Definition
noun
The scientific study of insects
Supplement
Entomology is a branch of biology dealing with the study of insects. It includes morphology, physiology, behavior, genetics, biomechanics, taxonomy, ecology, etc. of insects. Any scientific study that focuses on insects is considered an entomological study. The scientific study of insects is believed to have formally occurred in the 16th century.1 The person that scientifically studies insects is called entomologist.
Insects are a group of arthropods characterized by having a pair of antennae, three pairs of mouth organs, spiracles and tracheae involved in respiration, etc. These organisms comprise the class Insecta of phylum Arthropoda. Examples of such organisms are bees, wasps, ants, beetles, butterflies, moths, dragonflies, fireflies, flies, termites, grasshoppers, crickets, etc. Since this group of organisms comprises a large number of species, entomology has been divided into many subfields based on the kind of insects under study. These subfields are as follows:1
- Coleopterology – beetles
- Dipterology – flies
- Hemipterology – true bugs
- Isopterology – termites
- Lepidopterology – moths and butterflies
- Melittology (or Apiology) – bees
- Myrmecology – ants
- Orthopterology – grasshoppers, crickets, etc.
- Trichopterology – caddis flies
- Vespology – social wasps
Word origin: French entomologie, Ancient Greek éntomon (“insect”) + –logie, Ancient Greek –logía (“-logy”)
See also:
Related form(s):
- entomological (adjective)
- entomologically (adverb)
Reference(s):
1Entomology. Retrieved from ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomology.
