Welcome to the World of Insects Importance of

Welcome to the World of Insects

Importance of Insects to Agriculture PESTS 4 – eat our foods - damage our crops - spread plant, human, and animal diseases 5

Importance of Insects to Agriculture PESTS 6 7 - infest our homes - infest our animals and our bodies - sting us (venomous) 8

Importance of Insects to Agriculture PESTS - annoy us - cause unsightly damage 9 10

Importance of insects to Agriculture BENEFITS 11 – pollinate our plants - degrade and recycle nutrients

Importance of Insects to Agriculture BENEFITS - feed on pest species 12 - food for other animals

Importance of insects to Agriculture BENEFITS - used in research and medicine - provide natural products (e. g. , honey, beeswax, silk, dye, and shellac) 13 14

MOST OF US RECOGNIZE BEETLES AS MAJOR PESTS!! DID YOU KNOW THAT SOME PEOPLE “TREASURE” THEM AS COLLECTIBLES? ?

How many insects are there in the world? - about one million insect species have been described - scientists estimate that there may be as many as 10 million different types of insects!! - there about 200 million insects for every human on earth!!

How many insects are there in the world? -insects comprise about 10% of the earth’s weight -insects represent about 80 to 85% of all life on earth

PEST FACT The insect population of the world is at least 1, 000, 000. Averaging the weight of each insect as 2. 5 mg, the weight of the earth's insect population exceeds that of human inhabitants by a factor of 12.

Fortunately, most of these insects cause us no harm - only about 10% of all insects cause us the greatest amount of pain, anguish, and economic loss - because each one of you will come into contact with many types of organisms, it is important to properly identify them to effectively manage them

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What makes an organism an INSECT? ? [generally speaking] - three body parts [head, thorax, and abdomen] - six legs - one pair of antennae - one pair of compound eyes - an exoskeleton - most adult insects have wings

INSECTS are experts at two biological functions: 1) eating 2) reproducing [unfortunately, they do both of them extremely well!]

How can we separate or classify INSECTS? ? 1) by the use of a written key [generally uses body parts] 2) by the type of damage that they cause [e. g. , borer, gall former, leaf feeder] 3) by the type of mouthparts that they have or their manner of feeding [e. g. , chewing or piercing-sucking]

These types of classifications help us to quickly place a “general label” on the “problem” insect!!

Types of Mouthparts [piercing-sucking] 24

Types of Mouthparts [chewing]

Types of wings and venation of wings 28

Types of development

“WHITE ANTS”

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CAN YOU MATCH THESE PHYSICAL WONDERS? 1) Run 50 body lengths in 1 second (cockroach) = a six-foot person running ca. 206 miles per hour

CAN YOU MATCH THESE PHYSICAL WONDERS? 1) Run 50 body lengths in 1 second (cockroach) 2) Flap your arms (“wings”) 300 times in 1 second (flying mosquito) = about one million times per hour

CAN YOU MATCH THESE PHYSICAL WONDERS? 1) Run 50 body lengths in 1 second (cockroach) 2) Flap your arms (“wings”) 300 times in 1 second (flying mosquito) 3) Jump 130 times your height (flea) = a six-foot person jumping 780 feet

CAN YOU MATCH THESE PHYSICAL WONDERS? 1) Run 50 body lengths in 1 second (cockroach) 2) Flap your arms (“wings”) 300 times in 1 second (flying mosquito) 3) Jump 130 times your height (flea) 4) Lift 10 -50 times your weight (ant) = a 200 lb person lifting one to five tons!

CAN YOU MATCH THESE PHYSICAL WONDERS? 1) Run 50 body lengths in 1 second (cockroach) 2) Flap your arms (“wings”) 300 times in 1 second (flying mosquito) 3) Jump 130 times your height (flea) 4) Lift 10 -50 times your weight (ant) 5) Hear with your legs (cricket)

INSECTS THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!! 1) in the air 2) in the water 3) in the soil 4) in our homes 5) on our plants 6) on our animals 7) on our bodies!!