Insect science – a vulnerable discipline?

Abstract

AbstractInsects are the most biodiverse terrestrial eukaryotic organisms on earth, representing around 75% of the world's recorded fauna. As such, they are central players in most of the major biomes of the world, notably the tropics where they display an enormous species richness and range of specialisations, although they are largely absent from high polar and marine ecosystems. Because of their abundance and diversity, they often come into direct competition with humans, as pests threatening our crops and stored products, attacking our clothes and paper products, including books, and as vectors transmitting diseases, some deadly, to ourselves, livestock, crops, and to wildlife. Meanwhile, many species are highly beneficial as pollinators and as biological control agents used to protect our crops and products. Others still are of conservation importance. For centuries, pest species have been combatted using a variety of approaches, mainly chemical during the 19th into the 21st centuries, but problems have arisen due to the evolution of insecticide resistance. Resistance has even recently evolved against such novel bio‐pesticides as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner) toxins. This is perhaps not surprising considering the often short life cycles of many pest insects, their powers of dispersal, and ability to adapt and evolve in the face of novel ecological challenges. Humankind has responded by developing strategies, including the use of natural biological control agents. Mark Jervis was an expert on the deployment of these agents, especially parasitic Hymenoptera, in the control of insect pests, both from a theoretical and applied standpoint. Here, I briefly outline, with special reference to the UK, how cutbacks in research funding threaten the vital entomological research base, while highlighting some of the main ways pest insect populations have been, and are being, studied and controlled. Last, as Mark was a keen, long‐term Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, I also outline the role of the Society in advancing the understanding and dissemination of insect science to a national and international audience.