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Dr. Farid Asif Shaheen, PhD, Post-Doc (University of Sussex, UK)

Assistant Professor of Entomology
Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University
Shamsabad, Rawalpindi (46300), PAKISTAN
Member of Commonwealth Scholarship Commission/British Council (UK) Alumni.
“Editor” of Journal of Tropical Biodiversity and Biotechnology.
“Editorial Board Member” of “Insectia: Journal of Entomology” (London, UK).
Contact: +92-332-5174250
Email: shaheen@uaar.edu.pk 95arid34@gmail.com
asifshaheen@yahoo.com

Entomology: Study of Insects.

Applied Entomology: Application of the fundamental and general knowledge of
Entomology in a benefitting manner for human.
Lecture # 1 & 2

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF INSECTS

A. Beneficial Aspects
B. Harmful Aspects
A. Beneficial Aspects:
1. Useful secretions/body substances
2. Pollination
3. Insects serve as food
4. Usefulness as parasites/predators/weed feeders/scavengers/improve fertility
5. Scientific investigations
6. Aesthetic value
7. Useful in human health programme

1. Useful secretions/body substances

Useful secretions/body substances Insects

Silk Silkworm

Honey, beeswax, royal jelly Honeybees

Lac Lac insect

Light-producing secretion Giant firefly

Cochineal and crimson lake pigments Scale insect

Tannic acid Gall insects

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2. Pollination:
- Some crops need insects to pollinate for flower maturity and fruit formation e.g.
many fruits and vegetables, clover seeds, ornamental plants etc.
- Pollen collected is a rich source of food for honeybees and other animals.
3. Insects serve as Food:
- Some larvae of beetles, ants, termites & cicadas and grasshoppers & crickets are
eaten as food by humans.
- Domesticated birds and wildlife have insects as major share of their food.
- Many of our food fish live largely upon aquatic insects.
4. Usefulness as parasitoids/predators/weed feeders/scavengers/improve fertility
- Important agents in bio-control programs for insect pests of crops, trees, fruits and
vegetables e.g. Hymenoptera parasitoids, dragonflies as predators etc.
- Help to manage household pests like mosquitoes
- Weeds are destroyed by Lani Moth
- Dead bodies and droppings improve soil fertility e.g. grasshoppers, crickets etc.
- Help to devour the bodies of dead animals and plants e.g. beetles
- Maggots of house fly are environment cleaners.
5. Scientific Investigations:
- The ease of handling, rapidity of multiplication and low cost of rearing have made
the Drosophila fly invaluable in the study of Genetics
- Principles of regeneration and parthenogenesis have been discovered by the study
of insect physiology
6. Aesthetic Value:
- Their shapes, colours and patterns serve as models for artists and decorators and
universally admired.
- Use in ornaments and jewellery etc.
- Insects have served as subject matter for hundreds of poems
- Crickets fighting and flea stunts in circus.

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7. Useful in human health programme

- Maggots of certain flies are used in treatment of wounds
- The stings of honey bees have remedial value for rheumatism and arthritis
- Extract of cockroaches, honeybees etc. are used as medicine.

B. Harmful Aspects

1. Plant Injury (3500 important insect pests):

There are many situations in which insects damage crops like:
i. Chewing plants or plants parts e.g. caterpillars
ii. Desaping of leaves e.g. whiteflies
iii. Boring/tunnelling plants or plant parts/fruits
iv. Attacking roots e.g. root borers
v. Plant parts used for nesting e.g. scale and gall insects
vi. Carrying other insects and establishing them there e.g. aphids and ants
(mutualism)
vii. Plant diseases carrier/vector e.g. whiteflies and CLCV.

2. Annoyance and injury to humans and animals:

There are many situations like:
i. Causing annoyance e.g. housefly
ii. Apply venoms e.g. honey bees, wasps
iii. Parasites e.g. lice, fleas, bed bugs
iv. Carrier of animal diseases e.g. flies, mosquitoes etc.

3. Destruction of Valuable Products:

There are many situations including:
i. Household situations like timber losses by termites
ii. Stored grain insect pests damaging stored products like red flour beetle damaging
wheat and other grain flours, pulse beetles damaging pulses, rice weevil damaging
stored rice etc.

Lecture # 3 & 4

Causes of Success/Dominance of Insects on Earth

- Insects are the most abundant and diverse group of organisms on earth.
- Insects comprise about 70% of the known species of all kinds of animals.

