Hello, my name is Kassidy Kruger! I am currently majoring in Pre-Physician Assistant Biology and will be pursuing my master’s degree after graduating in the spring. My interest in entomology stems from being an outdoorsy kid who loved digging in the dirt. I had a peculiar (and messy) habit of bringing inside uncovered creatures from my backyard in attempt to add to my “biosphere” contained in a gallon aquarium. It wasn’t until after my aquarium had burst from the seams that I was forced to take a more virtual and book orientated path to learning about bugs.

I find that, more times than not, people place an unneeded stigma on insects by calling them “pests”, destroying any educational or moral potential it had once embodied. By learning the importance of bugs within our environment’s complex network from the get-go, I feel that I am one step ahead. I am eager to continue learning about insects and can’t wait to see the full scope of what this class has to offer.

Insect Ecology

   Hello everybody, my name is Jeff Olson and I am a biological sciences major at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I'm from the Black Hills in  Rapid City, South Dakota. The outdoors and the environment have always been important to me because it is vital to many of my main interests, but I also come from a conservationist background. I also firmly believe that the state of the global environment is a major problem that that we will have to face.
   As far as entomology goes, my interest peaks at its importance to ecology in many areas, my interest declines with any mention or involvement of ticks. Phobias aside, insects are an extremely diverse group with ranging specializations to find intriguing. If you don't think so, I might suggest a David Attenborough commentated documentary on any insect. Overall, I know that insects have major world impacts on other organisms like animals and the food that we eat. That is enough for me to want to know more about the world of entomology.