Lecture 2 Flashcards
What are negative impacts of insect/human interaction?
1) Eat our crops
2) Attack livestock/pets
3) Attack homes
4) Feed on clothing
5) Spread pathogens and cause disease
6) Sting/bite/kill
What are the positive impacts?
1) Creation of products (honey, wax, silk, dye, venom)
2) Pollinate plants (crops & flowers)
3) Food for vertebrates
4) Biological control (good eats bad)
5) Natural food chains (nutrient recycling & plant propagation)
6) Models for biological study
7) Medical Use (maggot therapy, anti-venom, allergy therapy)
8) Inspire pop-culture
9) UCR history
How many insects per person?
200 million insects per person. Adds up to 10 quintillion.
Top agriculture states in US? What’s the value in all states in the US?
California, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota.
54.4 billion for california alone and this is around 12.5%. Total agriculture worth of the US is 435 billion.
Locust Plague 2020
Hundreds of millions of locust travel 90 miles a day and one swarm can be 150 million locusts (250 football fields) big. Average swarm can destroy enough food for 2500 people. This happens in Africa and Asia and is blamed on climate change.
Livestock
Fleas(Siphonaptera) feed on the blood from the livestock and pets.
Homes
Termites (Blattodea) attack wooden houses. Also cockroaches (Blattodea) also invade homes.
Feed on clothes
Moths would feed on these clothes.
Black death
Fleas transmit pathogen causing plague. The Oriental Rat Flea was the real cause of Black death. 75-200 million people died from this disease.
Plague and Pathogens
Bubonic Plague, Septicemic plague, and Pneumonic Plague. Black fly vectors a pathogen that causes river blindness. Mosquitos vector also transmit pathogens(most deadly.)
Mosquitos
- Cause malaria(by female mosquitos), Elephantiasis(high in the Americas), West Nile Virus(In the US), Filariasis, Dengue(pain and sports), and Zika Virus(deformation).
- A lot of problems in the tropics
Sting/Bite/Kill us
-Fire ant stings
Products produced by insects
Honey, wax, silk, dye, venom
Plant Propagation
Pollination- critical for production of fruits and vegetables. Honey bees, bumble bees, and native bees. Moths, butterflies, flies, cockroaches, and beetles all are plant pollinators. Flower shape color and odor are adapted to attract these pollinators.
Food for vertebrates
They are a part of the food chain and without them, the ecosystem would be in trouble.
We eat 1.5 pounds of insects a year.
Ex of human insect food: Mexican caviar, Thai caviar, markets in Asia(japan, china, Bangkok), Red palm weevil, sweets containing insects. Used in livestock/pet feed and is healthy.
Biological Control
Good bugs eat bad bugs. Ladybug eat aphids.
Other benefits of ecosystem
Detritivores: recycle plant/animal material (tung beetle, termites).
Cockroaches are garbage collectors, recycle dead plants, dead animals, poop, and are CRITICAL to balance the environment.
OVERALL NUTRIENT RECYCLING.
Important to food chains
1)Nutrient recycling
2)Plant Propagation
3)Maintain plant community
4)Maintain animal community
5)Involved in overall animal structure
MANY ARE KEYSTONE SPECIES
Insects are models
Useful as models in biological studies in genetics, evolution, sociobiology, and ecology.
Medical Use of Insects
Maggot therapy-maggots can clean/eat any dead tissue
Anti-venom
Allergy therapy
Pop-culture inspiration
Art, music, science are all inspired by insects. Movies, stamps, and songs.
Insect and UCR’s foundation
In 1882, an insect called cottony cushion scale attacked citrus plants.
In 1888, the Vedalia beetle from Australia imported to Riverside. Discovered to be natural enemy of c.c.s
From 1888-1890, the vedalia beetle was used to kill c.c.s
In 1890, the problem was entirely solved, citrus saved
In 1907, the Citrus Experiment Station was founded in Riverside
In 1918, dedicated new building which became UCR in 1953.
In 1954, UCR was officially established at Citrus Experiment Station.
