Some ticks can survive from 1 to 3 weeks on home flooring

An adult male Gulf Coast tick.
Photo Credit: CDC Public Health Image Library

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary: Tick Survival on Home Flooring

• Main Discovery: Two species of ticks, the lone star and Gulf Coast tick, can survive indoors for at least one week and up to three weeks on common hard-surface and carpeted home flooring.
• Methodology: Researchers monitored 90 unfed adult ticks per species across five home flooring types, including tile, wood, vinyl, short-pile carpet, and long-pile carpet. The subjects were individually isolated under cups and observed daily over three rounds of experiments to track survival times against control groups housed in optimal laboratory conditions.
• Key Data: Gulf Coast ticks demonstrated an average survival time of 18 days, reaching a maximum of 25 days on vinyl flooring. Lone star ticks survived an average of 11 days, with their longest survival period reaching nearly 15 days on long-pile carpet.
• Significance: This research offers the first empirical evidence that hitchhiking ticks do not immediately die from indoor desiccation, indicating they remain a viable vector for transmitting diseases like ehrlichiosis and spotted fever within a residential environment.
• Future Application: These findings will be utilized to update public health guidelines, emphasizing the necessity of rigorous indoor tick checks, the immediate heat-treatment of exposed clothing, and the consistent application of preventatives on household pets.
• Branch of Science: Entomology, Public Health, Veterinary Preventive Medicine.

How Pesticides Help Ticks Survive Winter

UC students are studying ways to combat tick-borne illness in Professor Joshua Benoit's lab.
Photo Credit: Joseph Fuqua II/UC

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Pesticide-Induced Cross-Tolerance in Ticks

The Core Concept: Exposure to nonlethal doses of broad-spectrum insecticides inadvertently increases the cold tolerance of dog ticks, allowing them to withstand dangerous winter temperatures that would otherwise be lethal.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: The survival mechanism relies on a phenomenon known as "cross-tolerance." Pesticides act as intense physiological stressors, prompting surviving ticks to activate broad, protective cellular pathways. Because the biological mechanisms for chemical tolerance and cold tolerance share overlapping pathways, exposure to the pesticide fortifies the tick against freezing temperatures.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Physiological stress response: The activation of broad, protective biological pathways in an organism following chemical exposure.
• Cross-tolerance: The overlapping evolutionary mechanisms that allow resistance to one stressor (pesticides) to confer resilience against an unrelated stressor (extreme cold).
• Vector range expansion: The geographical spread of disease-carrying organisms due to increased environmental resilience and shifting climatic conditions.

Targeting tickborne diseases

"Benedict Khoo" Source: University of Minnesota

For Benedict Khoo, making a breakthrough discovery in health-related research doesn’t mean much if it can’t be put to use bettering people’s lives.

For Benedict Khoo, making a breakthrough discovery in health-related research doesn’t mean much if it can’t be put to use bettering people’s lives.

He knows from experience. When he worked in a research lab in Ohio, he felt “divorced from having a tangible impact,” due largely to regulatory hurdles in the field.

But that all changed when he turned to public health. There, he says, however his work turns out, he learns something that could help people make their own health decisions or influence policies. 

“That’s what drove me—to have that impact on the world and feel like I’m doing something,” says Khoo, a doctoral student in the School of Public Health (SPH). 

He found his niche with Jonathan Oliver, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences in SPH, who is now his adviser. Together they study the prevalence of Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases of humans, in a study area comprising Minnesota and adjacent northern Iowa and western Wisconsin. 

New Virus Discovered in Swiss Ticks

Ticks in Switzerland carry a new pathogen: the so-called Alongshan virus. 
Photo Credit: Erik Karits

The Alongshan virus was discovered in China only five years ago. Now researchers at the University of Zurich have found the novel virus for the first time in Swiss ticks. It appears to be at least as widespread as the tickborne encephalitis virus and causes similar symptoms. The UZH team is working on a diagnostic test to assess the epidemiological situation.

