Insects in Society

Percentage of all insect species that are pests

<1%

Amount of species world-wide out of 1,000,000 that are harmful

<3,500

Amount of pest species in US

<600

Beneficial Roles of Insects

• Pollinators

• Decomposers

• Natural Enemies

• Food for Animals

• Forensics

• Biology Studies

• Gives us Food/Products

Who discovered usefulness of silk?

Chinese empress Si-Ling

What insect does silk come from?

Silkworm

How is silk produced?

Caterpillars eat mulberry leaves 3x a day for a month. Cocoons are boiled to kill insect and unravel silk thread.

Leader in silk production

China supplies 80% of world’s raw silk

Honey Bees

Make honey used to produce wax, ointments, polishes, candles, lotions, creams, lipsticks, cosmetics

Cochineal Dye

Produced by scale insects. Insects are crushed, baked, boiled, then steamed. Used to produce strawberry yogurt, lipstick, ice cream, popsicles, candy, etc.

Dung Beetles in Ancient Egypt

Believed that beetles moved the sun across the sky like they do with a ball of dung.

Spider Mythology

Mortal Arachne challenged Athena to weaving contest and Athena turned Arachne into a spider

Thomas Hunt Morgan

Discovered white-eyed mutant in 1908. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933

Insects in Medicine: Aphrodisiacs

“Spanish Fly” made out of ground-up blister beetles thought to be a medicine to cause arousal. Actually a poison causing headaches, vomiting, diarrhea. 30mg can cause death

Insects in Medicine: Maggot Therapy

WWI: Soldiers with dirty, maggot-filled wounds healed better. Maggots feed only on dead tissue and release an antibiotic substance.

Insects in Warfare

Infected insects can transmit diseases. Can be used as an agricultural threat to attack crops. Insects such as bees can directly attack enemies.

Insects as Food

80% of the world’s population eats insects intentionally.

Insect Food Around the World

Cambodia: large spiders

Thailand: giant water bug

Japan: silkworm pupae

Native Americans: locusts

Africa: ants, termites, caterpillars

Entomophagy

The practice of eating insects.