Economic Entomologists and Scientific Names of Insects

Abstract

It is not uncommon nowadays to find workers in the economic aspects of zoology, especially Economic Entomologists, finding themselves in very awkward situations when they attempt to call by scientific names some of those organisms with which they have to deal. While the field entomologist is quite sure of the identity and the various features and idiosyncrasies of the beetle, bug, grasshopper or moth he has been dealing with, perhaps for many years, the scientific apellations of those insects get frequently changed at the hands of our systematists. It has of course to be admitted that every one dealing with an insect, or for the matter of that, any organism, has necessarily to know the which particular creature it is that he is dealing with and its correct identity; but having assured himself of the latter by continuous touch with it for years, it becomes rather funny, if not annoying, to find that the name once given to a creature is in some cases frequently changed. Fernald was quite right when he said that "the work of dealing with the constantly changing scientific names is indeed a difficult problem". Most of us know that the names of some of our common insects have been changing from time to time from one to another and in some cases revert- ing to the same old name which were rejected some time back! Numerous examples could be pointed out of such nomenclatural acrobatics connected with insects. It is felt rather funny when we find the name of our old friend, the common fruit fly-'Dacus', changed to 'Chaetodacus' and then again to find that in course of time he is 'Dacus' again.