ENTOM 4830

Insect Physiology

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

How do insects work? This course explores the structure, function, and unique adaptations of insects, with an emphasis on the fundamental principles of physiology. Students will be introduced to each organ system, whole-organism homeostasis, and commonly used physiological methods. The course also covers the insect immune system, as well as modern approaches in insect molecular biology and physiology. As a Writing in the Majors course, it provides students with structured training in writing primary scientific papers.

Prerequisites ENTOM 2120 or permission of instructor.

Distribution Requirements (BSC-AG, DLG-AG)

Last 4 Terms Offered 2024SP, 2022SP, 2020SP, 2018SP

Learning Outcomes

• Construct graphical or verbal models of how insect organs function at the cellular and organismal levels.
• Explain how physiological adaptations allow insects to respond to (and thrive in) their environment.
• Discuss methods used to study a particular aspect of insect physiology.
• Write an initial draft of the key components of a primary research paper, including explaining the rationale, clearly describing the methods, narrating the results, and synthesizing results to draw a conclusion.
• Design and carry out a (group) independent research project.
• Evaluate the conclusions of primary research articles.

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