Pests and Crop Protection
CFAN 3001 – Entomology Module
Lecture: MW 8:30 – 9:20; Lab: F 8:30 – 10:25
Lecture: 132 Plant Growth; Lab: Hodson Hall 485
Web page, www.ipmworld.umn.edu
Dr. Bill Hutchison, 219 Hodson Hall: 612-624-1299, hutch002@umn.edu
Amy Morey (TA, Lab Section, 485 Hodson Hall), morey041@umn.edu
Science - The art of deriving sufficient
conclusions from insufficient data.
(Study of the Universe)
Biology – Study of Life
Zoology – Study of Animals
Entomology – Study of Insects
Entomology: a pest-based discipline
 Insects are the most prevalent taxa in our environment
 Attract human attention when they occur in LARGE
numbers
 What causes change in abundance, dispersion, and
diversity? (Insect Ecology)
Identification
• Pest Management – first step is to know
what insect(s) are present
• What stage is easiest to control
• How many are too many
• What tactics can be used
– Prevention
– Therapeutic (insecticide)
– Impact of control on the agroecosystem
Classification
• Systematics - study of the
classification of related organisms
based on ancestral characters
(Phylogenetics)
• Taxonomy is the science of naming
organisms
Species Name
• All organisms have a Latin “binomial”.
The Genus and species
• Examples: Leptinotarsa decimlineata Say
Latin Names
• Latin names are descriptive
• Used worldwide
Leptinotarsa decimlineata Say
• Key to the scientific literature
Classification Hierarchy
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Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus species
• Kings play chess on Friday’s generally speaking
WHAT MAKES AN ANIMAL AN INSECT?
Principle Features of Phylum Arthropoda and Class Insecta
1. SEGMENTED BODY - with three principal body
regions
a. Head (fusion of 5 or 6 six segments into a
functional unit – Tagmosis)
b. Thorax (locomotor tagma)
c. Abdomen (digestive and reproductive organs)
2. Exoskeleton comprised of CHITIN
3.TRACHEAL system for gas exchange
4. One pair of ANTENNAE
Class Insecta
• Order classification primarily based on
– structure of:
• wings
• mouthparts
• metamorphosis
Major events in Insect Evolution
1.Development of wings – in Carboniferous (Pterygota:
Paleoptera)
2.Wing Flexion – (Pterygota: Neoptera)
3.Metamorphosis
a. Simple – (Exopterygota)
1) Orthopteroid Orders
2) Hemipteroid Orders (sucking mouthparts)
b. Complex – Holometabolous (Endopterygota)
1) Bees, wasps, ants
2) Beetles
3) Flies
4) Butterflies/moths
See lab manual for details
Insect Diversity
Why are insects so abundant?
Small size
- takes little food to mature to reproductive age
Ability to fly - escape enemies, adverse environmental conditions
Unique body
- waxy layer, strong exoskeleton, jointed legs
High reproductive capacity - e.g. CPB female can lay 3000 eggs
Metamorphosis
- adults and young use different resources
Facts you should know about insects
World-wide entomologists have described about 1 million
species, systematists estimate between 2 and 10 million
There are about 100,000 species described in the U.S.
15,000 - 20,000 insect species in Minnesota
Q: How many (%) are pests?
< 1% are injurious - ca. 3,000 species worldwide
600 pest insects in the United States
Insect Abundance and Diversity
1. Insects live in every habitable place on earth except ocean floor
2. Chief consumers of plants on the planet
3. Major predators of plant eaters
4. Key role in decay of organic matter
5. Key role as food for other organisms
a) In some human cultures insects comprise 10% of the diet
6. Nearly 1 million described species
a) From from 2 to 10 million yet to be described.
b) Outnumber humans by nearly 200 million to 1
How Do Insects Cause Damage?
Injury to crops
DIRECT or INDIRECT injury
Injury to Humans and animals
Blood feeding - disease transmission
Internal & External Parasites
Annoyance
Injecting toxic substances
Destroy stored products and possessions
Pest - A living organism that occurs in such numbers and
places so that it is inconvenient to human health,
economics, comfort, or aesthetics.
Beneficial - An insect which favorably affects humans
with the result of its actions or products.
Insect
Losses in Agriculture
Preharvest
13.0%
Postharvest
3.5%
TOTAL
16.5%
Annual loss in the U.S. about $7 billion annually to insects
IPM - Integrated Pest Management
IPM - an ecologically based pest control strategy that
maintains pest species below the economic injury level
by use of the most appropriate and environmentally
sound methods available.
Pest
Control
The application of technology, in the context of
biological knowledge, to achieve satisfactory
reduction of pest numbers or effects.
Control Strategies
1. Natural
2. Biological
3. Cultural
4. Legislative and Regulatory
5. Mechanical and Physical
6. Genetic
7. Chemical
What is a Land-Grant Institution?
1. Established by an act of Congress in 1862, known as the
Morrill Act.
a. “Donating Public Lands to the several States and Territories which
may provide Colleges for the Benefit of Agriculture and Mechanic
Arts. …..an amount of public land …. equal to thirty thousand acres for
each senator and representative in Congress.”
b. Land sales funded establishment of the University of Minnesota.
c. Mandate was to: “…teach agriculture, military tactics, and the
mechanical arts as well as classical studies”.
2. Hatch Act – 1887, Established the Agricultural
Experiment Stations
3. Extension Service – Smith-Lever Act, 1914, “In order to aid
in diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical
information on subjects relating to agriculture…..”