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Entomology at its most simple is the study of insects and associated animals. It is a subsection of biology and zoology. The animal class of Insecta is by far the largest group of animals in the world.

To give you an idea of how big the subject is and how much work there is yet to be done, a bit 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 lots of those with names is still a complete 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 plenty of kinds of jobs in which a knowledge of entomology plays a useful role. For example, if you are interested in insects and computers, you could develop computer programs for farmers to help them plan for all sorts 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 rearing 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 types of jobs on offer, it is easy to find a branch of entomology to interest you. There is also a boundless supply of specimens – there are approximately 1,600,000,000 insects on the planet for every human being and there is no kind 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 colossal problem that is growing 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 problem could be solved, it would give us a breathing space to work out the problem in the right manner. It is obvious that entomology will play a pivotal role in solving this difficulty.

Entomologists have a huge deal of work to do in safeguarding the environment and one of the most complex environments is the rain forest. Just about half the world’s species of plants and animals are found only in rain forests.

Many of these species have not been classified and they might hold the keys to curing many of the most deadly illnesses affecting mankind today.

A century ago, the diseases that killed most individuals worldwide were not the ones that we confront now and that is largely because entomologists learned the insects that spread the virus (mosquitoes, ticks and fleas) and learned how to control them.

Nowhere near as many people die nowadays from malaria, Yellow Fever and dengue as they did 100 years ago, because we know how to control mosquito populations and people realize that it is the mosquito spreading the illnesses.

These are the life-threatening diseases, but think about how much money we spend protecting our pets and livestock. And how much do individuals spend on killing cockroaches, silverfish and bed bugs?

There is a huge amount of money being spent on insects so lots of jobs are out there for those with an fascination for bugs.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with getting rid of mosquito bites. If you would like to know more just go to our website at Mosquito Bite Swellings.