1. Where to look - Pests! Insects Nematodes Weeds Diseases
Rodents and other small mammals

2. Basic classification Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
Kings Play Chess On Fine Green Silk

3. 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)

4. 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)

5. 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

6. Head Body Parts Antennae: segmented, vary in form.
Primarily the smell organ
Mouthparts:
rasping-sucking
chewing-lapping
piercing-sucking
sponging
siphoning
chewing

7. 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

8. 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

9. Beneficial Insects Not all insects are bad for agriculture They help:
pollinate plants
improve soil
destroy harmful insects

10. Other types of pests Nematodes Weeds
Southern root-knot nematodes on pepper plant roots.
This weed is leafy spurge.

11. Other types of pests
Diseases
Rodents and other animals

12. What is Entomology
The branch of zoology that deals with the study of insects

13. 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

14. 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

15. Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Cultural methods
Vary country to country
Insect diseases and predators
Pheromones
Release of sterile males
Insect resistant plant varieties