum leaving the nest after pupation.
Samuel Wendell Williston was an American educator, entomologist, and paleontologist who was the first to propose that birds developed flight cursorially, rather than arboreally. He was a specialist on the flies, Diptera.
Michael S. Engel, FLS, FRES is an American paleontologist and entomologist, notable for contributions to insect evolutionary biology and classification. In connection with his studies he has undertaken field expeditions in Central Asia, Asia Minor, the Levant, Arabia, eastern Africa, the high Arctic, and South and North America, and has published more than 983 papers in scientific journals and over 925 new living and fossil species. Some of Engel's research images were included in exhibitions on the aesthetic value of scientific imagery.
Charles Duncan Michener was an American entomologist born in Pasadena, California. He was a leading expert on bees, his magnum opus being The Bees of the World published in 2000.
The Stenotritidae is the smallest of all formally recognised bee families, with only 21 species in two genera, all of them restricted to Australia. Historically, they were generally considered to belong in the family Colletidae, but the stenotritids are presently considered their sister taxon, and deserving of family status. Of prime importance is that the stenotritids have unmodified mouthparts, whereas colletids are separated from all other bees by having bilobed glossae.
The genus Agapostemon is a common group of Western Hemisphere sweat bees.
Vaine Wilton Ivie was an American arachnologist, who described hundreds of new species and many new genera of spiders, both under his own name and in collaboration with Ralph Vary Chamberlin. He was employed by the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He also was a supporter of the Technocracy movement.
The Hilarimorphidae or hilarimorphid flies are a family of Diptera. They are of uncertain placement and may be related to the Acroceridae. Most species are Nearctic.
Muscopteryx is a genus of bristle flies in the family Tachinidae.
Ororaphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly containing two species: the type species Ororaphidia megalocephala and Ororaphidia bifurcata.
Chelonariidae or turtle beetles is a family of beetles in the superfamily Byrrhoidea. It was described by Blanchard in 1845. There are 3 genera with around 300 described species. Little is known of their ecology, though it seems they are associated with the roots of orchids and the nests of ants and termites. Their exoskeletons are heavily sclerotised and their limbs can be effectively retracted into their bodies due to the presence of socket-like cavities. Adult specimens have seed-shaped bodies that are typically colored brown or black with lighter patches.
Paracymus is a genus of hydrophilid beetles with 81 species worldwide.
Heriades is a genus of bees in the family Megachilidae. Fairly small and usually black, they are found all over the world. There are more than 130 species worldwide, roughly 25 species in North and Central America, but only 3 species are native east of the Rocky Mountains. European species such as H. truncorum can be found on the east coast of the US. Like other bees in the tribe Osmiini, Hoplitis and Ashmeadiella, they nest in cavities in wood excavated by other insects, or perhaps occasionally pine cones. They separate the cells of their nest with resin .
Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society was a peer-reviewed scientific journal of entomology established in 1926 by the Royal Entomological Society. A history is presented below.
Eutretini is a tribe of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.
