Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephanie Messina, a hospital corpsman assigned to the entomology division of Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine 6 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, examines a 2-inch-long Hawaiian blind snake. Medical entomology is the study of insects, spiders, ticks and mites, collectively referred to as arthropods, and the diseases they transmit. NEPMU-6 supports operational forces and shore installations by providing services such as pest control training and uniform treatment with insect repellent.