New Breadth Subject: Insects shaping society

Insects are the largest and most diverse group of organisms on the planet, and they can’t help but shape our lives for better and worse. Bees are especially important, pollinating plants while harvesting nectar, and in the process are responsible for a third of our food production. Some mosquitoes spread malaria, which kills over a million people every year, mostly children under five. Insects have played central roles in societies across the world and shaped our religion, language and culture.

In Insects Shaping Society, you will learn about how insect societies intersect with and live in parallel to our own through fun hands-on activities like honey tasting, observation of bee behaviour and even cooking with insects – tasting optional!

Fascinating case studies will show you:

• How insect societies behave and communicate
• The benefits they provide us as pollinators and producers of honey and other products
• The important role insects have played in our culture from biblical plagues to monster-movie terrors
• Insects in Aboriginal lore
• The health problems they cause humans and our domesticated animals as disease and parasite carriers
• The threats to bee populations and what we can do to help
• How climate change is affecting insects and how their interactions with us.