Sketches of U.S. Systematic Entomology, Circa 1850–2000: Return of a Golden Age?

Abstract

In a review of major features of the history of U.S. systematic entomology, three phases are postulated that correlate with broader trends in biology. In an initial ‘Golden Age’ during the late 19th century, systematics was the central focus of the new profession of entomology, which exemplified the Land-Grant ideal of leadership in basic science coupled with essential support to agriculture. Paradise was lost in a subsequent ‘dark age’ of eclipse for systematics generally, accentuated in entomology by a turn-of-the-century schism between applied and basic research, later exacerbated by the advent of synthetic organic pesticides. The past two decades, however, have seen a revival of systematics, with prominent contribution from entomologists, driven by advances in systematic theory, computing power, and new data from molecular techniques. Additional impetus comes from the rising biodiversity crisis and, in entomology, rediscovery of insect ecology and taxonomy as essential underpinnings for environmentally sound pest management. Entomology has provided a refuge for systematics in a period of hostility to systematics and organismal biology more broadly, whereas a revitalized systematics is now a key link in the argument for preservation of entomology as a discipline.