exam Flashcards
What are some examples of insect life history strategies?
Mayflies have a short lifespan but reproduce rapidly; queen ants have a long lifespan and reproduce over many years.
What is the difference between active and passive dispersal?
Active dispersal involves movement using the insect’s own energy (e.g., monarch butterfly), while passive dispersal relies on external forces (e.g., aphids carried by the wind)
What distinguishes appetitive from migratory dispersal?
Appetitive dispersal is driven by the search for food or mates (e.g., foraging ants), while migratory dispersal involves long-distance movement to avoid unfavorable conditions (e.g., locust migration).
What is voltinism and its types?
Voltinism refers to the number of generations per year: univoltine (one generation), bivoltine (two generations), and multivoltine (several generations).
What advantages and challenges are associated with eusociality?
Advantages include efficient resource use and enhanced colony defense, while challenges involve complex social organization and high relatedness among individuals.
What are the primary characteristics of eusocial insects?
Cooperative brood care, reproductive division of labor, and overlapping generations within a colony.
Describe the reproductive strategies of aphids.
Aphids reproduce asexually via parthenogenesis during favorable conditions and switch to sexual reproduction in adverse conditions.
What is the difference between quasisocial and semisocial behavior?
Semisocial insects share a common nest with their species, care for offspring and have a worker caste system in which members of the nest provide for the queen or the ones that produce offspring. Quasisocial insects share a common nest and care for each other’s offspring but do not have a worker caste system.
semisocial insect-halictid bee, quasisocial insect-euglossine bee.
What are inquilines?
Inquilines are organisms that live in the nests or colonies of social insects, often exploiting the resources and protection provided by the host (e.g., beetles in ant nests).
What is entomophagy and its benefits?
Entomophagy is the practice of eating insects, which can provide a sustainable and nutritious food source rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals.
What are the main causes of insect decline?
Habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, pollution, invasive species, and disease.
Provide examples of how insects are vilified.
Insects like mosquitoes, cockroaches, and locusts are often seen as pests due to their roles in spreading disease, causing infestations, or damaging crops.
Why is the conservation of the red-tailed leafhopper important?
Conservation is important to maintain biodiversity, as this species plays a role in the ecosystem, including pollination and serving as a food source for other animals.
Name some species associated with forensic entomology.
Blowflies (Calliphoridae), flesh flies (Sarcophagidae), and beetles (Silphidae, Trogidae) are commonly used to estimate post-mortem intervals.
Describe nest construction in social insects.
Social insects like termites, ants, and some bees and wasps construct nests using materials such as mud, leaves, silk, and saliva. These nests provide protection, climate control, and a place to raise offspring.