1. Small Size: The majority of insects are:

- quite small
- require little food
- can easily seek shelter from adverse weather & enemies by entering crevices,
hiding under the bark of trees and fallen leaves etc.
- minimal resources needed for survival & reproduction

2. Strong Exoskeleton:
- The chitinous exoskeleton gives insect great physical strength without becoming
too heavy.

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- unlike vertebrates, an insect's supporting skeleton is located on the outside of its
body.
- provides protection from attack or injury, minimizes the loss of body fluids &
prevents desiccation.
- an ant, for example, that can lift up to 50 times its own body weight.

3. High Mobility Through Flight:

- Insects are the only invertebrates that can fly
- very mobile creatures
- can easily seek their food & mates, escape from their enemies & disperse for fresh
colonization.
- apart from flying, they can run, jump or take long leaps with great ability & strength.
- efficient use of energy allows some insects to travel great distances or remain
airborne for long periods of time.
- more than 200 species, including moths, dragonflies, locusts, flies, and beetles are
known to migrate over long distances by air.
- the migratory locust can fly for up to 9 hours without stopping.
- some of the tiny biting midges beat their wings over 1000 times per second.

4. Rapid Reproduction:
- Reproductive success is one of the most significant measures of an organism's
fitness.
- in insect populations, females often produce large numbers of eggs (high
fecundity), most of the eggs hatch (high fertility), and the life cycle is relatively
short (often as little as 2-4 weeks). Together, these three characteristics enable
insects to produce remarkably large numbers of offspring.
- the queen of an African termite colony may be the mother of more than ten million
workers during her 20-25 year lifespan.
- it has been estimated that if all the progeny of a single housefly female survive,
within 6-months she will produce enough flies to form 15 meters thick layer all over
the earth surface.

5. Adaptability:
- No other group of animals is adapted to live in so diverse habitat as the insects.

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- they live in all corners of the earth from the poles to the equator, in soils, fresh
waters, hot springs, on all plants & animals (dead or alive).
- a fly maggot lives in pools of waste oil.
- perhaps the most remarkable example of insect adaptation in this century has been
the speed with which pest populations have developed resistance to a broad range
of chemical and biological insecticides.
- after World War II, in USA, a concerted effort was made to eradicate the house fly
with DDT. But a few resistant flies managed to survive because they were endowed
with an enzyme that could detoxify DDT. These survivors reproduced and passed
this resistant trait to their offspring. In time, DDT-resistant flies repopulated in larger
numbers.

6. Metamorphosis:
- The larval and adult stages of holometabolous insects are so different not only in
structure but also in food & habitat requirements so competition between parent and
offspring for food and shelter is eliminated.
- the pupal stage with great resistance to adverse conditions and no food
requirement is of further advantage.

7. Tracheal Respiration:
- Tracheal system supplies oxygen directly to each cell of body.
- this is the most efficient system. Tracheae abundant in flight muscles

8. Open Circulatory System:

- No arteries or veins so blood flows free in the body cavity
- the supply of nutrition to tissues and removal of wastes from there is more efficient.

9. Diversity in Food Habits:

- Insects are known for the variety of their food habits
- they may be herbivores, carnivores, predators, parasitoids and saprophagous etc.

10. Care of Young Ones:

- Insects exhibit the most advanced instinct for care of their young ones e.g. social
insects like black ants, termites, bees etc.

Lecture # 5

How an insect becomes a pest

• When existence of an insect conflicts with the profit, convenience or welfare of
humans then it becomes a pest.
OR
• When an insect causes economic damage to humans then it becomes a pest.

There are certain situations which make an insect to become a pest:

1. Interference with the natural vegetation

The natural vegetation was disturbed by bringing the soil under different crops
and the insects e.g. armyworm, rice hoppers, potato tuber moth and
grasshoppers etc. migrated to the new crops.
2. Reduction of certain insectivorous animals
Birds which feed on insects e.g. tilliars & partridges are hunted by humans.

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3. Encouraging the insect multiplication by providing suitable crop

conditions
Monoculture e.g. in cotton, rice and sugarcane belts enhances the population
of their respective insect pests.

4. Introduction of imported new plants attacked by insects / Distribution

through trade
Pink bollworm and potato tuber moth were carried with imported cotton and
potatoes, respectively from USA

5. The scientific zeal

Sometimes scientists/researchers are the cause of spread of a pest in a
country. For instance, a scientist from Europe brought eggs of gypsy moth in
USA for research but those were accidently spread in the fields through wind
and the moth became a serious pest of apples there.

