National benchmarks and standards for science education advance the goal of a scientifically literate citizenry. As part of ongoing work to promote instruction in entomology by teachers at all levels, we seek to determine the basic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that characterize scientific literacy with respect to entomology. To determine the relative importance of various aspects of insects and their ecology, we conducted an online survey of ESA members. We sought input from North Central branch members before drafting our web-based survey. The national survey, which covers ten key areas of entomological knowledge and more than fifty concepts relating to insects, was launched in June, 2004. The survey results will be used to write benchmarks for entomological literacy and to create standardized criteria for evaluating teaching exercises that use entomology.