NC State University Insect Museum

Well, this year's Annual ESA meeting (held in Reno, NV) is over now. It was a pretty good meeting for NCSU: we came in second place at the Linnaean games by one, sudden-death question (answered ostensibly correct by the UC Riverside team); our students took home 6 winning/runner-up prizes for their talks/posters (tied for the most with University of Florida); and, more personally, the Wiegmann lab represented like no other, giving many great symposium/paper talks.

One thing that gets me, though, is the frequent mis-identification of insects at this meeting (thus the irony alluded to in the title). This is the largest entomological society in the US (and probably the world), and is home to thousands of great insect researchers, yet there still exist numerous accounts of innaccurately depicted insects.

For your viewing pleasure, Exhibit A (from the 2006, Indianapolis meeting program):


This is an advertisement for recruiting Army [Medical] Entomologists. For those who cannot read the text, here's what it says:

"Diseases carried by insects and other pests can threaten even the strongest fighting force. As an entomologist on the U.S. Army Health Care Team, we'll count on you to prevent illness, to control harmful insect populations and to conduct research that will broaden your skills as you serve your country..."

The insect shown is a male dobsonfly (Megaloptera: Corydalidae). THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY!!!!! They are harmless (except if bitten by the females and larvae - which can break the skin with their powerful mandibles), which presents two issues: 1) that the army is not as efficient/precise as I would have hoped, and 2) that this advertisement, viewed by the unknowing reader, could lead somebody to believe that dobsonflies are medically important and result in a bloodlust-driven massacre of innocent neuropteroids. So much for "broaden[ing]...skills" like proper identification.

This year's mis-identifications were given out to everyone who registered and attended the meeting, in the form of a deck of playing cards, each with an insect on them. Thus, Exhibit B:


Three (3) of the fifty-two (52) cards (that I know of) were mis-identified. The 7 of Diamonds is identified as a wood wasp (Siricidae), when it is obviously an ichneumonid wasp (Ichneumonidae). The 7 of Hearts is labeled as a potter wasp the genus Eumenes, when in fact it appears to be a paper wasp in the genus Polistes (though my taxonomy of Vespidae is not that great). Lastly, the 4 of Spades is called a bee fly (Bombyliidae), though it is a parasitic tachinid fly (Tachinidae) bearing only a superficial resemblance to hairy bee flies.

I hate to be the one who is always complaining about misidentifications, but if I don't bring it up, who will? This is something that reflects badly on our professional society. Do you think that an American Medical Association ad for colon cancer awareness, would show someone's gaping mouth? As entomologists (with a rich subset of very good taxonomists), these identifications, with a little more effort, should be just as easy. In fact, I'd be willing [for a small fee :)] to be the one who checks insect photos for the ESA to ensure accuracy. Let's hope we can do better next year.