Ticks can transmit many different pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Of particular concern are the tickborne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which can cause inflammation of the brain and of the linings of the brain and spinal cord, and bacteria leading to the infectious Lyme disease (borreliosis). The list of pathogens transmitted by ticks continues to increase, also in Switzerland: researchers from the Institute of Virology at the University of Zurich (UZH) have now detected the Alongshan virus (ALSV) for the first time in ticks in Switzerland.

New Antibody Therapy Target for Tick-Borne CCHFV Discovered

Scott D. Pegan, Ph.D. Professor, Biomedical Sciences Associate Dean of Pre-Clerkship Medical Education
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of California, Riverside

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: CCHFV Antibody Therapy

The Core Concept: Researchers have discovered that the internal nucleocapsid protein (NP) of the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) can serve as a viable target for protective antibodies, offering a new pathway for therapeutics against the disease.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike neutralizing antibodies that target surface proteins to prevent viral entry, these non-neutralizing antibodies target the NP. It is hypothesized they bind to the NP on the surface of infected cells or free-floating NPs, which are then taken inside the cell to interact with the intercellular protein TRIM21, mobilizing the immune system to clear the infection.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Nucleocapsid Protein (NP): An internal viral protein previously used primarily for diagnostics, now identified as a therapeutic target with four distinct binding areas for antibodies (on its "head" and "stalk").
• Antibody 9D5: A powerful, non-neutralizing mouse antibody that binds to the head region of the NP, protecting against lethal infection and demonstrating broad-spectrum potential.
• TRIM21 Pathway: An intercellular protein mechanism that appears to facilitate the immune system's response when NP-targeting antibodies are internalized.

Ticking time bomb: Some farmers report as many as 70 tick encounters over a 6-month period

Some outdoor workers reported as many as 70 tick encounters over a 6-month period, according to new research led by Binghamton's Tick-borne Disease Center. Image Credit:
Photo Credit: Pablo Tapia Ossa
(CC BY-NC 4.0)

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Tick-Borne Diseases in Rural Farming Communities

The Core Concept: An escalating surge in tick encounters and tick-borne diseases among agricultural workers and farmers in the Northeastern United States, presenting significant risks to rural livelihoods and public health.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike casual outdoor visitors, agricultural workers experience prolonged, high-frequency occupational exposure to tick habitats during routine farming operations such as fence repair and field maintenance, with mice serving as the primary pathogen reservoir.

Origin/History: Recent epidemiological studies, including 2026 research led by the Tick-borne Disease Center at Binghamton University, build upon limited regional investigations conducted in the early 1990s to reassess modern occupational risks.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Survey data from 53 agricultural workers across 46 Southern Vermont farms indicating high encounter frequencies.
• Quantitative metrics showing 12 percent of respondents previously diagnosed with a tick-borne disease and an average of three monthly encounters.
• Severe clinical outcomes, including Lyme carditis requiring surgical intervention.
• Environmental interventions utilizing targeted tick control tubes to reduce pathogen transmission from host rodent populations.

Tick-borne pathogens increasingly widespread in Central Canada

Image Credit: 13smok

Tick-borne pathogens, known for causing illnesses such as Lyme disease, are on the rise in Central Canada – presenting new risks in areas where they were never previously detected.

The findings from researchers at McGill University and the University of Ottawa demonstrate the need for more comprehensive testing and tracking to detect the spread and potential risk of tick-borne pathogens to human and wildlife populations throughout Canada.

“Most people know that diseases can be transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. Ticks can carry and spread several disease agents, called pathogens, that can make people and animals sick,” explains Kirsten Crandall, a PhD candidate under the joint supervision of McGill University Professor Virginie Millien and University of Ottawa Professor Jeremy Kerr.

“While the bacteria that causes Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne pathogen in Canada, other tick-borne pathogens are moving in,” she adds.

