Charting a future for entomological taxonomy in New Zealand

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is an increasing need for the identification and monitoring of insects. However, funding for entomological taxonomy, which traditionally provides the knowledge and tools for insect identification is in decline. Here, I review the history of entomological taxonomy in New Zealand and argue that the funding decline is a consequence of two broad shifts in biology. First, taxonomists test hypotheses in a qualitative manner unlike much of biology which has become increasingly quantitative. Second, there has been a shift in biology away from studying patterns and towards understanding processes and mechanisms. These scientific transformations have left the practice of taxonomy intellectually isolated from much of modern biology and led to its devaluing. I advocate for broadening taxonomy beyond the Linnaean system and to include genetic and genomic methods for identifying evolutionary lineages. This New Zealand Tree of Life would be comprised of ‘preliminary species hypotheses’ that can later be robustly tested with diverse character data and incorporated into the Linnean classification if resources and capability become available. Preliminary species hypotheses as well as associated genomic, DNA barcode, and specimen image data will support portable technologies that allow anyone to identify insects for environmental monitoring and biosecurity. This democratisation of insect identification has the potential to help build support for collections and taxonomic research. A concerted effort to accelerate the digitisation of collection data, especially genomic, DNA barcode, and specimen image data, will be necessary for implementation.