Entomology For Master Gardeners

1. Entomology For Master Gardeners Mike Wagner Regents Professor-Emeritus Northern Arizona University School of Forestry

2. Outline of Topics • Extent and Economic Importance • Insect Growth and Development • Insect Feeding / Mouthparts • Classification and Taxonomy • Movement and Spread • Population Dynamics / Concept of Pest • Diagnosing Insect Problems • Pest Management Approaches

3. Extent and Economic Importance • Major form of higher life • Attack all stages of all species • Damage equals harvest • Beneficial aspects

4. Beneficial Aspects • Pollination • Predators / Parasites • Human food • Biological control agents • Nutrient recycling • Insect products: honey, wax, shellac, dye • Conservation biology • Art and literature • Ecotourism- butterfly farms / exhibits

9. Characteristics of Insects • Arthropods: exoskeleton, jointed appendages • Adult Insects: • Head, thorax, abdomen • 1pair antennae • 3 pair legs • 2 pair of wings

10. Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda: also include trilobites, horseshoe crabs, spiders, crustaceans, millipedes, centipedes) Insects are all in the HEXAPODA (class) Body with three distinct regions: head, thorax, and abdomen • Head: • Sensory Organ • a) Paired appendages (antennae) • b) Mouthparts • 2. Thorax: • Locomotion • Abdomen: • Reproductive and Digestive Head Abdomen Thorax

11. Thoracic legs • Prolegs

12. Thoracic legs Prolegs

13. Insect Relatives • Spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes, millipedes, sowbugs, snails, slugs • Bugs vs. “bugs”

14. Insect Growth and Development • Metamorphosis • Shed exoskeleton (molting) • Stages • Egg • Larva/nymph • Pupa • Adult • Instars

15. Metamorphosis: Simple

16. Wing pads • Wings Squash bug

17. Metamorphosis: Complete

18. Metamorphosis

19. Insect Growth and Development • Gradual: • Egg-nymph-adult • Nymph similar to adult • Ex. Aphids, scales, grasshoppers • Complete: • Egg-larva-pupa-adult • Larva does damage • Stages occur in different habitats • Ex. Beetles, butterflies, flies

20. Insect Feeding/Mouthparts • Chewing • Hard mandibles • Holes, tunnels, partial eaten leaves • Sucking • Straw (stylet), probosis • Curling, stunting, mottling, galls • Phytotoxic necrosis

21. 4 Types of Mouth Parts Piercing/sucking

22. Straw

23. Chewing • Mouth Parts

24. Piercing/ sopping

25. Insect Classification Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

26. Insect Classification Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Animal Arthropods Insecta Coleoptera Scolytidae Dendroctonus brevicomis

27. Insect Classification Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Animal Arthropods Insecta Coleoptera Scolytidae Dendroctonus brevicomis keen pretty clothes out fill guys some

28. Taxonomic Classification • Common level: Order and Family • Basis for classification • Mouthparts • Type of wings • Type of metamorphosis

29. Common Insect Orders • Coleoptera: beetles, weevils • Dermaptera: earwigs • Diptera: flies, mosquitoes, gnats, midges • Hemiptera: true bugs • Homoptera: aphids, scales, leafhoppers, cicadas, whiteflies, mealy bugs • Hymenoptera: bees, wasps, ants, sawflies • Isoptera: termites

30. Coleoptera: beetles, weevils Complete Chewing Attributes: 400,000 species, hard front wings, beneficial and pest species, adults and larvae may feed on same host

31. Dermaptera: earwigs Gradual Chewing Attributes: front wings thickened, pest or beneficial (aphid predator), nocturnal, hide during the day

32. Diptera: flies, mosquitoes Larvae: chewing/hooks Adult: sponging, piercing Attributes: larvae legless, adults soft bodied, compound eye, one pair of wings, haltere, disease vectors, pest and beneficial Complete

33. Hemiptera: true bugs Gradual Attributes: nymphs resemble adults, many plant feeding pests, triangle on back, some predators, some disease vectors (Chagas disease) Piercing, sucking

34. Homoptera: aphids, leaf hoppers, white flies, scales Attributes: small soft bodied insects, unwinged forms, attack many vegetables, multiple generations, parthenogenesis, some disease vectors (CTV), greenhouse pests Gradual Sucking

35. Hymenoptera: bees, wasps, ants, sawflies Complete Attributes: legless larvae, adult stinger, two pair of membranous wings, ants with narrow waist, many species, pollinators, parasites, predators, sawflies are important defoliators, many species social Chewing

36. Isoptera: termites Attributes: soft bodied insects, winged or wingless, colonies occur in ground or in wood, drywood and subterranean termites, caste system, social Gradual Chewing

37. Lepidoptera: moths, butterflies Larvae: chewing Adults: sucking Attributes: caterpillars, adults have two pairs of scaled wings, many defoliators, adults feed on nectar, adults pollinate, basis for ecotourism Complete

38. Neuroptera: lacewings, antlions Complete Chewing Attributes: adults have 2 pairs of membranous wings, wings held rooflike, many species are predators

39. Orthoptera: grasshoppers, crickets, mantids, cockroaches Gradual Chewing Attributes: hard bodied adult, two pair of wings, front wings are hard, adults and nymphs cause damage, moderate pests

40. Siphonaptera: fleas Complete Sucking Attributes: wingless insects, live as ectoparasites on birds and mammals, body is laterally flattened, often jumping, important disease vectors, include plague and typhus

41. Thysanoptera: thrips Gradual Attributes: adults are minute soft bodied, two pairs of long wings, many feed on plants and especially flowers, cause cosmetic damage to fruit, some disease transmission Sucking

42. Common Insect Orders Continued • Lepidoptera: moths, butterflies • Neuroptera: lacewings, antlions • Odonata: dragonflies, damselflies • Orthoptera: grasshoppers, crickets, mantids, cockroaches • Siphonaptera: fleas • Thysanoptera: thrips • Thysanura: siverfish, firebrats

43. Movement and Spread • Adults have wings & legs • Adults can migrate • Larvae have legs • Larvae can walk • Larvae can move with wind

44. Population Dynamics • Insects have high reproductive potential • Can migrate; move with plants • Population limited by: • Environmental resistance • Host plant resistance • “if you build it, they will come” • Exotic (non-native) insects

45. Concept of a Pest • Interfere with objectives • Insects play vital ecological roles • 1% of insects are pests • Learn to live with damage- economic threshold

46. Diagnosing Insect Pest Problems • Recognize limitations • Most “sick” plants are abiotic • Identify the plant • Note the symptoms • Look for broad patterns • Within plant (leaf vs. fruit) • Across plant (spot vs. all plants) • Collect specimens

47. Diagnosing Insect Pest Problems Continued • Take notes • Formulate hypothesis • Important? Seek professional advice

48. Pest Managment • Integrated Pest Management • Legislative Control • Physical/Mechanical Control • Cultural Control • Biological Control • Chemical Control

49. IPM • Integrate all approaches to manage pest • Pest ID • Detection, monitoring models • Know insect biology • Ecologically sound

50. Legislative Control • Quarantine • State regulation- noxious weeds • Public education critical