Lecture # 6

PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF INSECT PEST CONTROL /

MANAGEMENT
A. PRINCIPLES OF INSECT PEST CONTROL
B. METHODS OF INSECT PEST CONTROL
A. PRINCIPLES OF INSECT PEST CONTROL
1. Insect classification and life history
Knowledge of insect classification, growth and development, and life cycle is
requisite
i. Accurate species determination
ii. Key to published work of others
iii. Life cycle studies

2. Number of insects
i. ~ one million already described
ii. 40 million insects on each acre of land
iii. Relatively shorter life cycle (many generation in one year)
iv. High reproductive rate (600 eggs per one house fly female)

3. Introduced pests
Many insect pests travel from one country to another:
i. Through transportation for food supply (unintentional)
ii. Through introduction of insect bio-control agents (intentional)
iii. Carried with passengers
iv. Introduction of new cultivars

4. Crop values
Crop value is given considerable importance
i. Economic value of the crop
ii. Aesthetic value of the crop
(Control is costly in flower and fruit crops)

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5. Consumer pressure
Consumers demand also affect upon insect control
i. Processed fruits and vegetables need more control
ii. Top-grade fruits must be free from any slight effect of pest

6. Survey and detection

i. Personnel competency is important factor for low level pest detection
ii. Accurate knowledge of distribution and abundance of insect pests
iii. Early detection of potential pests to delimit outbreaks (fruit fly)
iv. Modification of chemical control with presence of bio-control agents

7. Preventive control
i. A regular pest requires to be controlled in early stage before reaching
its maximum destruction stage (tree fruit pests)
ii. For field crops certain rules like ETL (economic threshold level) and
EIL (economic injury level) of insect pests should be followed
iii. Early spraying can be delayed for bio-control agents to participate

8. Community projects
i. There are large scale community projects for pest control, which help
to manage pests and their possible outbreaks (Pink bollworm in cotton)

9. New methods and materials

i. Modern / new chemistry insecticides with extremely low dosages are
more feasible
ii. Development of new insecticide formulations help
iii. Development of new application equipments also enhance efficacy.

10. Professional Advice and Assistance

i. Agriculture extension service stands side by side to growers for pest
control
ii. Provide latest information regarding pest status, control tactics and
their application
iii. Private consultants, agricultural companies play vital function in
carrying control recommendations to individual farmers.

11. Causes of insect outbreaks

Outbreaks or epidemics of insect pests are usually caused by one or more of
the following:
i. Monoculture of a crop or an animal
ii. Introduction of a pest into favourable area without its natural enemies
iii. Favourable weather for rapid development and multiplication
iv. Natural enemies with insecticides for a particular pest and allowing
others to thrive the best
v. Use of poor cultural practices
vi. Destruction of natural biotic communities.

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Lecture # 7 & 8

B. METHODS OF INSECT PEST CONTROL / MANAGEMENT

1. Mechanical Control
2. Cultural Control
3. Legislative or Legal Control
4. Physical Control
5. Reproductive/Autocidal/Genetic Control
6. Biological Control
7. Chemical Control
8. Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

1. Mechanical Control:

“Use of mechanical tools to destroy or decrease insect pests”

1. Hand picking:
Hand picking and destruction of larvae and egg batches of insect pests
particularly of orders Lepidoptera (cabbage butterfly eggs & larvae) and
Coleoptera (red pumpkin beetle adults).

2. Bagging:
i. Hand nets: Sugarcane Pyrilla can be collected with hand nets in April and
May and killed.
ii. Bag nets or field bags: Two men drag a bag net or field bag over the
field from one corner to the other to collect rice grasshoppers and bugs
and then dropped in kerosenised water.
iii. Hopper Dozers: These are big cages worked on wheels in fields to
control grasshoppers.

3. Trapping:
Turnips, potatoes and leaves of cabbage etc. are chopped up by cutworms
and they conceal themselves underneath heaps of vegetable matter and can
be collected and destroyed in the morning.

4. Physical barriers:
i. Digging of vertical walled trenches or ditches against nymphs of locust
and caterpillars
ii. Use of water channels or water barriers against locust etc.
iii. Use of trees, fences and walls around fields to restrict insect pest entry.

5. Screening:
i. Screening of houses against flies and mosquitoes by fitting up wire-gauze
doors.
ii. Use of Funnel-Shaped Collars to protect individual plants from cutworms
and grasshoppers etc.
iii. Bags used over clusters of fruits like dates to protect them from the attack
of insects and birds.
iv. Chips are used under the melons to protect them from melon worms
(Sometimes completely wrapping with paper).

