Insect Taxonomy—Basics to Barcoding 55
scribed per scientist has not increased in the past
60–70 years, which has a huge impact on conser-
vation science (Terry Sunderland 2012 ). Many
species will become extinct before they are de-
scribed and one will remain continually unaware
of the total numbers of species that comprise
global biodiversity and this is acknowledged by
the Convention of Biodiversity and its signatories
as a “taxonomic impediment” (Terry Sunderland
2012 ). Taxonomy enables the facilitation of cer-
tain conservation issues like endangered species,
species richness estimates, etc. for sustainable
management of the natural resources in a better
way. An account on the role of taxonomy in spe-
cies conservation was given by Mace ( 2004 ).
Taxonomy not only produces fascinating
knowledge on the characteristics of life but also
delivers basic and indispensible knowledge for
many fields of human interest and contributes in
many ways to the sustainability of our planet. Re-
search in taxonomy and systematics involves the
study of virtually all available specimens of a tax-
onomic group in order to ensure comprehensive
treatment, and is dependent on the availability of
well curated collections. In the course of these
studies, species previously unrecognized are fre-
quently discovered. A single holotype specimen
designated for each species is the standard of
definition for that species. Much of research in
biology is ultimately dependent on the scientific
name of the species.
Taxonomy is the pivotal but hidden service
behind sectors ranging from conservation and
management of biodiversity to food security,
poverty reduction, health, biosecurity, new in-
dustrial product development, and ecotourism.
Wherever evolutionary history is relevant to a
problem, systematics provides the resources.
Necessarily, then, systematics is at the leading
edge of the study of evolutionary biology; and
its central position is assured because new con-
tributions of molecular and genetic research to
understanding the evolution of species have to
be related to the broader systematic concepts of
the taxa concerned. Interpretation in biogeogra-
phy depends substantially on an understanding of
evolutionary history, and consequently is closely
allied to systematics; the basic data for bioge-
ography analysis are derived from specimens in
collections. Global systematic work on insects
has a great deal to contribute to the understand-
ing of evolutionary and geological events in the
distant past.
Impacts of taxonomy on society are often
beneficial, sometimes in unpredictable ways. A
case study related to the description of a new
mealybug species in Africa on cassava reveals
the importance of taxonomy (Smith et al. 2011 ).
Cassava (manioc or tapioca; Manihotesculenta),
a drought resistant, staple food crop for over
200 million people in sub−Saharan Africa was
infested with new mealybug species, since de-
scribed as Phenacoccusmanihoti in 1973. As a
result of misidentification and misdirected pest
eradication efforts, initial attempts to control
this pest using natural enemies failed, severely
impacting the livelihoods of millions of people.
Correct taxonomic identification came into res-
cue in locating its natural enemy, Anagyruslo-
pezi, which established successfully by 1990 in
25 African countries implying a cost/benefit ratio
between 1:200 to over 1:600 (Smith et al. 2011 ).
This is one of the examples where taxonomy has
helped. In reality, many taxonomic works did
not get highlighted as it does not deal directly in
management of insect pests on crops, humans,
and animals. Nevertheless, there will not be a
proper applied research on an insect without tax-
onomic details.
The traditional taxonomy provides the most
convenient and authentic classification based on
the overall similarities, most visible characters
between species. It is pivotal in species recogni-
tion (with identification keys) and management
of biological collections. At the beginning, clas-
sification work was restricted to just taxonomic
details of the organism without considering the
degree of relatedness between species. Later in
1950s, the phylogenetic classification cropped
up to take care of the evolutionary history of the
organism. The different schools, (part of conven-
tional taxonomy) that differ in their concepts of
phylogenetic classification but still converge on
the basis of morphological similarities between
species, are presented hereunder.