To investigate the presence and prevalence of several emerging tick-borne pathogens, Crandall and her team analyzed small mammals and ticks collected in Ontario and Quebec. The researchers found that five emerging pathogens were present across their study sites in Central Canada, including the pathogens causing Lyme disease and babesiosis, a malaria-like parasitic disease.

Fungi used in pest control: Traveling across fungal genomes in “spaceships”

The southern cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus) transmits various diseases and can cause significant economic damage to livestock through considerable blood loss in infested cattle. Here, the tick is infected with the microbial fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, which can kill it.
Photo Credit: © Dr Walter O. Beys-da-Silva

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Starship-Mediated Gene Transfer in Fungal Genomes

The Core Concept: "Starships" are massive mobile genetic elements that actively transport transposable elements (TEs) across different fungal species, driving rapid genetic restructuring and accelerating genome evolution.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Rather than isolated jumping genes moving solely within a single genome via vertical inheritance, TEs "hitchhike" as cargo within large Starship vectors to cross species barriers horizontally. This cross-species transfer triggers an explosive proliferation of TEs in the recipient fungus, causing drastic structural chromosomal reorganization that can unexpectedly disable the organism's pathogenicity.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Transposable Elements (TEs): Mobile genetic sequences, often referred to as "jumping genes," capable of altering their position within a host genome.
• Starship Vectors: Large-scale agents of horizontal gene transfer. The research identified that 75 percent of the over 500 Starships examined actively carried TE cargo, indicating a widespread phenomenon in the fungal kingdom.
• Genomic Instability: The rapid, structural reorganization of chromosomes triggered by the massive influx and explosive activity of introduced TEs.
• Pathogenicity Loss: The biological consequence of this genomic instability, wherein beneficial microbial fungi (such as Metarhizium anisopliae) lose their evolutionary adaptations to infect and kill specific target hosts (like the southern cattle tick).

What Is: Powassan Virus—A Scientific Frontline Special Report

The intricate lipid envelope of the Powassan virus detailed alongside its tick vector, illustrating the pathogen's ecological transmission cycle.

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Powassan Virus

The Core Concept: The Powassan virus (Orthoflavivirus powassanense) is a highly pathogenic, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus endemic to North America that causes severe, rapidly progressing neuroinvasive disease and encephalitis in human hosts.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike the bacterial pathogen responsible for Lyme disease, which requires 36 to 48 hours of tick attachment, the Powassan virus is highly concentrated in the vector's salivary glands and can transmit to a human host in as little as 15 minutes. It subsequently breaches the blood-brain barrier through a stealthy, non-lytic transcellular transit across brain microvascular endothelial cells.

Major Frameworks/Components: 

• Viral Architecture: The pathogen is a 50-nanometer enveloped virion governed by structural proteins (Capsid, Pre-Membrane, and Envelope) and seven non-structural proteins vital for RNA replication and host immune evasion. 
• Apoptotic Mimicry: The virus strategically externalizes phosphatidylserine on its envelope to masquerade as dying cellular debris, successfully hijacking human TIM-1 and AXL receptors to facilitate clathrin-mediated endocytosis. 
• STING Pathway Paradox: In the Ixodes scapularis tick vector, the STING pathway acts as a pro-viral mechanism that hyper-glycosylates the viral envelope to exponentially enhance infectivity prior to human inoculation. 
• Evolutionary Lineages: The virus exists as two distinct lineages: Lineage I (an ancestral, highly enzootic strain) and Lineage II (the Deer Tick Virus), which is driving the modern surge in human infections due to the aggressive questing behavior of its primary vector.

Bourbon Virus in Lone Star Ticks

The lone star tick, shown on this plant leaf, can transmit the Bourbon virus.
Photo Credit: Ilia Rochlin, Stony Brook University.