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6. Physical beating:
i. Rope dragging: The infested bolls of cotton attacked by bollworms
drop on the soil.
ii. Banding: Sticky and slippery bands are used against mango mealy
bug
iii. Burning: Burning is used to control some insects e.g. burning of wasp
nests.

Lecture # 9

2. Cultural Control:

Purposeful manipulation of the crop environment to reduce the rate of pest increase
and damage is called cultural control.
Cultural manipulation involves two factors:
a. Already existing environmental factors
b. New factors (insecticides, natural enemies etc.)
1. Tillage:
Tillage is a major activity in many plant protection schemes which is primarily
done for seed bed preparation and weed control. But it also destroys pest
habitats and changes physical environment of insects inhabiting the soil.
Timing and depth of the tillage are major modifications made to manage the
insects. If the tillage is to be used for reducing insect pest infestation, it should
be timed with insect’s life cycle e.g., pupation or dormancy stage. A majority
of the larvae of the pink bollworm and spotted bollworm are found in the soil in
damaged bolls of cotton or cotton seed, which cannot emerge as moth in
spring.
2. Clean culture (sanitation):
Sanitation is the most elementary procedures in reducing favourability of the
agro-ecosystem for pest species. Many species breed and over winter in all
sorts of debris, whose removal can reduce rates of reproduction and survival.
1. Crop residue destruction and utilization
2. Pruning and destruction of insect-infested twigs and branches
3. Elimination of animal waste (treatment of breeding places)
4. Efficient storage and processing

3. Eradication of weeds (destruction or modification of alternate hosts and

habitats):
Many insects do not find the host crop throughout the year and need to move
out or enter to other foods during certain parts of the year e.g. cutworm and
hairy caterpillars. The rice grasshopper overwinters in sarkanda. The most
favoured winter hosts of rice green leaf hopper are “Khabal grass.” Volunteer
plants of the crops that remain in the field after harvest, harbour large number
of insect pests at times when pest presence is impossible otherwise e.g. pink
bollworm, spotted bollworm and cotton bollworm and potato tuber moth.

4. Crop rotation:
Crop rotation is probably the most important method of discontinuity in a
pest’s requisites. Rotation schemes work best when

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• The pest has a narrow host range
• Eggs are laid before the new crop is planted
• Feeding stage is not very mobile (as mostly pest on underground roots)

Unsound rotations from entomological point of view:

❖ Guar-wheat-toria (any delay in the burial of guar will attract the termites and
may risk the chances of successful wheat crop).
❖ Sugarcane-maize-cotton (the termites are attracted to dry roots of cotton and
they attack sugarcane setts later on).
❖ Avoid sowing maize in grassland (both belong to the same family) because
soil insects, white grubs, wireworms and cutworms are common to both.
Useful rotations:
❖ Pastures should be kept free from animals for a year to get protection against
cattle ticks
❖ Maize-senji-sugarcane
❖ Rotation of groundnut with non-leguminous crops to minimize the damage
against leaf miner
❖ Cotton should be rotated with non-preferred hosts like rice, groundnut,
cowpeas or soya beans to minimize the incidence of insect pests
5. Inter-culture:
Intercropping is another technique to divert the pest away from a crop to more
favourable areas. Intercropping involves growing dissimilar crops in the same
location e.g., brassica in wheat, maize and beans grown in alternate rows.
Main crop Intercropping Insect pest (s)
Ground nut Pearl millet Divert thrips, jassids and leaf miners away
Tomato Cabbage Reduce egg laying of diamond back moth
Wheat Brassica Reduce wheat aphids due to development of
aphid predators on brassica
6. Sowing attractive crops (trap crops):
Trap cropping usually involves planting small areas of a (more favourable)
crop or other species near the protected crop. The favourability of this crop
(known as trap) compels the insects to move into the trap and stay away from
the protected crop. The trapped insets are left to develop on this crop or killed
by insecticide depending upon the seasonal cycle. If the insecticide is used
the cost and environmental impact are reduced. The trap crop may be
different species planted at a different time.
Main crop Trap crop Insect pest (s) trapped:
Cotton Okra Jassids, spotted bollworms, cotton bollworms
Maize Sorghum Shoot fly
Groundnut Soyabean Tobacco caterpillar, leaf miners
7. Cropping space:
Plants placed close together create close canopies that aid in insect
movement, which may be favourable for the pest as well as for natural
enemies. Therefore the detriments and benefits of spacing may vary from
pest to pest. Corn earworm prefers open canopies and therefore colonizes
late-planted and wide-row soybean more rapidly.

