Linguistics is the scientific study of language, and involves an analysis of language form, language meaning, and language in context. The earliest activities in the documentation and description of language have been attributed to the 6th century BC Indian grammarian Pāṇini, who wrote a formal description of the Sanskrit language in his Aṣṭādhyāyī.
The majority of European (and global) biodiversity is made up of insects, but little is known about their distribution, abundance and the threats they face. This lack of knowledge is of particular concern for species involved in pollination, such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies and for the benefits society gains from pollination services.