In the early modern period starting in the late 16th century, invertebrate zoology saw growth in the number of publications made and improvement in the experimental practices associated with the field.
They play important roles in ecosystems, including pollination, natural enemies, saprophytes, and biological information transfer.)
Robert Hooke, who worked out of the Royal Society in England, conducted observation of insects—including some of their larval forms—and other invertebrates, such as ticks.
Francesco Redi, an Italian physician and naturalist, used a microscope for observation of invertebrates, but is known for his work in disproving the theory of spontaneous generation.
In the field of entomology, he conducted a number of dissections of insects and made detailed observations of the internal structures of these specimens.
[5] Swammerdam also worked on a classification of insects based on life histories; he managed to contribute to the literature proving that an egg, larva, pupa, and adult are indeed the same individual.
[6] In the 18th century, the study of invertebrates focused on the naming of species that were relevant to economic pursuits, such as agricultural pests.
[7] In 1735, the first edition of Carl Linnaeus' Systema Naturae was published; this work included information on both insects and intestinal worms.
[7] However, the tenth edition is considered the true starting point for the modern classification scheme for living things today.
Using these collections, he was able to study sexual dimorphism, geographic distribution of species, and mimicry; all of these concepts influenced Darwin's theory of evolution.
Though Hennig did not include information on outgroup comparison, he was apparently aware of the practice, which is considered important to today's systematic research.