Inauguration of Insect Museum of Prof. Soemartono Sosromarsono

Insect Museum was a unit of Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture (Faperta), Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) that developed, managed and collected a variety of insect specimens for the purposes of education and research. Historically, the Insect Museum had alternated name, transformed from a laboratory later becoming Insect Teaching  and Collection Center (ITCC), then it was more easily called Insect Teaching Collection (ITC), and as the time went on the academicians of the Department of Plant Protection were more comfortable mentioning it as the Insect Museum.

 

It was a new history, on Monday 14 March 2016, the Insect Museum was inaugurated by naming the Insect Museum of Prof. Soemartono Sosromarsono, in appreciation of his services in the teaching and development of entomology in Indonesia. That day was coincided with the 86th anniversary of Prof. Soemartono Sosromarsono. He was the first native entomologist in Indonesia (previously the Dutch entomologist) and began his career as an assistant professor of entomology of the Faculty of Agriculture of UI since 1956.  

 

Prof.Dr. Soemartono Sosromarsono was a scientist who was behind the birth of Inpres No.3 in 1986 about Improved Pest Control of Brown Planthopper in Plant, which was the first milestone on the Integrated Pest Management in Indonesia. 

 

The Insect Museum of Prof. Soemartono Sosromarsono was inaugurated by Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture of IPB, Dr. Agus Purwito, and attended by all teaching staff, educators, students, and invited guests. 

 

The Insect Museum of IPB had been visited by thousands of students (TK, SD, SMP, SMA), students, researchers, and general public. This insect museum had the agricultural insect specimens of more than 4,000 (four thousand) collections  which were the standard specimens which had been aged for decades (since 1990). Other than that, the museum also had displayed specimens  consisting of 112 families of 25 ordo of insects arranged by the taxonomy. In the museum, it was also displayed more than 166 species of pests regulated by their host commodities (crop pest, horticulture and plantation), pollinating insect specimens, predators, and parasitoids.***