module 12 Flashcards
Cultural entomology
How insects have affected the world
Scarab beetles in myth
Scarab beetles are related to rebirth after death
This is because they reproduce in dung and dead material
Egyptian God Khepri is depicted
As a scarab beetle or a man with one for a head
The god of rebirth and the god of the sun
the believed that he rolled the sun out everyday the same way beetles roll dung
Bees in greek mythology
Three important bee maidens that played a role with Apollo
Old tale by indigenous San people
Mantis is sent out to find the purpose of life
Enlisted a bee which represents wisdom to San people
Bee carried the mantis for days and laid it on a flower which bloomed to be the first human
African origin mantis is credited with the creation of
Humans
Anansi is the spirt of of storytelling in both
African and Caribbean folklore and brings mischief and wisdom
Anansi is a spider
North American Indigenous Lakota myth
Akaoti is a spider-like human in Lakota stories
He was known for his cunning, often mischievous ways. He even managed to deceive another significant trickster, Coyote. Although he sometimes caused trouble, he was also viewed as a teacher.
Butterflies are associated with
Sleep by the Blackfoot
The Innu Cree of Eastern Canada believed that fish were protected by a
Fly named big biter
Mothman
Giant red-eyed winged creature
Story made in the 1960s
3 plagues in the Bible come from
Lice flies and locusts
Christianity flies are symbolic of
Corruption
Flies represent the soul of a dead person in
Ancient Egypt
Praying mantis symbolizes
Strength
Bees and ants symbolize
Industrialism
Butterflies are symbolized as the
Maturation of the human soul
Comes from their metamorphosis
Arctic native tribe Gwich’in view insects
As an important part of life and conserve them even though they are not as common
They sometimes consume insects as well
Inuit word Quipirruit encompasses
Spiders
Worms
Crustaceans
Insects
Seen with fear but also respected
Ernst Haeckel
Artist who depicts insects
Insects are popular in
Dutch still life paintings
Allegory on life and death
Popular painting with many insects present
Insects are also prevalent in
Japanese and Chinese art
Nature- Printed Japanese Butterflies
Artwork of butterflies done by impressions
Tyus wong
Makes kites that look like insects
South American people may use parts of insects for
Jewelry or clothes
Caccons may be turned into
Ankle rattles for ceremonies
Live insects as art
Teathered beetles with jewellery as live art
Caddisflies make cases which are then used as
Jewelry
Artists may aid peoples view of insects by making them look
Beautiful rather than scary
Insects used by JRR Tolkien
Giant spiders represent evil
The metamorphosis
Book of a man who wakes up as an insect
Insects in films or comics
Spider man or ant man
They are more associated with villains though
Insects in film
Antz
Bugs life
Bee movie
A lot of arthropods in movies make insects
Large and make them villains
Insects may also be the design of
Ships or structures in movies
Very popular beetle in culture
Rhinoceros beetle
insects influence
Music as well
Most famous insect music reference is the
Beatles
Important trade product in the past made by insects
silk
130bc was the creation of the
Silk Road
Silk is used to make
Cocoons and webs in the wild
Spiders silk is used for
Textiles as it is stronger than steel and it is elastic
Spiders are difficult to rear en-mass because they are
Predators and would kill each other
Yeast is artificially modified to help make
Silk proteins and then silk
Insect products makes
Natural dyes as well that can be used as food
Red dye is made of
Insects
Biomimicry
Traits of arthropods being integrated into technology
Insect-inspired robot maintain
The centre of gravity at the centre of mass
Insects like flies inspire
Flying robots
Robots grouped together to complete a task mimic
Swarms of insects
Insect eyes have inspired
Artificial eyes of drones to detect movement
Copies the way light enters the ommatidia in the compound eye
Can detect high speed in dim environments
Skyscraper in Zimbabwe takes inspiration from
African Termite mound that does not need temperature regulation
Air is drawn in by fans on the first floor and either heated or cooled by the mass of the building and enters offices before leaving the chimneys
Darkling beetles
Collect water from air
Tiny bumps and grooves collect water from water vapour that condenses and then the water falls into their mouth
Honeybees can sniff out
Explosives or illegal drugs
can be more easily trained than dogs
Bee capsules are given a reward for sticking out their tongue when provided with a certain odour
Eventually the bees will stick out their tongue without the reward
Honey is used for
treating infections and sore throats
Has anitmicrobial properties due to high-sugar to water ratio
Venom of bee stings may ha e
Antiinflamitory properties
Can be used for arthritis
Bee venom may be used for lipstick because
It causes increased circulation which makes more plump and firm lips
Dangers of bee venom
Can be allergic
Spider venom can be used as
Insecticide
Can be encoded into BT
Maggots can be good at
Removing dead tissue to allow growth of living tissue
Can be used to clean wounds and must be sterilized and monitored
Maggots were overshadowed by
Penicillin
maggots in medicine use comeback
Maggots being used for antibiotic resistant infection or infection involving flesh-eating bacteria
Maggot use is
Cheaper and has less complications that antibiotics
Can be an alternative to surgery
Cause rapid healing and less scarring
Insect in genetic research
Fruit fly as one of the first model organisms in genetics
This fruit fly matches 60 percent of human genes and 75 percent of human disease causing genes
Can be studied easily due to short generation time meaning changes can be implemented quickly
Entomophagy
Consuming insects
Iroquois consumed
Ants or nymphs of cicada
Grasshopper consumption
Consumed by indigenous culture and are first dried or roasted
Indigenous groups also consumed
Raw fly larvae
Modern society consumes
Less insects due to spread of western views (GOOD LIKE WTF)
Group of people that eat the most insects
Mexicans
China uses insects as
meal for vertebrae livestock
Insect as livestock food use has been
Increasing
Insects are packed with
Nutrients
Insect protein is more available than
Plant-based proteins
Exoskeleton may be consumed for
Fiber
Probiotics
Live microbes that are consumed to assist naturally occurring gut fauna
Prebiotics
Help nourish already existing gut fauna in humans
Chitin can be used as a
Prebiotics
Insects are more sustainable as food than
Livestock
Food and water is more readily turned into edible tissues because insects are
Ectothermic
Insects are also much easier to
rear because they need less food and water
Percentage of consumable parts of an insect is
Greater than that of a cow
Insects have very low amount of
Space needed for rearing
Insect manure can also be used to feed
Fish
Insects reared for food also produces less
CO2 and greenhouse gases
Insect flour is much more nutritious than
Regular flour
Real challenge of entomophagy
Overcoming the perception of insects
They are seen as gross
Insects being more visually appealing would make people more likely to eat them
Harvesting wild insects is hard because
Some may be poisonous
Pesticide may accumulate in insect
It is important to take what into account when rearing insect
Food quality given to insects
Insect rearing and processing is
Difficult to understand difficulty and price wise because it is a new type of agriculture.
