PESTS

Pest
Defined as any animal or plant which harms or
causes damage to man, his animals, crops or
possessions or even just annoyances (Hill and
Waller, Pests and Diseases of Tropical Crops,
1990)
Weeds are regarded as plant pests including
volunteer plants.
A pest is that which causes a loss in yield or
quality of the crop resulting in a loss of profits by
the farmer
 Economic pest
When loss in yield reached certain proportions the pest
can be defined as economic pest
Pest status reached when there is 5-10% loss in yield
Economic damage is amount of crop injury that justify
the cost of artificial control measures
Economic injury level is the lowest pest population
density that will cause economic damage
Economic threshold is the pop. density at which control
measures should be started to prevent increasing pest
population from reaching economic injury level
 Socio-economic importance of pests
Cause yield losses during crop production stage
Also cause losses of produce during post-harvest storage
Some pests transmit crop diseases
Increase crop production costs becauses of expenses involved in
control and management
Reduce crop growth and productivity
Some pests can be consumed by humans
Foreign pests can cause ecological imbalance
May help in pollination
Bio-control agents predatory insects
May produce products such as honey, wax, silk, medicines,
cosmetics
Nutrient recycling - saprophytic
 Pest damage to crop plants
Direct effects of insect feeding
Leaves eaten, reducing photosynthetic area and growth
caused by grasshoppers, caterpillars, larvae, ants,
beetles, weevils
Leaves rolled and webbed larvae, pyralids, tortricids
Leaves mined exhibiting tunnels or blotches larvae,
caterpillars, beetle larvae
Buds eaten, destroying growing points of young
flowers and fruits grasshoppers, beetles, larvae,
caterpillars
Flowers and young fruits eaten pollen beetles, blister
beetles
 Pest damage to crop plants
Direct effects of insect feeding
Fruits and seeds eaten or bored and destroyed sorghum
midge larvae, pea pod borers, maize weevil, coffee berry
borer, fruit flies
Fruits bored and caused to fall prematurely mango fruit
fly, coffee fruit fly
Stem of both woody and herbaceous plants bored maize
stem borer (Sesamia spp.)
Stems of seedlings bored producing dead-heart Chilo
spp larvae in cereals
Roots eaten causing loss of water and nutrients grubs
(Coleoptera spp, weevils larvae)
Tubers and corms bored potato tuber weevils
 Pest damage to crop plants
Damage caused by piercing and sucking insects
Loss of plant vigour because of removal of excessive sap,
wilting, stunted growth aphids, whiteflies
Cause leaf-curling and deformation aphids, thrips,
mealybugs, jassids, white/blackflies
Cause premature leaf fall diaspidid scales
Cause leaf and fruit scarification as epidermal cells rapture
spider mites, thrips
Toxic saliva cause premature fruit fall, abortion of cotton
balls, death of flowers, necrosis of pods cotton lygus bug,
cocoa capsids
Provides physical entry for pathogenic fungi and bacteria
 Pest damage to crop plants
Indirect effects of insects on crops
May make cultivation and harvesting more
difficult distorted growth habit
Delayed maturity
Dwarfed stature
Contamination and loss of quality nutritional or
marketability
Loss of yield
Loss during storage
Discolorations/blemishes of produce
 Why are insects so successful?
There are many attributes of insects that have allowed for their
success and diversification.
Exoskeleton -this is a marvelous structure that not only gives shape
and support to the body's soft tissues, but also provides protection
from attack or injury, minimizes the loss of body fluids in both arid
and freshwater environments, and assures mechanical advantage to
muscles for strength and agility in movement.
Small size -there are many more niches for small organisms than for
large organisms. For instance, one insect could live solely on and in
the seeds of a specific plant.
Short life cycle - this allows many generations within a given time
for selection and evolution to take place.
Reproductive potential - large numbers of offspring are produced to
compensate the mortality due to adverse conditions. When large
numbers of offspring are produced, there are also large variation in
the population for natural selection and evolution to act upon. A
honey bee queen lays as many as 4,000 eggs a day, and an African
termite queen can lay as many as 43,000 eggs a day.
 Why are insects so successful?
Metamorphosis- Variation of life style of different stages in
an insect's life (e.g. caterpillar versus butterfly) reduces
competition for resources within the species.
