Programs in entomology teach people about insects. Students learn the life cycles, genetics, and bodily processes of insects. They may also study the interactions between insects and their environments.

Can you imagine a moth with a tongue nearly one foot long? It seems ridiculous. Yet Charles Darwin once predicted that such a moth would be found in Madagascar. When the great scientist realized that a certain orchid had a nectar tube that long, he made his prediction. And 40 years later the moth was discovered. When the moth is not sipping nectar, its tongue is curled up like a watch spring.

Insects are marvelously adapted to exploit plants. This can be to our advantage, as when bees pollinate crops and produce honey. But it can also be to our disadvantage, as when boll weevils devour cotton and vine borers destroy squash. And animals are the targets of some insects, such as fleas and mosquitoes. One of the main reasons entomologists study these infinitely varied creatures is to find ways to defeat them. Thus many of the academic programs in entomology allow you to specialize in pest control.

You can get a bachelor's degree in entomology at about 20 colleges. Usually that requires four years of full-time study beyond high school. The program resembles a general biology major in that you get a thorough background in laboratory science. You study biology, chemistry, and physics. Thus you learn the basic methods of scientific research. You also study some specialties such as genetics and cell biology so that you can understand the basics that make living processes work.

What makes the program special is its focus on insects. You study the different varieties and their body parts and processes. You learn the economic roles they play, including how they spread diseases. Depending on the emphasis of your program, you may learn techniques that have been developed to control insect pests.

This degree may open certain jobs for you in the pest control and chemical industries. But jobs in research and college teaching usually require a graduate degree. About 45 graduate schools offer the master's degree, and about the same number offer the doctorate. A master's usually requires two years of full-time study beyond the bachelor's degree. The doctorate typically takes an additional three years. Part-time teaching or assisting with research may prolong this amount of time, but it advances your career and helps defray some of the costs of graduate school.

In graduate school you take advanced courses about insects. You study the details of their tiny bodies and learn how they interact with their environments. Some of the courses may be seminars, in which you do research and report to the class. One of the main reasons to study at the graduate level is to learn research skills so that you can make contributions to science. You learn how to design experiments and process the data using statistical methods. The climax of the program is an original research project that you undertake and then write up as your dissertation.