PLP 3104FUNDAMENTALS OF ENTOMOLOGY

GROUP 3

DR. NUR AZURA BINTI ADAMBlock E, Jabatan Perlindungan Tumbuhan, Tingkat 10389474848nur_azura@putra.upm.edu.my

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON INSECT

1. Spiders are insects. T/F2. Name one insect order3. All insects can fly. T/F4. Which one is an insect?

A B

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON INSECT

5. Name one type of insect’s wings6. What is an antenna?7. Insects have 3-5 pairs of legs. T/F8. Does insect has bone? Y/N9. Legs of an insect is located on the thorax.

T/F10. What is spermatheca?

COURSE FRAME• Please refer to putra lms (

http://www.lms.upm.edu.my)• Assessment:

– Theory 1 (5th week) 10%– Theory 2 (10th week) 10%– Practical 1 (5th week) 10%– Insect collection 20%– Assignment 10%– Final Exam (Theory and Practical) 40%

INSECT OVERVIEW & THE ENVIRONMENT

• General view of insects• Why insects is successful• The importance of insects

– Examples

WHY STUDY INSECTS??

• ESTIMATION: 2 MILL. ANIMAL SPECIES

• >70% ARE INSECTS SPECIES

Why so successful?

• 1) Exoskeleton– Outside of the body unlike vertebrate– Gives shape & support to soft tissues– protection from attack or injury– minimizes the loss of body fluids in both arid

and freshwater environments (has wax)– assures mechanical advantage to muscles for

strength and agility in movement.

Why so successful?

•Fairyflies (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae)

•no more than 0.139 mm in length. 

33 cm: stick insect

goliath beetle: 100 g

•2) small size

Why so successful?

• Being small, exoskeleton also small• Being big, exosk. must be big: HEAVY!!!!!

• minimal resources needed for survival and reproduction

Leafminermealybugs

• Easy to hide from predator• hide in the cracks of a rock, beneath the

bark of a tree, behind the petal of a flower

Mole cricket

• 3) Flight– the only invertebrate that can fly– highly effective mode of escape from

predators– efficient means of transportation, allowing

populations to expand more quickly into new habitats

The migratory locust, Schistocerca gregaria, can fly for up to 9 hours without stopping

• 4) reproductive potential– Produce large number of eggs– High fertility (most eggs hatch)– Short life cycle– Female have spermatheca for sperm storage– Asexual reproduction (aphids,thrips,scale

insects: males are absent)

• 5) metamorphosis– 86% insect species undergo complete

metamorphosis– immatures and adults (imago) may consume

different types of food, exploit different environmental resources, and even occupy different habitats.

– Eg: butterfly: larva consumes leaves, adult comsumes nectar

• 6) adaptation of appendages– Various type of mouth(piercing,

sucking,chewing)– Consume various type of food

THE IMPORTANCE• 1) PEST of crops/food/other products a• 2) VECTORS of diseases:

i) Malaria (Anopheles spp., female)- protozoa Plasmodium falciparum

– ii) Dengue: Aedes aegypti Virus Flavivirus Chikungunya: Aedes sp.

– iii) Enteric diseases (Bacterial and viral infections of the gastrointestinal tract)• Eg: Cholera, Typhoid Fever• Usually by housefly: fecal contamination of

food and water– iv) Sleeping sickness (Africa)

• A bite from Tsetse fly: protozoa Trypanosoma brucei

• 3) POLLINATOR : for plants

Honey bee

Halictid bee

• 4) Food source for animals/human

• 5) Decomposers (dung beetle, flies etc.)

• 6) Bioindicator of stream health– Dragonfly spp

• 7) Biotic indicator for Forensic Entomology– Some flies, spp. colonizing human corpse

• 8) Production– Honey & Wax (Apis mellifera)– Silk (silkworm (Bombyx mori)– Cochneal (red dye) (Scale insect)– Shellac (Scale insect)

• 9) Medical purposes– Maggots (Diabetic patient):"blow flies

(Calliphoridae)– Anticoagulant (Black flies) : keep

laboratory blood specimens from clotting