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