What Is Entomology? Entomology at its most simple is the study of insects and related animals. It is a subsection of biology and zoology. The animal class of Insecta is much the largest group of animals in the world. To give you an suggestion of how huge the topic is and how much effort there is yet to be done, just over a million insects have been classified, but it is estimated that there are 30,000,000 more species to classify. Lots of these insects do not even have names yet and the habits of many of those with names is still a total mystery. This part of the study of entomology: the study of insects' relationship with humans, the environment and other plants and animals is vital work. This means that entomology has an effect on agriculture, biology, chemistry, criminology, forensic science, ecology, economics, food, forestry, genetics, health, trade, pharmaceuticals, robotics and veterinary medicine just for a kick off! This means that there are many sorts of jobs in which a knowledge of entomology plays a functional role. For example, if you are interested in insects and computers, you could develop computer programs for farmers to help them plan for all kinds of things from attacks by pests to pollination by bees. If you like to work in the field, you could work in forestry. If you like chemistry, you could work on chemicals like insect repellents If you like maths, you could work on statistics, insect populations, growth predictions etc. In other fields you could work on the genetic engineering of plants to resist insect attack; work in a zoo breeding and feeding insects both for food for other animals and as specimens or work in scenes of crimes using the insect life on a dead body to help provide proof for an investigation. With so many kinds of jobs on offer, it is simple to find a branch of entomology to interest you. There is also a limitless quantity of specimens - there are approximately 1,600,000,000 insects on the planet for every human being and there is no form of terrestrial life on the planet that does not rely on insects for its existence. It is also the most diverse life form on the planet. A huge problem that is increasing year on year is the shortage of food, yet it is likely that 40% of all food produced is either consumed or spoiled by insects. If that single difficulty could be solved, it would give us a breathing space to work out the problem in the correct manner. It is obvious that entomology will play a crucial role in solving this problem. Entomologists have a huge deal of effort to do in protecting the environment and one of the most complex environments is the rain forest. Approximately half the world's species of plants and animals are discovered just in rain forests.
Many of these species have not been classified and they may hold the keys to curing many of the most deadly diseases affecting mankind today. A century ago, the illnesses that killed most individuals worldwide were not the ones that we confront now and that is mainly because entomologists learned the insects that spread the disease (mosquitoes, ticks and fleas) and learned how to control them. Nowhere near as many people die these days from malaria, Yellow Fever and dengue as they did 100 years ago, because we know how to control mosquito populations and individuals realize that it is the mosquito spreading the illnesses. These are the life-threatening illnesses, but imagine how much money we spend safeguarding our pets and livestock. And how much do people spend on killing cockroaches, silverfish and bed bugs? There is a vast amount of money being spent on insects so plenty of jobs are out there for those with an interest in bugs. Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on a number of subjects, but is at present involved with getting rid of mosquito bites. If you would like to know more just go to our website at Mosquito Bite Swellings.