Wings-the ability to fly are relatively rare outside insects
and have allowed them to colonize freely.
Adaptability - A combination of large and diverse
populations, high reproductive potential, and relatively
short life cycles, has equipped most insects with the
genetic resources to adapt quickly in the face of a changing
environment.
Sensory sophistication - the sensory capabilities of insects
surpasses most other organisms.
Adaptation of appendages - mouthparts, wings and legs
have often become highly specialized.
 Classification of pests
According to feeding habits
Biting and chewing termites, locusts, armyworm,
cutworm, semi-looper
Piercing and sap-sucking aphids, leaf hoppers,
whitefly, thrips, red spider mites
Boring maize stalk borer, weevil, ballworms
Nematodes
 Mouthparts
The mouth part of an insect can be classified
in accordance with their function.
There are those are those intended for
biting and chewing (Mandibulate) like in
grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, lacewings
and beetles;
those that are primarily used for sucking liquids
(Haustellate) like in stinkbugs, aphids, mosquitoes,
houseflies.
 Mouthparts
1. Mandibulate Biting-chewing
2. Haustellate
a) Stylet Piercing-sucking
b) Non-stylate Siphoning
Sponging
Chewing-lapping
Rasping-sucking
 Mouthparts
Stylets are needle-like projections used to
penetrate plant and animal tissue. The
modified mandibles, maxilla, and
hypopharynx form the stylets and the feeding
tube. After piercing solid tissue, insects use
the modified mouthparts to suck liquids from
the host.
 Mouthparts
1. Mandibulate type- Biting-chewing
mouthpart
 Mouthparts
The main parts of this type are the
(1) Labrum - an unpaired, flap-like structure hinges to its upper margin to the
lower edge of the clypeus. It is located in front of (or above, depending on the
direction the head points) the oral cavity and serve as an upper "lip" and moves
longitudinally.
(2) Mandibles (upper jaws) is a pair of highly sclerotised, horny, usually large
non- segmented structures found immediately behind (or below) the labrum. They
articulate on the distal margins of the genae. The mandibles move at right angles
to the body. They are used for biting, chewing and severing food.

(3) Maxillae - (lower jaw) is a pair of segmented structures situated immediately

(4) Labium (the lower lip) is an unpaired structure serving as a lower lip and
closing the oral cavity from below or behind; it moves longitudinally and possesses
a pair of segmented palps.
(5) Hypopharynx - this is an unpaired structure, otherwise known as the tongue,
which occupies a portion of the oral cavity; it is located more or less in the center
of this space and near the base of the labium.
 Mouthparts
Different parts of a mandubulate type mouth
 Sap sucking mouthparts (Haustellate)
Haustellate type of mouthpart is basically a
modification of the simple biting-chewing type.
Haustellate mouthpart can be broken down into two
subgroups: those that possess stylets and those that do
not.
Piercing-sucking type of mouthpart present in stink
bugs is an example of haustellate type with stylets.
Mandibles and maxillae are formed into stylets which
are enclosed by the labium. Once the stylets penetrate,
a secretion is injected to dissolve tissue, act as a toxin
in predacious species, or as anticoagulant for
mosquitoes.
 Sap sucking mouthparts (Haustellate)
Piercing and sucking
 Sap sucking mouthparts (Haustellate)
b) Siphoning type: Those without stylets are
unable to pierce tissues, and therefore these
insects must rely on easily accessible food
sources such as nectar at the base of a
flower. One example of nonstylate mouthpart
is the long siphoning proboscis of butterflies
and moths (Lepidoptera). When feeding the
proboscis is uncoiled and extended. Nectar is
sucked up into the mouth or oral cavity. The
proboscis is a modified maxillae.
 Sap sucking mouthparts (Haustellate)
b) Siphoning type:
 Sap sucking mouthparts (Haustellate)
c) Sponging - Found in adults of specialized flies.
During feeding the proboscis (modified labium) is
lowered and salivary secretions are pumped onto
the food. The dissolved or suspended food then
moves by capillary action into the
pseudotracheae (sponge) and is ingested. There
may be sharp teeth on the pseudotracheae to
rasp flesh and draw up blood. The labella is the
fleshy distal end of the labium that functions as a
sponge-like organ to sop up liquids.
