Rotary Club of FFB

February 22, 2010 by admin
Filed under Business

By: Fred Hilsenrath

We are fortunate in Fairfield Bay to have many experts in a multitude of subjects living here and sharing their knowledge and experience with us.

Dr. David Foster is an Entomologist. He taught at Texas Tech, Iowa State and U of Arkansas. Dave talked to us about insects and pointed at many interesting aspects of the insect world.

There are 750,000 species of insects on our earth that we come in contact with on an almost daily basis.

Dave talked about how basic aspects of entomology (i.e., physiology, morphology, taxonomy, behavior, and ecology) are the same areas you might expect to study if you were involved in ornithology (study of birds) or ichthyology, (study of fish) for example.

Dave talked about why people are interested in insects. Many enjoy collecting insects or photographing them as a hobby.

He characterized the areas of study within entomology as they relate to those within other disciplines of biology.

He pointed out that what makes entomology unique among the disciplines within biology is the economic importance of a relatively few insect species. These insects may be either beneficial or destructive.

There are two major areas of study dealing with useful or destructive insects: those dealing with medically important insects and those dealing with insects that damage commodities, plants, or structures.

Dave also discussed the major areas of research that provide the foundation for managing insect pests of crops and finished by discussing the role of GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) in modern day pest management.