Of all the animals on earth, which are the strongest for their size? What about the fastest? Who were the first animals to evolve flight? Insects take all of these titles and more! As the most abundant animals on the planet, insects and other arthropods affect our lives in so many ways. From beneficial interactions like pollination and biological pest control, to the transmission of life threatening diseases; this course will teach you about the big ways that these little arthropods impact our lives.
Offered By
Bugs 101: Insect-Human Interactions
University of AlbertaAbout this Course
Skills you will gain
- Biology
- Entomology
- Science
- Ecology
Offered by

University of Alberta
UAlberta is considered among the world’s leading public research- and teaching-intensive universities. As one of Canada’s top universities, we’re known for excellence across the humanities, sciences, creative arts, business, engineering and health sciences.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Module 01: Introduction to Insects and their Terrestrial Relatives
Arthropods, which includes insects, are the most speciose group of animals on the planet. In this module, we explore some of the traits that have allowed insects to dominate terrestrial landscapes around the world, and introduce you to the major insect orders you’ll deal with in the course.
Module 02: The Business of Being an Insect Part 1
What makes an insect an insect? How do these strange creatures operate? This module begins to uncover the inner workings of insects, starting with the digestive and circulatory systems.
Module 03: The Business of Being an Insect Part 2
Building on the previous module, we continue to explore insect biology through an overview of the major physiological systems of insects. We look at the nervous and reproductive systems, and highlight some of the ways insects court, seduce, and reproduce.
Module 04: Insect Locomotion
Did you know that insects are the strongest animals in the world for their size? Find out what makes insects so strong in this module, in which we introduce insect musculature and how they use it to get around. From swimming to flying, we explore the many ways insects move and the specialized appendages they've evolved to do so.
Reviews
- 5 stars92.52%
- 4 stars5.73%
- 3 stars1.04%
- 2 stars0.08%
- 1 star0.60%
TOP REVIEWS FROM BUGS 101: INSECT-HUMAN INTERACTIONS
Fantastic! Very insightful and engaging course. I highly recommend it would be a useful course for anyone in any given field or with little to no knowledge of arthropods and insects.
I plan on becoming an entomologist in the future, this course is both incredibly interesting and informative. Would highly recommend to anyone with an interest in the natural world.
Very informative, fun and interactive. The lecturers are very passionate and you can see that they really love what they do. I would recommend this course to any science loving individual.
Best instructor and teaching assistants. they start from very based and and slowly increase the difficulty of topics. i used to love buys ,after doing this course now i love bugs more the before.
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