Science has long been one of horror cinema’s most reliable sources of fear, yet one scientific discipline has largely escaped sustained critical attention: entomology. From the atomic age to the present, insects and those who study them have appeared intermittently across horror, science fiction, and eco-horror cinema, where swarms, mutations, and infestations offer potent metaphors for anxieties about science, nature, and control. This lecture brings entomology out of the shadows, examining how insect researchers are represented in films ranging from cult classics such as Them! and Invasion of the Bee Girls to Oscar-winning thrillers like The Silence of the Lambs and made-for-TV creature features including Swarmed and Ice Spiders.
The talk explores the uneasy convergence of two enduring cinematic fears: scientific intervention and the natural world—particularly its creepier, crawlier inhabitants. Entomologists are tasked with managing insects deemed harmful or invasive, yet the tools of their trade—chemical warfare, mass eradication, and genetic manipulation—often provoke deep public unease. Many entomological horror films grapple with the question of where the true threat lies: in monstrous insects and deadly swarms, or in human technologies that risk destabilising fragile ecosystems.
Situating these films within key moments in the history of entomology, the lecture traces how developments such as synthetic insecticides, the publication of Silent Spring, and the eventual banning of DDT shaped popular attitudes toward insects and scientific authority during the 1950s–70s. While entomologists are frequently portrayed as heroic or well-intentioned figures, horror cinema also offers darker depictions—mad scientists, sinister collectors, and obsessive experimenters whose knowledge turns dangerous.
By contrasting these narratives with rare subversive examples such as Phenomena, this lecture reveals how entomological horror reflects shifting cultural tensions between fear, fascination, and the ethics of controlling the natural world.
All talks start at the following local times:
London @ 19:00:00
Berlin @ 20:00:00
New York @ 2pm (3pm 16th March)
Los Angeles @ 11am (12pm 16th March)
Edwin Harris is a PhD candidate in Horticulture with a concentration in Entomology at Oregon State University (OSU). His dissertation research focuses on sensory systems and communication in stink bugs. Combining his interests in the world of insects and the world of the macabre, he published an article titled “Are Entomologists Mad Scientists (According to Horror Movies)?” in the Winter 2025 issue of The American Entomologist, which provided a basis for this lecture. Edwin promotes public engagement with entomology through research extension work and development of informal educational events as a member and former officer of the Bug Club at OSU.