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Bourbon Virus and the Lone Star Tick

The Core Concept: The Bourbon virus is an emerging, rare viral pathogen transmitted by the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) that causes severe, influenza-like illness in humans.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike common bacterial tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease or ehrlichiosis, the Bourbon virus is viral and does not respond to standard antibiotic treatments like doxycycline. Furthermore, the absence of commercial testing makes acute diagnosis highly difficult, requiring specialized antibody titer analysis.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Transmission Vector: The lone star tick, which also acts as a vector for ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and alpha-gal syndrome.
• Symptom Profile: Initial symptoms closely mimic other tick-borne infections, presenting as fever, fatigue, rash, severe headaches, body aches, and nausea.
• Laboratory Diagnostics: Due to the lack of exact commercial tests, disease confirmation requires sending blood samples to state health departments to detect neutralizing antibodies; a four-fold or greater rise in antibody titers indicates an acute or recent infection.
• Epidemiological Risk: Research examining 107 individuals with tick-borne illness symptoms revealed two cases with Bourbon virus antibodies, suggesting the pathogen is likely more prevalent in regions with dense tick populations than previously diagnosed.

A protein found in human sweat may protect against Lyme disease

Human sweat contains a protein that may protect against Lyme disease, according to a study from MIT and the University of Helsinki. About one-third of the population carries a genetic variant of this protein that is associated with Lyme disease in genome-wide association studies.
Photo Credit: Erik Karits

Lyme disease, a bacterial infection transmitted by ticks, affects nearly half a million people in the United States every year. In most cases, antibiotics effectively clear the infection, but for some patients, symptoms linger for months or years.

Researchers at MIT and the University of Helsinki have now discovered that human sweat contains a protein that can protect against Lyme disease. They also found that about one-third of the population carries a genetic variant of this protein that is associated with Lyme disease in genome-wide association studies.

It’s unknown exactly how the protein inhibits the growth of the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, but the researchers hope to harness the protein’s protective abilities to create skin creams that could help prevent the disease, or to treat infections that don’t respond to antibiotics.

“This protein may provide some protection from Lyme disease, and we think there are real implications here for a preventative and possibly a therapeutic based on this protein,” says Michal Caspi Tal, a principal research scientist in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering and one of the senior authors of the new study.

Hanna Ollila, a senior researcher at the Institute for Molecular Medicine at the University of Helsinki and a researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is also a senior author of the paper, which appears today in Nature Communications. The paper’s lead author is Satu Strausz, a postdoc at the Institute for Molecular Medicine at the University of Helsinki.

Chornobyl Dogs’ Genetic Differences Not Due to Mutation

Photo Credit: Norman Kleiman

Radiation-induced mutation is unlikely to have induced genetic differences between dog populations in Chornobyl City and the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), according to a new study in PLOS ONE from North Carolina State University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The study has implications for understanding the effects of environmental contamination on populations over time.

“We have been working with two dog populations that, while separated by just 16 kilometers, or about 10 miles, are genetically distinct,” says Matthew Breen, Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology Genetics at NC State. “We are trying to determine if low-level exposure over many years to environmental toxins such as radiation, lead, etcetera, could explain some of those differences.” Breen is the corresponding author of the study.

Previously, the team had analyzed genetic variants distributed across the genome and identified 391 outlier regions in the dogs that differed between the two populations. Some of these regions contained genes associated specifically with repair of DNA damage. In this new study, the researchers conducted a deeper dive into the genomes of the dogs to detect evidence of mutations that may have accumulated over time.

What Is: Alpha-Gal Syndrome

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Alpha-Gal Syndrome

The Core Concept: Alpha-gal syndrome is an acquired, tick-borne immunological hypersensitivity to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, a ubiquitous oligosaccharide found in non-primate mammals.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike traditional immediate food allergies triggered by proteins, this syndrome is mediated by a carbohydrate antigen and features a unique three-to-eight-hour delay before symptom onset. This delay occurs because the alpha-gal glycolipids must be packaged into chylomicrons and transported via the sluggish lymphatic system before entering systemic circulation to trigger mast cell degranulation.

