Insects are commonly considered as populations, aggregations, or colonies, but rarely considered as individuals. I will provide accounts of notable individual insects that highlight immense interindividual variation, even in species in which they are often construed as identical or robot-like. Detailed observations of individual insects have also provided valuable insights into previously unknown behavioral and physiological capacities. I suggest there is much to be gained by considering insects as individuals in many areas of entomology. This includes the paramount role of individual variation in evolutionary adaptation, the study of individual health and disease states, the behavioral complexity of individuals and the collective complexity of insect groups, and questions about humane treatment of insects during entomological work. Overall, I advocate the idea that considerations of insect individuality have the potential to advance numerous fields of entomology and improve the ethical standards and quality of entomological science.
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