 Sap sucking mouthparts (Haustellate)
c) Sponging -
 Sap sucking mouthparts (Haustellate)
Chewing-Lapping - Adult honeybees and
bumble bees. Mouthparts are modified to
utilize liquid food, honey and nectar. A central
"tongue" is used to draw liquid into the body.
The mandibles are not used for feeding but
function to cut floral tissue to gain access to
nectar, for defense, and for manipulating wax.
 Sap sucking mouthparts (Haustellate)
Rasping-sucking Thrips have rasping sucking
type of mouthpart. (To rasp means to scrape
with a coarse file). The mandibles which are
asymmetrical injure the tissue and the cell sap
oozing out is being sucked
 Classification of pests
According to life cycle
Incomplete metamorphosis:
egg, nymph, adults
examples: grasshoppers, true bugs, aphids, leafhoppers

Complete metamorphosis:
Egg, larvae (caterpillars, grubs, maggots), pupae, adult
e.g: beetle, moths, butterflies, flies, bees, ants
 Life cycle of insect pests
- terms
Chrysalis
a butterfly pupa, not enclosed in a cocoon, a pupa without a protective cover.
Cocoon
a case formed partly or wholly of silk secreted by the larva and in which pupation occurs, a protective
cover.
Instar
form of an insect between successive molts, the first instar being the stage between emerging from the
egg and the first molt.
Larva
(pl. larvae) immature stage between the egg and pupa in insects with complete metamorphosis or,
sometimes, between egg and adult in insects with incomplete metamorphosis.
Molting
the acting of shedding the cuticle or insect skin, shedding of the exoskeleton .
Nymph
immature stage of insects with incomplete metamorphosis.
Pupa
(pl. pupae) the third, inactive stage of insects with complete metamorphosis, the transition stage
between the larval and adult stages. Usually non-mobile.
Stage
any definite period in the development of an insect, e.g.. the egg stage, nymphal or larval stage, pupal
stage, adult stage. The number of nymphal or larval stages is variable.
 Life cycle of insect pests
Metamorphosis
The majority of insects start life in the form of a fertilized egg laid
by a female on plants or in the ground. After hatching of the egg
the developing young one undergoes a series of changes in size and
structure before becoming adult. Each time an insect makes a
change into the next growth stage, it has to molt (shed) its skin.
After each molt, the insect becomes a little larger and somewhat
different in form until it reaches the adult stage. After it reaches the
adult stage, it does not molt or grow any more. To the series of
changes which takes place in the life history of an insect the term
metamorphosis has been applied. There are four kinds of
metamorphosis, complete (butterflies), gradual (grasshoppers),
incomplete (dragonflies) and no metamorphosis (Silverfish). The
exact style of metamorphosis is not the same for all insects, but
insects in the same order have the same style of metamorphosis.
 Life cycle of insect pests
Metamorphosis
The majority of insects start life in the form of a fertilized egg laid
by a female on plants or in the ground. After hatching of the egg
the developing young one undergoes a series of changes in size and
structure before becoming adult. Each time an insect makes a
change into the next growth stage, it has to molt (shed) its skin.
After each molt, the insect becomes a little larger and somewhat
different in form until it reaches the adult stage. After it reaches the
adult stage, it does not molt or grow any more. To the series of
changes which takes place in the life history of an insect the term
metamorphosis has been applied. There are four kinds of
metamorphosis, complete (butterflies), gradual (grasshoppers),
incomplete (dragonflies) and no metamorphosis (Silverfish). The
exact style of metamorphosis is not the same for all insects, but
insects in the same order have the same style of metamorphosis.
 Life cycle of insect pests
Ametabolous development: Some orders of
insects are said to have no metamorphosis
(Ametabolous development) because there is
little or no difference in appearance between
the young stages and the adult except for size.
The no-metamorphosis model is found in
primitively wingless insects (Subclass
Apterygota). Suitable examples are primitive
insects such as silverfish (Thysanura).