Origin/History: The syndrome was inadvertently discovered in the early 2000s when oncology patients in the southeastern United States experienced severe anaphylaxis during initial intravenous infusions of cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody decorated with the alpha-gal carbohydrate. By 2009, researchers Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills and Dr. Scott Commins definitively linked these reactions, alongside delayed red meat allergies, to specific immunoglobulin E antibodies induced by prior tick bites.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Tick-Induced Sensitization: Bites from vectors such as the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) inject immunomodulatory saliva enriched with prostaglandin E2, skewing the host immune environment toward a Th2 response and forcing a B cell class-switch to alpha-gal specific immunoglobulin E.
• The Glycolipid Hypothesis: The delayed effector phase relies entirely on human lipid metabolism; dietary alpha-gal glycolipids are incorporated into lipid micelles, absorbed by enterocytes, and packaged into chylomicrons that travel through the lymphatic network before causing systemic allergic reactions.
• Structural Homology and Immune Tolerance: The alpha-gal epitope (\(Gal\alpha 1\text{-}3Gal\beta 1\text{-}4GlcNAc\text{-}R\)) shares near-identical structural convergence with the human blood group B antigen, conferring robust immune tolerance—and a significantly lower allergy risk—to individuals with blood types B and AB.
• Molecular Recognition: The immune response is highly constrained to the IGHV3-7 heavy chain germline, which utilizes a specific tryptophan residue (W33) to establish a highly stable carbon-\(\pi\) interaction with the carbohydrate antigen.

Breakthrough in Fight on Tick-Borne CCHF Virus is Latest Use of New Strategy Against Diseases

A 3D atomic map, or structure, of the Gc protein (red and yellow)
bound to two antibodies (green, blue and white) produced by a recovered patient.
The Gc protein is a key molecule on the surface of the
CCHF virus enabling it to infect cells.
Credit: Akaash Mishra/University of Texas at Austin

Using the same approach they recently used to create effective vaccine candidates against COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), scientists are tackling another virus: the tick-borne Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). It causes death in up to 40% of cases, and the World Health Organization identified the disease as one of its top priorities for research and development. The results appear today in the journal Science.

Using what scientists refer to as structural virology, a research consortium called Prometheus reconstructed the first 3D atomic-scale maps, or structures, of an infection-causing part of the virus that allows it to infect host cells. The team also determined how two neutralizing antibodies, fished from recovered patients, disrupt the virus’s ability to infect a cell, which together with the structural information, offers insights for developing therapeutics against the virus.

The research echoes a key approach that scientists, including The University of Texas at Austin’s Jason McLellan, have used in recent years to fight COVID-19 and RSV, signaling the emerging prominence of structural virology—the use of exquisitely detailed imaging of viral components to find their weaknesses—in preventing pandemics and curbing infectious disease.

Triazavirin to Be Tested for Effectiveness Against Tick-Borne Encephalitis

Triazavirin was developed by scientists of the Ural Federal University and the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Credit: UrFU Press Service

The scientific community has provided research recommendations

The Medsintez plant, the manufacturer of the antiviral drug Triazavirin, plans to conduct studies of the drug for effectiveness against tick-borne encephalitis. Aleksandr Petrov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Medsintez Plant LLC, notes that the company has already received recommendations from the scientific community. This was reported by TASS.

"The effectiveness of Triazavirin against tick-borne encephalitis is a very interesting topic to study. Scientists are already saying that the drug can be effective against this virus. Currently we are guided by the opinion of scientists, that is why we are considering the possibility of conducting such studies," said Petrov.

He stressed that this year in some regions there is a high activity of ticks and increased detection of cases of encephalitis, that is why Triazavirin research in this area is relevant.

Reference:
Medsintez plant is located in Novouralsk (Sverdlovsk region). It specializes in the production of pharmaceutical products. The plant produces infusion solutions, ready forms of genetically engineered human insulin, solid and liquid forms of drugs. The plant manufactures licensed products and is engaged in the creation of new drugs.

