The objective of this study was to identify the social representations constructed by high school students with regard to insects. Data were collected by means of the application of a questionnaire to 100 students of two public schools. The results indicate that the students hold a predominantly negative image of the great majority of these organisms. This pejorative image is influenced by the media, the school and popular knowledge spread through interpersonal relationships. At the end of the work, we point out the important role schools play in demystifying these representations held by students and in constructing a more ecological perspective in approaches to matters related to the teaching of Zoology.
Students; social representations; insects.