Talk about INSECTZ or get outta here:)

[Bugz]

Sachin, what r u doing now, writing thesis?

[sachin]

The beetles are still humming around.......... and I can here them.... Mansoon season in Mumbai. Did you experienced in your country?

I m not writing thesis still. I m going to get registered for PhD. and then I will write those.
By the way , what you r doing.

[Bugz]

I m going to study ecology for a master of research degree in September.

Mainly about wildlife conservation

[February Beetle]

That sounds awesome!

[sachin]

Insect Ecology will be better choice for you....

[Bugz]

80% of my research projects are about ocean mammals and fishes.

only 1 project is butterfly ecology

whatever, its ok, I also love mammals

[oortclouddomicile]

why don't we ever consider insect conservation as part of wildlife conservation?? beats me!

[sachin]

why don't we ever consider insect conservation as part of wildlife conservation?? beats me!

Excellant Idea....

And Entomologiest do think that, it is neccessary.
Many Butterflies got slaughtered every day for ornamental use.

[oortclouddomicile]

yeah, especially the bird-wings. true.
but don't you feel we do not know enough about insect extinction because we give them little importance? seeing the rate at which fresh water bodies are getting polluted, mainly in the developing nations, or dried out, i am sure that there are atleast a few hundred species of dragonflies and mayflies that are facing extinction right now.

more research should be done with regard to insect extinction, because unlike mammals and birds (point to note), insect extinction can be truly devastating to the ecological balance.

[February Beetle]

Agreed! But it is hard to convince people that insects are important, I think anyway. Everyone wanted to protect the Bald Eagle but when they found out they were protecting other um... smaller animals they were angry. I need to find that quote from my speech I did on the Endangered Species Act. It was from congress it was something along the lines of... if they knew they would be protecting some small species they wouldn't have voted the way they did.

[oortclouddomicile]

exactly. the closer an organism is related to humans, the more importance it gets. take religions for example, except for the dung beetle i don't remember any invertebrate treated with any respect whatsoever.

i guess when you say 'smaller' it means a more distant relative..
it's all understandable but it's got to change right?

[February Beetle]

It has to change. That is what I admired about Steve Irwin so much... he showed people how to LOVE crocs, along with other animals. He got the word out about croc and other wildlife conservation, where crocs aren't very loved animals usually. Hopefully that broadening can keep stretching to include invertebrates.

In one of my zoology classes we started with sponges and went through the jellyfish and worms and we got to the arthropod chapters and a girl at my table asked "Are insects animals?!" I said, what else would they be plants? You are okay with sponges being animals but not insects?

I don't know what to do about it. Personally all of my friends and family know how much I love bugs and I have changed some of their minds about insects. I don't know what could help on a grand scale. Any suggestions? "Insect Awareness" T-shirts? lol

I know people who don't even like butterflies or ladybugs... what?!
I just read a book that said ladybugs are the pandas of the insect world lol!