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8. Irrigation:
Irrigation is a primary plant culture activity and little impact has been placed
on its use in preventing insect problems. Fallow land is flooded prior to the
production of winter vegetables to control the worms which attack germinating
plants and underground plant parts. The production areas are flooded for 6
weeks or more to be effective against the pest. Sprinkle irrigation is an
effective method to suppress foliage feeding insects like potato tuber moth.
The moist conditions appear to deter egg laying and cause mortality of newly
emerged larvae before they tunnel into the plant. The control of water levels
contributes significantly to reduction in both nuisance mosquitoes and those
transmitting human pathogens.
9. Cultivation of Resistant Varieties:
Cultivation of resistant varieties or cultivars which are tolerant of insect injury
those ultimately yield well in spite of insect attack. Most crops sustain a wide
range in yield loss to a given degree of injury, depending upon the vigour of
the crop.
Conclusion:
1. Tillage
2. Seedling
3. Clean culture (sanitation)
4. Eradication of weeds
5. Removal of crop residues/remnants
6. Treatment of breeding plants
7. Removal of affected plants and fallen fruits
8. Crop rotation
9. Growing mixed crops (wheat with sarson)
10. Sowing attractive crops (Trap crops)
11. Cropping scheme
12. Selection of resistance varieties
13. Stimulating plant growth
14. Irrigation
15. Fertilization
• Proper irrigation, fertilization and weed control have a significant effect in the
vigour of the crop and ultimately reduce the amount of damage due to insect
pest attack.
• Cultural management is one of the oldest, least expensive and most
ecologically compatible tactics for solving insect problems.
• To use this approach, weak links in the insect cycle are identified and
exploited.
• Usually food source or physical factors of the crop environment are made
unfavourable for insects through manipulating conventional production
practices
• In most instances, this technique is a preventive tactic that anticipates
problems before they occur and attempts to avoid or minimize their impact.
• It serves as a baseline procedure that is compatible and can be integrated
with many other pest management techniques.
• As a rule it is the most effective with insects that have a narrow host range, a
low rate of dispersal, and/or complex requirement in the seasonal cycle.

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Lecture # 10

3. Reproductive / Autocidal / Genetic Control:

“Genetic Control means reducing the population of an insect pest by:

A. lowering its reproductive potential through changing its genetics
and/or
B. changing genetics of its host plant (Host Plant Resistance).”

A. to control further reproduction can

be undertaken by:
a. sterility among progeny
b. reducing fecundity
c. reducing survivorship

Methods of Insect Sterility:

i. Radiation: Exposure of male insect population to high energy radiations causes
chromosomal breakage ultimately resulting in early death of zygote.

ii. Chemosterilisation: Chemosterilants are classified as:

1. Alkylating agents (damage genetic sperm material)
2. Phosphorous amide
3. Tuazines
4. Antimetabolites

iii. Other tactics:

a). Condition lethal: Specific genes/alleles determine the individual fitness for factor
like temperature tolerance so genetically making the individual sensitive to lethal low
and high temperatures.
b). Hybrid sterility: The cross between horse and donkey resulted in sterile mule.
Similarly, the cross between closely related species (Heliothis virescens x H.
subflexa) resulted in production of hybrid males in F1 which are partially sterile and
when these males mated with females of H. virescens or H. subflexa, no further
offspring produced.
c). Cytoplasmic incompatibility: When individuals of different populations are
crossed, reproductive potential is reduced due to cytoplasmic incompatibility which
results in non-formation of zygote.

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d). Chromosomal rearrangements: When laboratory reared males having genetic
defects/chromosomal rearrangements are released in the field to mate with wild
female population, sterile progeny is produced.

B. Changing genetics of its host plant (Host Plant Resistance).

Insect control with GM crops: Bacillus thuringiensis is responsible for the
production of endotoxin gene in cotton plant that produces enough toxic material to
kill cotton bollworm larvae.

Other Genetic engineering technologies:

Use of recombinant DNA Technology has made possible the incorporation of desired
genetic material from one organism to another. This led to manufacture of biological
insecticides giving effective insect pests control. For example:
Biological bacterial insecticide: DIPEL
Biological fungal insecticide: MYCAR
Biological viral insecticide: ELCAR
Biological protozoan insecticide: Hopper Stopper.

