Insect pests

Question 1

Pest definition

Answer 1

Insects become a pest when they come into conflicts with humans, directly or indirectly.

Question 2

What percentage of insects are pests?

Answer 2

Approximately 10,000 or 1% of insects are considered occasional pests

Question 3

Categories of pests

Answer 3

• Plant pests
• Stored product pests
• Household pests
• Direct human pests
• Livestock pests

Question 4

Plant pests

Answer 4

Plant pests are herbivorous or phytophagous insects

Question 5

Host plant

Answer 5

A plant upon which an organism lives and/or eats

Question 6

Monophagous

Answer 6

Feed on one species or genus of plant

Question 7

Oligophagous

Answer 7

Feed on various plants in a single family

Question 8

Polyphagous

Answer 8

Feed on a variety of plants of unrelated families

Question 9

Direct damage

Answer 9

Feeding

Question 10

Indirect damage

Answer 10

Transmission of plant diseases

Question 11

Boll Weevil

Crop pest

Answer 11

• Monophagous: Cotton
• Successfully eradicated in most states but still an important pest in South America
• Uses about 25% of the worlds insecticides
• Other control method: Pheromone mass trapping

Question 12

Colorado potato beetle

Crop pest

Answer 12

• Oligophagous: Solanaceae family
• Resistance to many insecticides
• Hand picking, crop rotation and Bt control

Question 13

Mediterranean fruit fly

Crop pest

Answer 13

• Polyphagous: over 260 different hosts
• Mostly fruits, also vegetables, flowers, & nuts
• Heavily controlled in the US
• Sterile insect technique

Question 14

Desert Locust

Crop pest

Answer 14

• Most important insect pest
• Polyphagous: crop & non-crop
• Africa & Southwest Asia
• Forms swarms of billions

Question 15

Spongy Moth

Forest pest

Answer 15

• Introduced from Europe
• Major pest in Eastern N.A
• Polyphagous: 300 tree species
• Caterpillar feed on foliage, adults do not feed
  *

Question 16

Emerald Ash Borer

Forest pest

Answer 16

• Native to Asia (China)
• First record: Michigan 2002
• Present Quebec
• Monophagous: ash trees
• Larva bore into wood

Question 17

Asian Longhorned Beetle

Forest pest

Answer 17

• Native to Asia (China)
• First record: New York 1996
• Eradication program in 2004
• Larvae bore into wood.
• Polyphagous: multiple species

Question 18

Stored product pests

Answer 18

• Contaminate stored food products
• Feed directly on product or mold
• Mostly beetles and moths
• Worldwide distribution

Question 19

Rice Weevil

Stored product pest

Answer 19

Not only rice! Also corn, wheat, barley, etc.

Question 20

Indian meal moth

Stored product pest

Answer 20

• Larva directly contaminate food
• Various grains, cereals, dried food

Question 21

Foreign grain beetle

Stored product pest

Answer 21

Feed mainly on mold, not the grain itsel

Question 22

Houshold pests

Answer 22

• Can contaminate our food
• Damage our clothes, house
• Feed on us
• Ex: Bed bugs, Indian meal moth, ants, cockroaches, clothes moths, carpet beetles, booklice

Question 23

Direct human pests

Answer 23

• Cause minor or severe effects
• Disease transmission
• Stinging, biting, ectoparasitic insects, endoparasitic insects

Question 24

Biological vector vs mechanical vector

Answer 24

• BV: insect play a major role in the life cycle of the pathogen.
• MV: insect is a passive carrier, carrying pathogens on its body or mouthparts.

Question 25

Livestock pests

Answer 25

• Similar to human pests
• Biting, ectoparasitic, and endoparasitic insects

Question 26

Human influence on pest population

Answer 26

• Monoculture
• Intercontinental transport
• Overuse of insecticides
• Human-induced climate change

Question 27

Bad vs good insects

Answer 27

• Loss: $5 billion
• Gain: over $19 billion