The skills of the scientific illustrator often range far beyond the ability to render accurate and complex drawings for scientific manuals and research papers. Sometimes the rather exacting disciplines of the illustrator require a more "creative" outlet and an opportunity to employ new rendering techniques while still maintaining a propensity for detail and exactness. Many of the drawings shown here have won international awards for design. In some, there are parasitoid / host relationships. Also many pests, both established and recently introduced, can be readily identified. Humour has been introduced to hopefully promote further interest not only for scientists, but students and anyone interested in entomology in general. Not all the insects and mites represented here are drawn to scale. However, they are depicted as accurately as possible with the aid of stereo and compound microscopes. Some were collected by the artist, others were borrowed from the Canadian National Collection, Research Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Canada.
