The Croatian Entomological Society (HED) is the historical and legal successor of the Entomological Section of the Croatian Natural History Society, later the Croatian Biological Center, founded on February 3, 1909 in Zagreb.

At that time, the society was founded by the famous entomologists August Langhofer (1861 – 1940) and Antun Korlević (1851 – 1915). The section was organized with the help of the then National Government, it had a statute, an entomological collection, a microscope and other necessary accessories. It was located in the Forestry Home in Zagreb at Vukotinovićeva street 2. The section operated until 1926, when the Entomological Society of the Kingdom of SHS was founded. The Local Board of the Society was active in Zagreb and met every Saturday. Lectures and excursions are organized. After 1931 organized entomological work is dying out.

According to Željko Kovačević, after the Second World War around 1950. the entomological section is working again in the form of lectures on entomological topics.

The Yugoslav Entomological Society (JED) was reestablished in Zagreb on October 14, 1969, and Željko Kovačević was elected as its first president. The seat of JED was in Ljubljana. At that time, the Society's work was carried out in republican sections. Journal of JED Acta entomologica Jugoslavica (1971 – 1990) was published in Zagreb, by the section, and then by the Croatian Entomological Society. The founder of the journal and the first editor-in-chief was entomologist and ecologist Dr. Živko R. Adamović.

The Section for Croatia became the Croatian Entomological Society on July 29, 1974. The society was founded at the Department of Agricultural Zoology of the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb. After Zagreb (from 1974 to 2017), the leadership of the society moved to Osijek, where it operated from 2017 to 2028.

At the suggestion of Lee Schmidt, the society accepted a drawing of the Croatian dove insect Hemaris croatica (Esper, 1800) as the logo of the Society. The journal of the Croatian Entomological Society has been titled since 1995. Entomologia Croatica.

During 2024, we will mark 115 years since the founding of organized entomological work in Croatia and 50 years of the work of the Croatian Entomological Society.

Authors: Branko Britvec, Božena Barić, Ivana Vrućina