With 3.1 million insects and counting, WSU collection gets a boost from alumnus’ estate

With 3.1 million insects and counting, WSU collection gets a boost from alumnus’ estate

6 years ago
Anonymous $CLwNLde341

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/may/30/with-31-million-insects-and-counting-wsu-collectio/

To be a farmer, a forester or even a climate scientist, it can help to know a thing or two about insects, like what they eat, where they thrive, which ones pollinate and which ones spread disease.

“I would argue that entomology is one of the most basic sciences that we need to understand,” said Rich Zack, a longtime entomology professor and associate dean at Washington State University. “Insects are certainly the greatest competitors of humans for resources that humans want. In general, we think of insects as destroying about a third of what we grow, everything from cotton to apples to you-name-it to forests.”