Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of spiders alone (order Araneae) is known as araneology. The word "arachnology" derives from Greek , arachnē, "spider"; and , -logia, "the study of a particular subject". Arachnology as a science Arachnologists are primarily responsible for classifying arachnids and studying aspects of their biology. In the popular imagination, they are sometimes referred to as spider experts. Disciplines within arachnology include naming species and determining their evolutionary relationships to one another (taxonomy and systematics), studying how they interact with other members of their species and/or their environment (behavioural ecology), or how they are distributed in different regions and habitats (faunistics). Other arachnologists perform research on the anatomy or physiology of arachnids, including the venom of spiders and scorpions. Others study the impact of spiders in agricultural ecosystems and whether they can be used as biological control agents. Subdisciplines Arachnology can be broken down into several specialties, including: acarology – the study of ticks and mites araneology – the study of spiders scorpiology – the study of scorpions Arachnological societies Arachnologists are served by a number of scientific societies, both national and international in scope. Their main roles are to encourage the exchange of ideas between researchers, to organise meetings and congresses, and in a number of cases, to publish academic journals. Some are also involved in science outreach programs, such as the European spider of the year, which raise awareness of these animals among the general public. International International Society of Arachnology (ISA) website Africa African Arachnological Society (AFRAS) website Asia Arachnological Society of Japan (ASJ) website Asian Society of Arachnology (ASA) website Indian Society of Arachnology website Iranian Arachnological Society (IAS) website Australasia Australasian Arachnological Society website Europe Aracnofilia – Associazione Italiana di Aracnologia website Arachnologia Belgica – Belgian Arachnological Society (ARABEL) website Arachnologische Gesellschaft (AraGes) website Association Francaise d'Arachnologie (AsFrA) website British Arachnological Society (BAS) website Czech Arachnological Society website European Society of Arachnology (ESA) website Grupo Ibérico de Aracnologia (Iberian Peninsula) website Magyar Arachnolgia – Hungarian Arachnology North America American Arachnological Society (AAS) website Arachnological journals Scientific journals devoted to the study of arachnids include: Acarologia Acta Arachnologica – published by the Arachnological Society of Japan Arachnida: Rivista Aracnologica Italiana Arachnology – published by the British