None of my children showed the slightest interest in being an entomologist when they grew up. In some ways I don’t blame them. I know very few rich or famous entomologists. You probably won’t be asked to sit on a bank board, or have a hospital wing named after you.  But entomology does have its benefits as seen in a new brochure published today by the Entomological Society of America.

I remember that when I informed my father that I had decided that I wanted to become an entomologist, he was not impressed. His response was something along the lines of, “Well, what will you do with that?” This brochure from the ESA is designed to answer that question a lot better than I’m sure I did those many years ago.

Although entomology is not an overly glamorous profession (we do get parts in TV and movies on occasion), entomologists do some amazing work and often have a lot of fun in the meantime.  As the brochure explains, medical entomologists fight disease and save lives, veterinary entomologists prevent animal disease, agricultural entomologists help farmers in developed and developing countries thrive, and we urban entomologists help diagnose and safely manage pests of homes, schools and businesses.

So if you have a son or daughter with an interest in science and biology, this may be something you could pass along.  After all, you could do worse than to raise an entomologist–they might become politicians!