Introduction to the Study

of Insects
 Phylum Arthropoda
The arthropods are invertebrates animals belonging to the phylum arthropoda is the largest
group of animals approximetly 80% of describe species are insects .

An arthropod is an animal that is

distinguished from other animals in
having an external skeleton and jointed
appendages.
 Arthropods

Examples of arthropods include insects,

ticks, spiders, horseshoe crabs,
millipedes, chiggers, centipedes,
shrimp, sowbugs and scorpions.
 Class Insecta
An insect is an arthropod having three body
regions (head, thorax and abdomen), three
pair of legs, one pair of antennae and
generally one or two pair of wings in the adult
stage.
Head with antennae, eyes and mouth.
Three segmented thorax with legs and wings (if
present).
Abdomen composed of varying number of
segments depending on the species. Internally
contains most of the digestive system and the
reproductive system.
 Insects
• Old Group
– Oldest fossils are 400 million years old.
• Diverse
– 80% of all described animal species are insects.
One-half of the described species of insects are
beetles.
• Numerous
– It has been estimated that the total weight of all
insects on the planet exceed the combined weight
of all people on earth by a factor of 200 times.
 Old Group

Homo sapiens 0.3 Mil Yr

Dinosaurs 135 (65 -
250) Mil Yr
Flowering Plant 135 Mil Yr
Birds 180 Mil Yr
Mammals 225 Mil Yr
Modern Insect Orders 270 Mil Yr
Winged Insects 350 Mil Yr
First “Insect” 400 Mil Yr
 Insect as Pests

Usually an insect is considered to be a pest if

it transmits diseases (mosquitoes), feeds on
food (flour moth), crops (corn earworm) or
structures (termite) or is a nuisance
(cockroaches and lovebugs).
World-wide only 8% of insects are considered
pests. In the U.S., only 600 of the100,000
described species (0.6%) are pests.
 Beneficial Insects
• Pollinators (apples, watermelons,
squash)
• Products (honey, silk, dyes)
• Scavengers
• Predators/parasites
• Food for fish and birds
• Scientific study
• Art, religion, relaxation
 Some of the ‘Systems’
Which make Insects Unique
• Digestive System
• Circulatory System
• Nervous System
• Respiratory System
 Digestive System
The digestive system is basically a tube
that runs through the middle of the
body. It consists of a foregut, midgut
(stomach) and hindgut.
The excretory system is made up of
malpighian tubules (which function
similar to our kidneys) which remove
wastes from the insect body through the
hindgut.
 Circulatory System
The circulatory system is an open
system that is not confined to arteries
and veins. Haemolymph (insect blood)
is circulated through the body cavity by
a dorsal “heart” and a short aorta. The
blood is picked up in the abdomen and
carried forward to the head where to
flows back into the body cavity.
 Nervous System
The nervous system consists of a small
brain in the head that is connected by a
double nerve cord to a series of ventral
ganglia or nerve centers located in
several segments of the body.
 Respiratory System
Insects do not have lungs. They breathe
passively (diffusion of oxygen in and
carbon dioxide out) through a system of
tubes called tracheae. The tracheae
open to the outside through spiracles.
Inside the body, the tracheae branch
into finer tubes called tracheoles which
provide oxygen to cells.
The Class Insecta (Hexapoda)
is divided into Orders
 The 30-35 Orders of Insects
are Separated on the Basis of:
• Wings
– Structure, number, etc.
• Mouthparts
– Chewing
– Piercing-sucking (mosquitoes, bugs, etc.)
– Siphoning (butterflies, moths)
• Metamorphosis
– Simple (or Incomplete)
– Complete
 Simple Metamorphosis
• Also called incomplete metamorphosis.
• Egg > nymph > adult
• Aphids, grasshoppers, cockroaches,
true bugs
 Complete Metamorphosis
• Egg > larva > pupa > adult
• Moths, butterflies, beetles and flies
 Insect Orders Containing
Plant Pests of
Economic Importance
• Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets)
• Hemiptera (true bugs, aphids and
leafhoppers)
• Thysanoptera (thrips)
• Coleoptera (beetles)
• Diptera (flies and mosquitoes)
• Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)
 Orthoptera (grasshoppers)
• ortho, straight; ptera, wings
• Characteristics
• There are two pair of wings front wnigs and hind wings . Front wings are
protective covering for hind wings .
• Hind wings used for flight .

– Front wings are elongated with many

veins. Hind wings have many veins and
are folded fanwise beneath the front wings.
– Chewing mouthparts
– Simple metamorphosis
Hemiptera (true bugs, aphids and
leafhoppers)
• hemi, half; ptera, wings
• Characteristics
– In many species in this Order, the basal
portion of front wing is thickened and
leathery while hind portion is membranous.
At rest, wings are held flat over body with
membranous tips overlapping (e.g. stink
bug).
– Piercing-sucking mouthparts
– Simple metamorphosis
 Thysanoptera (thrips)
• thysano, fringe; ptera, wings
• Characteristics
– The two pair of wings are stout and fringed
with long hairs.
– Sucking mouthparts
– Complete metamorphosis
 Coleoptera (beetles)
• coleo, sheath; ptera, wings
• Characteristics
– In most species the front pair of wings is
thickened and hard. The hind wings are
membranous.
– Chewing mouthparts; mandibles are
usually well developed
– Complete metamorphosis
 Diptera (flies)
• di, two; ptera, wings
• Characteristics
– One pair of functional wings ; hind wings are
reduced to small knobbed structures called
halteres.
– Sucking type of mouthparts in adults but with
considerable variation; mouthparts in larvae of the
primitive families are of the chewing type and the
mandibles move laterally, in the larvae in the
higher families mouthparts are reduced and move
in a vertical plane.
– Complete metamorphosis
 Lepidoptera (butterflies)
• lepido, scale; ptera, wings
• Characteristics
– Most readily recognized by scales on
wings, body and legs.
– Sucking mouthparts - adult; chewing
mouthparts- immature stage
– Complete metamorphosis
 Insect Management
• Genetic
– Resistant varieties
• Biological
– Conservation and augmentation
• Cultural, Mechanical
– Crop rotation, destruction of residue, hand
picking, etc.
• Chemical
 Chemical Control
• Should be used as a last resort
– Treatment based on scouting and/or anticipated
loss or damage.
• A few of the classes of insecticide chemistry
– Cholinesterase inhibitors (Diazinon, Dursban,
Malathion, Orthene, Sevin)
– GABA blockers (pyrethrins, pyrethroids)
– Neonictinoid disrupter (imidacloprid)
– Biological (Bacillus thuringiensis)
– Insect growth regulators (Amdro)
– Soaps and oils