The world's abundant and diverse insect fauna remains largely undescribed, but habitat destruction and the deterioration of the environment threatens to destroy much of this diversity within this century. Our widely known reputation for research and training in systematics lies largely in our broad and balanced taxonomic expertise, with faculty working on a variety of arthropod orders. This diversity makes it possible to offer a range of graduate student research topics and to offer graduate level courses on molecular systematics, nomenclature, immature insects, adult insects, systematic principles and techniques, and biological literature - all instructed by knowledgeable faculty.

The Entomology Department is home to the NCSU Insect Collection, the largest collection of North Carolina insects and several specialized collections of worldwide importance. The collection serves as a source of research material for specialists around the world; as a permanent storage and retrieval system for data on distribution and biology essential to conservation and other basic and applied disciplines.

Principal Faculty:
Andy Deans, Lewis L. Deitz, David Stephan, and Brian Wiegmann

Associated Faculty and Staff:
Robert L. Blinn, James Baker, Kye Hedlund, and Sterling Southern