Lecture # 11

4. Physical Control:
“Physical control involves special manipulations or changes in physical factors i.e.
temperature, humidity and light (radiant energy) in some way to destroy or decrease
insect pest population.”

Some of the important physical control measures include:

1. Low temperature: Insects remain inactive in low temperatures and can’t do
any damage. Temperatures like 40-60oF decrease storage pest problems.
2. Superheating: A temperature of 140-150oF maintained for at least three
hours kills the stored grain insect pests.
3. Radiant energy: Killing of insect pests in grains by spreading outside in the
sunshine during summer is recommended. The best thickness of the grain
layer is 1 inch or less and the best time of the day is 1-4 pm. Spreading of
cotton seed containing pink bollworm in the sun in thin layer during April-May
for a day before sowing is recommended.

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4. Light traps: The light has been utilized to attract many strongly phototrophic
insects into traps from where they can’t escape. Adults of termites,
grasshoppers, beetles, moths and some other insects are attracted to light
traps. The stronger the light the more the attraction.

5. Legislative / Legal Control:

“Legislative control involves the enactment of laws to regulate the entry,

establishment and spread of pests.
or
“Insect pests are controlled by controlling the activities of man under law. This is also
termed as the legislative control.”

Two types of legislative control are enforced in Pakistan:

1. West Pakistan Agricultural Pest Ordinance, 1959
2. Agricultural Pesticides Ordinance, 1971
1. West Pakistan Agricultural Pest Ordinance, 1959
The ordinance repeals the following acts:
i. Sind bollworm act, 1947
ii. NWFP Sugarcane Pyrilla act, 1950
iii. NWFP fruitfly act, 1950

The ordinance empowered the Agricultural Officers/Inspectors to ensure appropriate

measures against land owners whereby the spread of any agricultural pests was
suspected. Under this act “West Pakistan Agricultural Pests Rules, 1960” were
framed which include:
• Ploughing, collection, burning of rice field stubbles etc. before 31st March
• Destruction of maize, jowar stubbles within 30 days of harvesting.
• Removal of cotton sticks and all other remains for diapause insects before
15th February
• Extend sugarcane harvesting to 15th April for hibernating insects
• No sugarcane ratooning after two years
• Removal of pohli and piazi from wheat crop before end of February.

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2. Agricultural Pesticide Ordinance, 1971
This ordinance regulates the registration, import, manufacture, formulation, sale,
packing, labelling, storage, distribution and use of pesticide in Pakistan. Registered
number is to be allotted to each registered brand of pesticide that will be valid up to
30th June for 3-years and then renewable. In this ordinance, following amendments
have been made from time to time:
i. Agricultural Pesticide Act, 1973: The Parliament passed 1971 ordinance as a
bill/act.
ii. Agricultural Pesticide (Amendment) Ordinance, 1992: Allowed pesticides
import under generic names.
iii. Agricultural Pesticide (Amendment) Ordinance, 1994, 1996 & 1997:
Those involved in malpractices of adulteration of pesticides, liable to non-bail
able imprisonment of 3-7 years with penalty of Rs. 500,000/- to 1000,000/-.

Lecture # 12

6. Biological Control:
Biological Control
“An insect pest management tactic involving purposeful manipulation of natural
enemies to obtain reduction in an insect pest population.”
Goals of biological control
❑ Establishment of self-sustained system by introduction
❑ suppress insect pests
❑ keep insect pest density below EIL
Biological Control Agents

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Vertebrates: Reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds
Invertebrates: Insects, bacteria, fungi, nematodes
A. Predators:
Predators are mainly free-living species that directly consume a large
number of preys during their whole life time.
Ladybird beetle, and in particular their larvae which are active between
May and July are voracious predators of aphids, and will also
consume mites, scale insects and small caterpillars.
Dragonflies are important predators of mosquitoes, both in the water,
where the dragonfly naiads eat mosquito larvae, and in the air, where adult
dragonflies capture and eat adult mosquitoes.
• Other useful predators include lacewings, preying mantis, pirate bugs, rove
and ground beetles, centipedes, spiders, predatory mites, as well as larger
fauna such as frogs, toads, lizards and birds.
B. Parasitoids
• Parasitoids lay their eggs on or in the body of an insect host, which is then
used as a food for developing larvae. The host is ultimately killed. Most
insect parasitoids are wasps or flies, and usually have a very narrow host
range.
1. Ichneumonid wasps: Prey mainly on caterpillars of butterflies and moths.
2. Braconid wasps: Tiny wasps attack caterpillars and a wide range of other
insects including greenfly.

