Letters to a Young Scientist

Entomology is the study of insects. Entomologists might examine insect evolution; how insects interact with each other and with other organisms in their environment; insect interactions with crops, livestock, and humans; or how insect populations proliferate and decline. Wilson was primarily an entomologist specializing in cataloging the world’s ant species.

Evolution describes the process whereby all life on Earth developed through random genetic mutations. These mutations caused differentiation among life forms, eventually resulting in a vast array of different species. Charles Darwin was the first scientist to correctly identify the mechanism for evolution: natural selection, wherein favorable mutations stick around, and unfavorable ones die out.

Pheromones are chemical signals that living things can release as a form of intra- or interspecies communication. Insects communicate with each other primarily through pheromones rather than through visual, auditory, or even tactile cues. Wilson did many experiments on insect pheromones.