Are you afraid? Should you be? I’ll let you decide. Insects Are you afraid? Should you be? I’ll let you decide.

Lice Yes, there are head and body lice African Americans are less susceptible to lice They can be treated They can spread diseases, such as fevers

Chiggers Like ticks, fleas and mosquitoes, chiggers have specialized mouthparts that help them retrieve food from their hosts. A chigger uses two specialized mouthparts called chelicerae to make a hole in its host's skin. It then injects some of its saliva into the wound. The saliva contains digestive enzymes that break down cell walls. The partially digested cells and their contents become a slurry that the chigger ingests. Unlike many other parasitic bugs, chiggers don't have needlelike. Instead, they use an interesting accomplice -- the host's own skin. The same salivary secretions that break down cells also cause the surrounding tissue to harden. This creates a strawlike tube called a stylostome. The longer the chigger feeds, the longer the stylostome becomes, and the deeper it penetrates into the skin. The intense itching that chigger bites cause comes from two sources. One is an allergic reaction to the chiggers' saliva. In some people, this reaction is extreme, leading to large sores or hives. In most, it simply causes a small, red, itchy bump. The other source of itching is the stylostome itself.

Flies In this picture, a patient is shown with leprosy Leprosy is a disease spread by flies Leprosy causes entire pieces of the body to become necrotic and eventually fall off of the body

Larvae Myiasis is the infection of larvae in the skin It’s when flies parasitize a living organisms Larvae can help infections and lesions in diabetic patients- they eat necrotic tissue and help the wound to heal

Fleas Fleas cause plagues They are disease carriers and are responsible for the plagues throughout history that has killed millions of people

Mosquitoes Malaria Yellow fever Causes disease every year in 515 million people Kills 1-3 million people per year Only spread in female tropical mosquitoes Yellow fever Bleeding from all orifices

But why should we be thankful for insects?

Dung beetles clean up all of the poop!

These are carrion beetles. They eat off flesh from dead animals These are carrion beetles. They eat off flesh from dead animals. They are also used by forensic entomologists to solve crimes.

These are maggots used to clean up wounds on a diabetes patient at a wound clinic. This can be a good thing.

Bugs are eaten for a source of protein all over the world Bugs are eaten for a source of protein all over the world. You eat them and don’t even know it. In ever glass of juice there are at least 40 insects you eat.

You need it for all of that delicious fruit You need it for all of that delicious fruit. Without them, there wouldn’t be any deliciousness.

These insects are used for fly fishing. These are mosquito larvae These insects are used for fly fishing. These are mosquito larvae. Fishing lures for fly fishing are made to replicate them and attract fish.