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Types of bio-control program:
✓ Introduction of exotic species
✓ Augmentation of existing populations
✓ Conservation – repetitive mass release of bio-control agents
Information needed for bio-control program:
• Life history of insect pests and bio-control agents
• Physical environment
• Factors regulating the insect pest
Advantages of bio-control program
• Persistence or long term benefits
• Safety to environment
• Economical for use
Disadvantages of bio-control program
• Long time is needed
• Need other methods in collaboration
• Affected equally as pest by environmental factors
• Multi-pest situation creates problem
• Difficulty of mass rearing

Lecture #13 & 14

7. Chemical Control:
“Suppression or killing of insect population with the help of chemicals/insecticides is
called chemical control of insects”
Insecticide: INSECT and CIDE – Any chemical to kill an insect.

Classification of insecticides
1. Classification based on mode of entry
2. Classification based on mode of action
3. Classification based on chemical nature

1. Classification based on Mode of Entry

i. Stomach poison: kills when ingested
ii. Contact poison: kills when absorbed through body wall

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iii. Systemic/Translaminar poison: Kills through sucking the plant cell sap
iv. Bait Poison: Mixing poison in food
v. Fumigants: Phosphine gas
vi. Dehydrated insecticides: Causing dehydration in the insect body

2. Classification based on Mode of Action

i. Physical poison
ii. Protoplasmic poisons
iii. Respiratory poison
iv. Reproductive poison
v. Nerve poison
vi. Miscellaneous poison

3. Classification based on Chemical Nature

i. Elements e.g. S, P, Hg & Thallium etc.
ii. Inorganic Compounds e.g. Arsenicals like Paris green, sodium arsenate,
lead arsenate and Fluorides etc.
iii. Natural Organic Compounds
a) Hydrocarbon oils
kerosene oil, summer oil, dormant oil etc.
b) Compounds of animal origin
nereistoxin etc.
c) Compounds of plant origin
pyrethrum, rotenone, azadiractin etc.
iv. Synthetic Organic Compounds
a) Organochlorines:
BHC, DDT, DDD, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, endosulfan etc.
b) Organophosphates:
DDVP, malathion, profenofos, chlorpyrifos, triazophos, methamidophos
c) Carbamates:
Carbofuran, carbaryl, methomyl, thiodicarb, aldicarb etc.
d) Synthetic Pyrethroids:
Permethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, bifenthrin, cyhalothrin & their
derivatives etc.

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Please ask any question/query in class whatsapp group or contact:
Other Insecticides:
i. New chemistry insecticides:
spinosad (Tracer®), indoxacarb (Steward®), emamectin benzoate(Proclaim®)
ii. Insect Growth regulators (IGRs)
a) Chitin synthesis inhibitors: lufenuron, diflubenzuron, buprofezin etc
b) Juvenile hormone mimics: pyriproxyfen, fenoxycarb etc.
c) Ecdysone agonist: tebufenozide etc.
Some Other Insecticides:
1. Nicotinylinsecticides: imidacloprid, acetamiprid etc.
2. Insect Attractants
a) Pheromones
b) Allelo-chemicals
c) Kairomones
3. Insect Repellants: e.g., Mospel, Citronella Oil, Neem oil etc.
4. Fumigants: aluminium phosphide tablets (Phostoxin®), methylbromide etc.
5. Acaricides: dicofol etc.
6. Thiourea: Diafenthiuron (Polo), nitroguanadin (Confidor)

Lecture # 15

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

“An approach that aims at reducing pest status to tolerable levels (below
economic injury level) by using methods that is effective, economically sound
and ecologically compatible.”
Basics of IPM
❑ Must be a part of total crop production
❑ Must be economical
❑ Must understand side effects such as water pollution and destruction of
non-target/beneficial organisms
❑ Management of all pests in broader sense
Requirement of Pest Management Decision
1. Identification of the pest
2. Accurate assessment of the pest population
3. Understanding of pest’s habits/behavior and seasonal development

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4. Damage level
5. Hazards of control method used

Basic Components of IPM Program

Lecture # 16

Insecticide Formulations

“The mixture of active and inert ingredients for killing insects is called as insecticide
formulation”
Active ingredient (AI):
Actual poison or toxic material or technical grade material in the final insecticidal
mixture, which has direct effect on killing insect pests.
Inert ingredient or carrier:
No direct effect on killing insect pests.

