Snapshot: A Day in the Life
Email: 
Share: 
Bugging out with Entomology Majors
October 18, 2007 - 11:00pm“Everyone loves bugs when they’re little,” said Suzie Finkbeiner ’09. “Entomology majors just never grow out of it.”
The major, situated in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is full of students like Finkbeiner who share a passion for studying insects. Jeffry Petracca ’11 goes so far as to say, “I actually enjoy coming to class just because they’re all so interesting.”
One assignment that most entomology majors complete as freshmen is creating their own insect collections. Finkbeiner said, “We go out and collect insects while other people are cooped up in the library.” The students find specific insects, pin them down and identify them, a process that can be very time-consuming, but also “lots of fun,” Petracca said.
As a consequence of having so many insects around, some have been known to escape. It is common to see spiders roaming the stairwells after escaping from their labs in Comstock Hall. However, since the major is so small, students are on a first-name basis with the professors to whom the students return the escaped insects.
Currently, the entomology students and faculty are hard at work planning Insectapalooza ’07, which will take place tomorrow from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. in Comstock Hall. The event, which is being staffed by entomology major volunteers, offers a chance for the department to show the community all it has to offer. Finkbeiner said she hopes people will come eat cookies with baked crickets, because, “Everyone wants to know what it’s like to eat a bug!”