[Iwonda (OP)]

If you do a search for paleo entomologist, you might come up with 3-4 names, maybe. Why are there so few in this field? Is it because there are so few insect fossil to be found?

[Just thinking]

If you do a search for paleo entomologist, you might come up with 3-4 names, maybe. Why are there so few in this field? Is it because there are so few insect fossil to be found?

I think it may be due to the fact that in the past just as in the present there is no shortage of insects so most if not all the insects have been discovered and the fossils are available for study. But that is not to say that they are easy to find as they are very delicate and may not preserve long enuff for fossilization to occur and I should mention that discovering large fossils like dinosaurs and digging them out cleaning and preparation takes many hands so more people are required and attracted to the large fossils.

[alancalverd]

Let's throw the question back at the questioner. How many paleoentomologists do we need?

[Bored chemist]

I think it may be due to the fact that in the past just as in the present there is no shortage of insects

If the bees die out, they are taking us with them.

[Bored chemist]

Let's throw the question back at the questioner. How many paleoentomologists do we need?

Roughly the same as the number of jazz musicians we need.
It may not be the same as the number we want.

[alancalverd]

Good point. I'm not a great lover of big bands, though the discipline of reading scores is good for the soul. 

[Bored chemist]

I wonder what fraction of the world can actually read a score  (in any meaningful way).

[evan_au]

There have been some interesting discoveries of insect fossils using X-ray scanning to examine opaque amber.
- Unlike the exquisite entombed mosquito in "Jurassic Park", most amber is dark brown or black
- High resolution CT scanning can reveal these hidden fossils

I imagine there is a treasure trove of insects within coprolites (fossilised feces) - it just needs a suitable scanning technology to detect them...

[evan_au]

I wonder what fraction of the world can actually read a score  (in any meaningful way).

My son-in-law commented that once he was on a train, reading an orchestra score (no words lyrics, many staves).
Someone asked what he was doing, and he replied "I can hear all the instruments in my head".

[Colin2B]

My son-in-law commented that once he was on a train, reading an orchestra score (no words, many staves).
Someone asked what he was doing, and he replied "I can hear all the instruments in my head".

There have been a number of composers who wrote music without using an instrument. My daughter is a professional musician and hears music in her head when looking at a score. It has surprised me that I have occasionally looked at a section of a score and realised I know what the music is, although I don’t hear the actual music

[Just thinking]

    I think it may be due to the fact that in the past just as in the present there is no shortage of insects

If the bees die out, they are taking us with them.

Pollination is a big problem the lack of that is. Even the honey is half sugar due to the bee shortages.

[Bored chemist]

Even the honey is half sugar due to the bee shortages.

Honey is about 80% sugar.
Do you mean half of it is fake?

The honey be is the least threatened type of bee. (Being seen as helpful by mankind is a great evolutionary advantage.)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/24/this-only-saves-honeybees-the-trouble-with-britains-beekeeping-boom-aoe

[alancalverd]

I think BC is psychic. I read reply #4 last night on returning from a jazz gig! We all (5) had copies of the piano scores but before practically every number the leader or singer said "we don't do it quite like that". Different key, different tempo, different intro....Still, it's interesting to see what the composer had in mind before we reinterpreted it.

Not sure who said it first, but "A jazz musician is someone who never plays the same thing once."

[Just thinking]

Quote from: Just thinking on Today at 21:50:59

    Even the honey is half sugar due to the bee shortages.

Honey is about 80% sugar.
Do you mean half of it is fake?

The honey be is the least threatened type of bee. (Being seen as helpful by mankind is a great evolutionary advantage.)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/24/this-only-saves-honeybees-the-trouble-with-britains-beekeeping-boom-aoe

In Australia there has been a shortage I'm not sure why but honey was tested and found to have been cut in half with sugar I did not know it was 80% sugar but I guess that makes it 90% now that's if they are still doing that.

[Bored chemist]

Not sure who said it first, but "A jazz musician is someone who never plays the same thing once."

That was the more polite  cousin of the guy who said "Jazz is 5 people on stage at the same time, all playing different tunes".

[Colin2B]

Not sure who said it first, but "A jazz musician is someone who never plays the same thing once."

That was the more polite  cousin of the guy who said "Jazz is 5 people on stage at the same time, all playing different tunes".

Or perhaps the one who pointed out that a rock musician knows 3 chords and plays to thousands of people, a jazz musician knows thousands of chords ....................

[Colin2B]

I'm not sure why but honey was tested and found to have been cut in half with sugar I did not know it was 80% sugar but I guess that makes it 90% now that's if they are still doing that.

Trading standards make regular tests here to make sure honey is not adulterated with sugar, they will prosecute if they find it has been.
Don’t know what you mean by 90%, by law honey should not have >20% water otherwise it ferments. Most beekeepers prefer around 17%.

[Just thinking]

Don’t know what you mean by 90%,

BC mentioned that honey is 80% sugar which I never knew anyway so if it is halved with added sugar that is a total of 90% sugar.

[Colin2B]

Don’t know what you mean by 90%,

BC mentioned that honey is 80% sugar which I never knew anyway so if it is halved with added sugar that is a total of 90% sugar.

ah, I had assumed that half the sugar content had been replaced so as to retain 80%.

[Bored chemist]

If you do a search for paleo entomologist

I did.
Then, at Google's suggestion, I took the space out of it.
That led me to a wiki redirect page which took me here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_insects

And that page has 79 references.
I'm guessing that those have about 100 authors.

And that suggests that there are more paleo entomologists than members of a typical jazz audience.
It's certainly more than the OP'S assertion about
" you might come up with 3-4 names"