Black-Orange-Black Color Pattern Found in 23 Families of Wasps, Bees, and Ants
Well-known in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, the distinct black-orange-black color pattern has never been fully documented in Hymenoptera—until now. A study of more than 1 million wasp, bee, and other hymenopteran specimens finds a wide range of variations of the pattern present in 23 families within the order Hymenoptera.
Why Taxonomic Preparedness is Critical for Invasive Species Response
The story of "Team Trissolcus," insect taxonomists who sprang into action to identify the parasitoid wasps that might help us fight the invasive brown marmorated stink bug.
Rise of the Grasshoppers: New Analysis Redraws Evolutionary Tree for Acrididae Family
A new study of genetic relationships in the grasshopper family Acrididae points to an origin in South America, not Africa, as previously thought. The findings about grasshopper evolution are reported in Insect Systematics and Diversity.
More Than 70 New Species of Water Mites Discovered via DNA and Color Markings
By Samuel Bolton, Ph.D. Picture a bubbling brook, gurgling over a hard bed of rocks and gravel. As a child, you were drawn to explore that strange and stony world, […]
Why Scientific Nomenclature is So Important: Q&A With ICZN Commissioner Frank Krell
By Josh Lancette In 2015, the Entomological Society of America journals became compliant with the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (“the Code”), which is produced by the […]
Where Do Shield-back Katydids Fit within the Katydid Evolutionary Tree?
By John P. Roche With more than 7,000 species globally, the katydids are the second most diverse group within the insect order Orthoptera, after the grasshoppers. Katydids are members of […]
Curious Scientific Names Can Make Insects Famous
By Eduardo Faúndez Scientific names — at least for plants and animals — are Latinized words, and the Latin language was selected for the naming of new organisms because it’s […]
How to Describe a New Species: Getting into the “Spuh Nov” Club
By Dominic Evangelista One of my life-long dreams has been to discover and describe a species previously unknown to science. It’s something a lot of aspiring naturalists dream about. However, […]
Is it Honey Bee or HoneyBee? Bed Bug or Bedbug? House Fly or Housefly?
Why do entomologists spell some insect names differently? It's related to taxonomy.