Entomological Societies in Latin America

The task facing entomologists worldwide, but especially in the tropics, is staggering. The tropics contain the bulk of insect species but few taxonomists to classify them (Oliver 1988). Worse, tropical ecosystems are being destroyed at an alarming rate (Dourojeanni 1990). Even in the economic arena of entomology, which receives almost all of the scientific resources dedicated to entomology in the tropics, the chore is great. Economic entomologists in the tropics have many more different crops to protect with many more species of pests attacking each crop than do their colleagues in temperate zones. Some important pests in the tropics have not even been described to species.