Hacia una historia de la Entomología en México

Abstract

We present a general panorama of the his tory of entomology (sensu lato) in Mexico, which in cludes the development of studies concerning Insecta and Arachnida. Entomology is one of the more devel oped zoological disciplines in Mexico and with a richer tradition. The first residents of this region observed and took advantage of insects. During the colony two expeditions were made to know the fauna and many organisms were described, including insects. Formal entomological studies in our country began in the XIX century, with the establishment of the Museo Nacional (18681908), the Sociedad Científica Antonio Alzate (18841932), and publications like La Naturaleza and contributions from Eugenio Dugès and Jesús Sánchez. Due to the uncertainty at that moment in the country, it is until the 30 ́s in the XX century that formal institu tionalization is produced, with the foundation of cen ters for education and research and the consolidation of collections, societies, and journals. The Instituto Pato lógico disappears and in 1906 the Instituto Bacterioló gico become in 1923 Instituto de Higiene. The Instituto Médico Nacional, created in 1888, the Museo de Historia Natural, freed of that of Anthropology from 1909, the Museo de la Comisión Geográfica Exploradora grouped to constitute the Dirección de Estudios Bio lógicos, that in 1929 was incorporated to the Uni versidad Nacional Autónoma de México as the Insti tuto de Biología. The Facultad de Ciencias de la UNAM and the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas IPN were founded. Journals with relevant articles are the Anales del Instituto de Biología, the Revista de la Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural and the Memorias de la Sociedad Científica Antonio Alzate, among others. At the beginning of the 50 ́s, the situation of entomol ogy in Mexico, like in general that of biology, was limited but consolidated, showing the continuity of institutions and authors like Cándido Bolívar, Carlos Hoffmann, and Alfonso Dampf. Years later, the Escuela de Posgraduados and the establishment of the Sociedad Entomológica Mexicana and the publi cation of its Folia, began a new era, with in increasing numbers of articles, and authors like Alfredo Barrera, Leonila Vázquez, Anita Hoffmann, and Gonzalo Halffter. The decade of the 80 ́s marks another land mark, with research organizations like the Instituto de Ecología, the Universidad de Guadalajara, and the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, and the de velopment of institutions like CONACyT, SNI, and CONABIO, entering the scene and an increase in the publications abroad, interdisciplinary works, and theoretical and applied contributions.