Alien Nation

• Generally available once a year
• Three credit hours…two hours of lecture + two hours of lab per week
• The Alien Nation is a lecture/lab course designed to introduce students to the science of entomology…the study of insects
• Insects are sometimes beautiful, sometimes hideous, but always fascinating
• The lecture topics cover a broad spectrum of theoretical and applied areas, such as pollination biology, venomous insects, forensic entomology, disease vectors, integrated pest management (IPM), and much, much more
• The lab focuses on the anatomy, physiology, behavior, and classification of well-known and safe-to-handle species, such as Drosophila fruitflies and household ants, as well as the techniques of insect collection and catalogue of specimens
• Scream all you want, but insects are here to stay…learn how to put them to work for us

Alien Nation Links:

• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology (http://cmave.usda.ufl.edu)
• The Red List of Threatened & Endangered Species: World Conservation Union (http://www.redlist.org/help/help.html)
• Wikipedia Encyclopedia – the Insects (http://wikipedia.findthelinks.com/in/Insecta.html)

Alien Nation News:

• United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization: Edible Insects (Yum!)…November 2004 (http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/51409)
• Dr. Robert Hall teaches FBI agents about insect evidence at a crime scene…May 2005 (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/ert/slert.htm)