Summary

Except in the economic field, there is little entomological activity current in New Zealand. Indeed, the systematists, morphologists and field naturalists—who had laid the foundations of the Science—are at present virtually non-existent in the country compared with their activities up to a couple of decades ago; only in the Universities, for the most part, do we find them at work as formerly; yet the need for such people is as great as ever—they should remain, as before, a living force in the advancement of the Science.

Nevertheless, it must not be thought that Entomology is limited by those fields of enquiry. The science embraces not merely a knowledge of the habits, structure and economy of the insects themselves, or of the best means of holding some of them in check; such aspects are but complementary to greater issues—that complexity of internal and external influences, both physical and organic, which bear, directly and indirectly, upon insect behaviour; and even further, in that the living insect is so often the indicator of deeper and wider propositions beyond the insect itself. It is in the understanding of such varied and fundamental influences that true Entomology lies.

The scope of the Science is unlimited; as a matter of fact it is no longer solely an activity of the Entomologist in the restricted and generally accepted meaning of that term—whether in the applied aspect, or in the fields of systematics, morphology and natural history. So far, practically nothing else has been attempted in New Zealand, where, until the wider concept is accepted and developed, Entomology will remain with us as a sort of back-bencher among the Sciences.