A. Liquid Formulations
1. Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC or E):
• A detergent like material is added to insecticide to break up the insecticide
into microscopic droplets, producing a milky powder.
• Mostly applied (75%) as sprays
• require dilution before applying and usually contain 240 to 1929 g AI per liter.
2. Solutions (S):
• Active ingredient is ready to use or dissolved in petroleum based solvents
• liquid concentrates may be used directly or require diluting, usually contain
less than 40 g AI per liter.
3. Ultra low volume (ULV):
• A special kind of high concentrate solution.
• AI dissolved in one or more petroleum based solvents.

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• applied without dilution with special aerial or ground equipments to produce
an extremely fine spray.
4. Flowables (F or L):
• AI are insoluble solids that, with the help of inert ingredients form a
suspension when added to a liquid.
• Solid or semisolid formulation
• AI is wet-milled with a clay diluents and water
• need continuous agitation during application.
5. Aerosols (A):
• AI dissolved in one or more volatile petroleum based solvents.
• The solution is atomized and evaporates quickly after spray.
• Micro-sized droplets are left suspended in air.
• The solution is pressurized in a cane by a propellant gas like CO2 .
• Mostly sold in push-button or total release containers.
6. Liquified gas (LG or F):
• Several fumigants under pressure turn into a liquid used for injection
application of soil treatment etc.

B. Dry Formulations
➢ Usually, sold in paper/plastic bags or canes etc.
➢ Used directly from the container or require dilutions
1. Dusts (D):
➢ Some of the oldest and simplest formulations of insecticides
➢ Prepared by milling the insecticidal compound into a fine powder
➢ Powder is diluted with a dry diluents like organic flour or finely ground
minerals
➢ Low concentration (0.5-10.0%) of A.I. mixed in a fine, inert carrier.
➢ Always apply dry.
2. Wettable Powders (WP or W):
➢ Finely ground, dry formulation, forms a suspension when mixed with water
➢ Look like dusts while in the container
➢ Formulated to be mixed with water and sprayed on surfaces
➢ A surfactant is added to the dust, which allows wetting during the mixing
➢ WPs are much more concentrated than dusts
➢ Higher concentrations (15-95%) of A.I. in finely ground particles
➢ One of the most frequently used formulations.
3. Granules (G):
➢ Prepared by applying liquid insecticides to coarse particles of a porous
material
➢ Particles may be formed from corncobs, walnut shells, clay or other materials
➢ Concentration of A. I. ranges from (2-40 %).
➢ The insecticide is either absorbed into the granule or coats the outside, or it
does both.
➢ AI absorbed by plant roots
➢ Often used against soil insects ; can be placed directly with the seed at
planting time
➢ Can be banded over the top or broad cast over an area.
4. Soluble powders (SP or WSP):
➢ Unlike wettable powders, soluble powders dissolve in water, forming true
solution
➢ Some agitation is required to get paste into the solution, but after they are
dissolved

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➢ Usually, SPs are formulated with 50-95 % A.I. and always require dilution
5. Water-soluble packets (SP):
➢ Composed of wettable or soluble powders pre weighed and delivered in water
soluble plastic bags.
6. Water-Dispersable Granules (WDG) or Dry Flowables (DF):
➢ Similar to wettable powders, but the insecticide is formulated on granule
instead of powder.
➢ Granules break apart when they hit H20
7. Poisonous baits (B):
➢ Insect edibles or other attractive substances are combined with insecticide to
improve the effectiveness of the poison
➢ Dried and pulverized fruits or other materials often used to draw insects to
spot where they ingest or simply across the insecticides
➢ A. I. very low in baits i.e. 5% or less.
8. Slow Release Formulations (SR):
➢ The volatile organophosphate, dichlorvos, is embedded into strips of
polychlorovinyl resins.
➢ The polychlorovinyl resins slow the rate of volatilizations of the insecticide,
allowing it to kill most flying and some crawling insects in the vicinity.
9. Microencapsulated (M):
➢ Active ingredient encased in a capsule
➢ Mixed in suspension
➢ Slow release of active ingredient once applied
➢ The insecticide escapes at a reduced but effective rate.
10. Fumigants:
➢ Chemicals active as gases e.g. phosphine gas
➢ Used in soil and closed structures
➢ Kill anything
➢ Penetrates cracks
➢ One treatment enough
➢ Most hazardous
➢ Must enclose the area.

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