The National Science Foundation and McBean Family Foundation provided funding for Academy entomologists Brian Fisher and Charles Griswold’s four-year survey of the dry forests of Madagascar. Their teams included scientists from Madagascar's Tsimbazaza Botanical and Zoological Park (PBZT) and Malagasy students, whom they mentored in species collection and identification techniques. This mentorship was in collaboration with Parc Tsimbazaza, a garden and museum that stores duplicate specimens once identified.
Academy entomologists involved in past Madagascar expeditions include David H. Kavanaugh, a specialist on carabid ground beetles; Dr. Norman D. Penny, a specialist on lacewings, ant-lions, and planthoppers; and curatorial assistants Jere Schweikert and Darrell Ubick. Academy research in Madagascar is not limited to arthropods, however; aquatic researchers Gary Williams, Bob Van Syoc, and Terry Gosliner have conducted marine surveys in the waters surrounding the island and discovered many new species in the process. Additionally, botanists Tom Daniels and Frank Almeda have studied the endemic plants that grow in Madagascar’s forests.