Life cycle of insect pests
 Life cycle of insect pests
Gradual metamorphosis (Paurometabolous
development): The life cycle of insects with
gradual metamorphosis have three life stages:
egg, nymph and adult. Nymphs resemble the
adult except that their body parts are out of
proportion with each other, and they do not have
fully developed wings and external genetalia.
With each molt, the nymphs gradually develop
wings and take on the body proportions of an
adult. Nymphs have the same type of mouthparts
as the adult, and they both feed on the same kind
of food.
Grasshoppers, locusts, aphids
 Life cycle of insect pests
Gradual plant bug
 Life cycle of insect pests
Incomplete metamorphosis (Hemimetabolous
development) is somewhat like gradual
metamorphosis and also has three life stages: egg,
naiads and adult. However, the adult insect with
incomplete metamorphosis lays its eggs in or near
water and the naiads develop in water. The adults are
flying insects that live out of water. Naiads and adults
therefore do not eat the same kind of food. Naiads
have chewing mouthparts, but the adults have
differently shaped chewing mouthparts or no
functional mouthparts. The naiad and the adult usually
differ a lot in appearance although the naiads gradually
develop wings.
 Life cycle of insect pests
Complete metamorphosis (Holometabolous development): It has
four distinct form stages: egg, larvae, pupa and adult (Fig.17). The
larval stages do not look like the adult at all, and they are often
worm-like. Larvae often have different mouthparts and food habits
than the adult, and they often live in places different from the
adult. Larvae molt several times and get a little larger with each
molt, but there is no gradual development of wings or other adult
characteristics. When a fully grown larva molts, it changes into a
pupa. The pupa usually does not eat or move around much, but a
lot of internal changes take place. When the pupa has made all its
internal changes, its skin splits and the fully formed adult emerges.
Most insects with complete metamorphosis are winged in the adult
stage. The adults do not molt or grow any more. Little flies or
beetles, for instance, do not grow to become larger. Flies (Diptera),
beetles (Coleoptera), wasps (Hymenoptera) and butterflies
(Lepidoptera), have holometabolic life cycles.
Life cycle of insect pests
Life cycle of insect pests
 Reproduction in insects
How do insects find their mates?
Insects use different ways in order to attract
their mating partners. Insects use sound
(Example crickets, grasshoppers and cicadas),
smell (Moths), colour (Moths and butterflies)
and pheromones (Moths). Pheromone is a
chemical which is produced by living
organisms that transmits message to other
members of the same species.
 Reproduction in insects
How do insects find their mates?
Insects use different ways in order to attract
their mating partners. Insects use sound
(Example crickets, grasshoppers and cicadas),
smell (Moths), colour (Moths and butterflies)
and pheromones (Moths). Pheromone is a
chemical which is produced by living
organisms that transmits message to other
members of the same species.
 Reproduction in insects
Types of reproduction in insects
Reproduction in insects can take a wide variety of forms, often very
complex. Some can switch their type of reproduction during their
life cycle based on environmental triggers. Others reproduce the
same way throughout their life history. The basic theme and some
of the variations are described below.
Sexual reproduction: The standard model for reproduction is where
males and females occur throughout the life cycle, and each
produces a germ cell (egg and sperm, respectively). The male
inseminates the female during mating. The female often stores
sperm in special pouches in her abdomen called spermathecae
(singular, spermatheca). The eggs are fertilized within the female's
body, producing an embryo. Eggs are deposited on a host. They
hatch and develop into either male or female offspring.
 Reproduction in insects
Types of reproduction in insects
Parthenogenesis: This is asexual reproduction, where eggs grow and
develop without fertilization. There are several variations of
parthenogenesis. Arrhenotokous parthenogenesis is where unfertilized
eggs produce only males. In deuterotokous parthenogenesis, both males
and females are produced from unfertilized eggs. In thelyotokous
reproduction, unfertilized eggs produce only females.

Viviparity: Most insects deposit eggs that hatch into nymphs or larvae, a
process called oviparity, but some insects bear living young. A common
example is aphids, which are viviparous during part of their life cycle. A
variation is ovoviviparity, where eggs are held within the female's body,
where they hatch, and the young are born live.
Polyembryony: This is where two or more embryos develop from a single
egg, as in the parasitic Hymenoptera, such as braconid, encyrtid, and
dryinid wasps.