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The Names of Things by Dr. Donald Lewis
e give names to people, naming system, credited to Carl Linnaeus* in
places, and things to keep 1753, gives us the scientific names that we
track of what is important to recognize, know, and occasionally use. Each
Wus. The names allow us to scientific name is universal and unique. Only
categorize, organize, and communicate one organism has a given scientific name, and
what we see, know and feel. Nowhere is everyone in the world will use the same scientific
this more important than names of insects name. International codes of strictly followed
(at least to an entomologist!). rules govern the procedures of naming species.
There are approximately a million named *Some authorities note that Linnaeus was
insect species and maybe two million more not the first to use binomial nomenclature but
known species of plants and animals in the instead was copying work from Gaspard Bauhin
world. Without names and a standardized published in 1622.
method of naming species, there would be no The scientific name consists of two parts:
way to understand the life around us.
the genus name and the species name. The
Enter the binomial nomenclature. Binomial genus is first and is capitalized. The species
means “two names,” so binomial nomenclature name follows the genus and is not capitalized.
means “two-term naming system.” This formal
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https://www.facebook.com/BugsUncensored Insect Name Cartoon from Artist Sloan Tomlinson https://www.sloantomlinson.com/
copy-of-monsters
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IPMA Connection • 1st Quarter, 2022 Page 5
