Matthew Wilkerson, age 15, of Santa Rosa, Calif., for his question:
WHAT IS ENTOMOLOGY?
Entomology is a major branch of zoology that is concerned with the study of insects. A person who specializes in this field of science is called an entomologist. An entomologist will also study related animals such as spiders, mites, centipedes and sow bugs, especially when these creatures are destructive or are injurious to man's welfare.
Entomology developed quickly after the 1700s when a Swedish naturalist named Carolus Linnaeus provided a useful method of classifying both animals and pests.
An entomologist will study the development, anatomy, physiology, life history, behavior, environment and classification of insects.
Among man's chief competitors for food and fiber are the insects of the world. During the period from 1915 until 1958, grasshoppers alone destroyed about $800 million worth of agricultural crops and $1 billion worth of range grass.
Each year insects cause a loss of more than $275 million to cotton growers in the United States alone.
Much of an entomologist's study is about the insects that affect plants or animals important to man. Most professional entomologists are engaged in some branch of applied entomology. They seek not only to control the numbers of insects, but to increase those that are beneficial and to decrease those that are harmful to man's welfare.
Agricultural entomologists study insects that affect the production of foods and fibers. Forest entomologists study those that affect woods. Medical and veterinary entomologists are concerned with insects that influence the health of man and animals.
It is largely through the efforts of entomologists that insecticides have been developed to protect crops and to reduce the incidence of insect borne diseases.
Those wishing to enter the field of entomology as a career must have at least a bachelor's degree in zoology.
Lots of insects are beneficial to man. For example, silkworms give a very valuable fiber and honeybees not only provide food but they also pollinate plants.
Other insects are helpful to man, but their helpfulness is sometimes not immediately recognized. These are the insects that prey upon others, and in so doing destroy those insects that are harmful. Entomologists try to protect these desirable insects.
Most teaching and research positions in entomology require a master's degree or a doctoral degree in entomology or zoology. Entomologists are employed by state and federal experimental stations and also by agricultural and public health agencies.
Entomologists also work for universities and museums. Some work in industry, particularly in making of insecticides.
Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist and botanist who established the modern scientific method of naming plants and animals, was born Karl von Linne. His name was translated into Latin because his scientific books were written in Latin.