Where to look - Pests!

• Insects•Nematodes•Weeds•Diseases•Rodents and other small mammals

Basic classification

• Kingdom• Phylum• Class• Order• Family• Genus• Species

• Kings Play Chess On Fine Green Silk

Starting at the beginning:

• 4 types of Phyla:• Arthropoda ( insects, spiders, mites, millipedes)• Aschelminthes (roundworms)• Platyhelminthes (Flatworms, flukes, tapeworms)• Mollusca (snails, slugs, clams)

• Arthropoda Phyla is divided into classes:• Crustacea (Crayfish, sowbugs)• Arachnida (spiders, ticks, mites)• Insecta ( bugs, beetles, butterflies)

Classification cont.

• Insecta Class is divided into Orders:• Orthoptera (grasshoppers)• Homoptera (aphids)• Coleoptera (beetles)• Lepidoptera (moths, butterflies)• Diptera (flies)• Dermoptera (earwigs)• Hemiptera (true bugs)• Hymenoptera (ants, bees)

Rules to fall into Classes and Orders• Arachnida:• must have 2 body segments or parts• must have 4 pairs of legs• *some mites are major plant pests

• Insects:• all have three body regions: head, thorax, abdomen• 3 pairs of legs• 1 pair of antennae• 0 to 2 pairs of wings

Head Body Parts

• Antennae: segmented, vary in form.• Primarily the smell organ

• Mouthparts: • rasping-sucking• chewing-lapping• piercing-sucking• sponging• siphoning• chewing

Body Parts

• Thorax: made of 3 sections, each containing a pair of legs• legs are jointed• used for digging, feeling, swimming, and cleaning

• Wings - differ for each insect• serve as an identification tool• “-ptera” means with wings

Metamorphosis• Development of the body after birth• Gradual (or incomplete) - insect’s life cycle changes from

egg through the nymph to adult• nymph, similar to adult except for size and color• aphids, leafhoppers, mole crickets

• Complete - 4 life stages• egg, larvae, pupae, adult• larvae looks nothing like adult• pupae is a transformation stage• caterpillars-moths, grubs-beetles, maggots-flies

Beneficial Insects

• Not all insects are bad for agriculture• They help:• pollinate plants• improve soil• destroy harmful insects

Other types of pests

• Nematodes

• Weeds

Southern root-knot nematodes on pepper plant

roots.

This weed is leafy spurge.

Other types of pests

• Diseases

• Rodents and other animals

What is Entomology

• The branch of zoology that deals with the study of insects

Human Interaction

• There are only approximately 10,000 species of insects that are harmful to humans

• Deadly epidemics of the past have been caused by diseased organisms carried by insects

• Example• Bubonic Plague epidemic that wiped out the

population of Europe in the 14th century was carried by fleas that infested rodents

DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)

• A chemical that was discovered by a German scientist named Othmar Zeidler in 1874

• Used to reduce the number of insects in a given area

• Example• Mosquitoes in the tropics

• Eventually banned due to the side affects to wildlife animals and plants• Silent Spring

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)• Cultural methods• Vary country to country

• Insect diseases and predators

• Pheromones

• Release of sterile males

• Insect resistant plant varieties