Why Farmers Know More About Some Pests Than Others: Participatory Research in Integrated Pest Management with Honduran Campesinos
This paper discusses folk taxonomies (indigenous technical knowledge) about the natural environment. It argues that rich folk taxonomies and bodies of knowledge are developed for phenomena which are both important (i.e. useful or harmful) to people and conspicuous. Examples of taxonomic differentiation between species of bees and wasps by rural people in Honduras are discussed in detail. Crop diseases are an example of phenomena which are important but difficult to observe.