Economic entomology

Those that are beneficial include those that are reared for food such as honey, substances such as lac or pigments, and for their role in pollinating crops and controlling pests.

Fruit and pests were described by authors such as Saunders, Joseph Albert Lintner, Eleanor Anne Ormerod, Charles Valentine Riley, Mark Vernon Slingerland in America and Canada.

The pioneers in Europe were Ernst Ludwig Taschenberg, Sven Lampa (1839–1914), Enzio Reuter (1867–1951) and Vincenze Kollar.

Among the early writings, apart from the book of Curtis, there was a publication by Pohl and Kollar, entitled Insects Injurious to Gardeners, Foresters and Farmers, published in 1837, and Taschenberg's Praktische Insecktenkunde.

In France, Etienne Laurent Joseph Hippolyte Boyer de Fonscolombe, Charles Jean-Baptiste Amyot, Émile Blanchard, Valéry Mayet and Claude Charles Goureau were early workers, as was Jean Victoire Audouin, the author of Histoire des insectes nuisibles à la vigne et particulièrement de la Pyrale, Philippe Alexandre Jules Künckel d'Herculais, Joseph Jean Baptiste Géhin and Maurice Jean Auguste Girard.

Among the most important reports early in the 20th century were those of Charles Valentine Riley, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, extending from 1878 to his death, in which an enormous amount of valuable material is embodied.

After his death, the work fell to Professor Leland Ossian Howard, in the form of Bulletin of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A. Lintner extend from 1882 to 1898, in yearly parts, under the title of Reports on the Injurious Insects of the State of New York.

The Florida entomologist Wilmon Newell was a pioneer of pest control as was Clarence Preston Gillette.

In India, Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher succeeded Harold Maxwell-Lefroy and Lionel de Nicéville as Imperial Entomologist and wrote Some South Indian insects and other animals of importance considered especially from an economic point of view, an influential work in the subcontinent.

Insects considered pests of some sort occur among all major living orders with the exception of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Odonata (dragonflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), Embioptera (webspinners), Trichoptera (caddisflies), Neuroptera (in the broad sense), and Mecoptera, as well as the lesser known groups Zoraptera, Grylloblattodea, and Mantophasmatodea.

Insects are considered pests for a variety of reasons, including direct damage by feeding on crop plants in the field or by infesting stored products, indirect damage by spreading viral diseases of crop plants (especially by sucking insects such as leafhoppers), spreading disease among humans and livestock, and annoyance to humans.

[6] As of 2020, there have been over 1 million cases of death via mosquito transmission and infection of malaria recorded in sub-Saharan Africa.

[8] Malaria deterrence and prevention is likely lower in less developed and/or rich countries as they may not have sufficient financial aid or resources to combat the abundance of mosquitos present, allowing the countries to become more at risk of developing malaria in all age groups and social groups alike.

The Japanese encephalitis virus affects livestock in Asian countries Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan.

The death of these animals caused by the disease transmission of mosquitos poses economic issues in these countries specifically, as they rely on them as a source of food as well as for their income.

Mosquitos are still required to upkeep the food chain with regards to being prey for avian and fish species, as well as helping with pollination processes.

[10] In 2012, approximately $40 billion dollars was lost globally due to the economic damage caused by termites.

[13] The Eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum) contains a toxin called prunasin that impacts livestock, specifically horses.

[14] The caterpillars let out their seta in the animals' forage and when ingested, will pierce the gastrointestinal wall and get through the bloodstream to the reproductive system.

The illness facilitated by these insects can induce abortions and has caused up to 300-500 million dollars of loss in Kentucky from 2001-2002.

Beekeeping is a commercial enterprise in most parts of the world and many forest tribes have been dependent on honey as a major source of nutrition.

[24] Apart from crops, bees have profound impacts on aiding disadvantageous natural processes like erosion, and allow a desired property to up its value by contributing to the localities and surrounding ecosystems by pollinating plants and maintaining the food chain.

In efforts to minimize global malnourishment and food limitations and insecurity, the prospect of entomophagy has been introduced.

Developing edible insects as a source of food when other forms of protein such as poultry and bovine are less available and less sustainable has been explored.

[26] Traditional remedies for allergies, digestive issues, cough and cold, malaria, and other related diseases have included insect consumption as a form of treatment, before modernization.

[28] Honeybees, Apis mellifera, produce a variety of medically beneficial products including propolis, which has an important role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Fly larvae can also be used to feed on living or dead tissue, and this technique is used to help treat wounds, called maggot therapy.