Source/Credit: Ural Federal University

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Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus): The Metazoa Explorer

Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Photo Credit: Peter Paplanus
(CC BY 4.0)

Taxonomic Definition

The Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is a venomous pit viper belonging to the family Viperidae and the subfamily Crotalinae. It is the sole member of its genus found in the populous northeastern United States, though its range extends south to northern Florida and west to eastern Texas and Minnesota. As a sexually dimorphic species, it is characterized by dorsal chevron patterns and a distinct rattle structure, occupying diverse habitats from deciduous forests to cane thickets.

Let's get wasted and apply some deep thinking to rubbish

Photo Credit: John Cameron

Artificial intelligence has made a giant leap into our rubbish bins thanks to new technology being deployed at the University of South Australia.

Using algorithms to analyze data from smart bin sensors, UniSA PhD student Sabbir Ahmed is designing a deep learning model to predict where waste is accumulating in cities and how often public bins should be cleared.

“Sensors in the public smart bins can give us a lot of information about how busy specific locations are, what type of rubbish is being disposed of and even how much methane gas is being produced from food waste in bins,” Ahmed says.

“All that data can be fed into a neural network model to predict where bins in parks, shopping centers and other public places are likely to fill up quickly and, conversely, which locations are rarely visited.

“This can help councils to optimize their waste management services, schedule bin clearances and even relocate rarely used bins to where they are needed most.”

Greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for more than half of human pathogenic diseases

Source/Credit: University of Hawaiʻi

More than half of known human pathogenic diseases such as dengue, hepatitis, pneumonia, malaria, Zika and more, can be aggravated by climate change. That eye-opening and startling finding is the topic of a research paper published on August 8 in Nature Climate Change by a team of researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

The researchers carried out a systemic search for empirical examples about the impacts of 10 climatic hazards sensitive to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on each known human pathogenic disease. These hazards included warming, drought, heatwaves, wildfires, extreme precipitation, floods, storms, sea level rise, ocean biogeochemical change, and land cover change.

Combining two authoritative lists of all known infections and pathogenic diseases that have affected humanity in recorded history, researchers then reviewed over 70,000 scientific papers for empirical examples about each possible combination of a climatic hazard impacting each of the known diseases.

The research revealed that warming, precipitation, floods, drought, storm, land cover change, ocean climate change, fires, heatwaves and sea level changes were all found to influence diseases triggered by viruses, bacteria, animals, fungi, protozoans, plants and chromists. Pathogenic diseases were primarily transmitted by vectors, although case examples were also found for transmission pathways involving waterborne, airborne, direct contact and foodborne. Ultimately, the research found that more than 58%, or 218 out of 375, of known human pathogenic diseases had been affected at some point by at least one climatic hazard via 1,006 unique pathways.

Common Veterinary Drugs Show Effectiveness Against Bed Bugs

Fluralaner and ivermectin were tested for their effectiveness in killing bed bugs.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Coby Schal and Maria Gonzalez-Morales.

Two common drugs used by veterinarians to combat parasites may be effective against bed bugs, with one showing especially strong potential, according to a new study from North Carolina State University that examined the drugs in the context of controlling resurgent bed bug populations on poultry farms.

Fluralaner and ivermectin, which are used to kill fleas and ticks on household pets like dogs and cats, among other uses, were tested for their effectiveness in killing bed bugs. In a collaboration between entomologists and veterinary scientists from NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, researchers tested bed bug mortality rates in different experiments: after the pests consumed blood mixed with the drugs on the lab bench and after bed bugs bit and fed off chickens that had either ingested or received topical treatment with the drugs.

Fluralaner is a relatively new, longer-lasting anti-parasitic drug used mostly for companion animals; however, Europe and Australia have approved its use for the poultry industry. Besides household pet uses, ivermectin effectively serves anti-parasitic uses in human populations, particularly in Africa, as well as in larger animals.

Entomology: In-Depth Description

Photo Credit: Lidia Stawinska

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. Its primary goals are to understand the biology, behavior, physiology, ecology, evolution, and classification of insects, as well as their interactions with humans, other organisms, and the environment.