Contemporary Insect Diagnostics

The Art and Science of Practical Entomology

Timothy J. Gibb

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780124046238
• eBook ISBN: 9780124046924
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Entomology
• Index: Biological Sciences

Contemporary Insect Diagnostics aids entomologists as they negotiate the expectations and potential dangers of the practice. It provides the reader with methods for networking with regulatory agencies, expert laboratories, first detectors, survey specialists, legal and health professionals, landscape managers, crop scouts, farmers and the lay public. This enables the practitioner and advanced student to understand and work within this network, critically important in a time when each submission takes on its own specific set of expectations and potential ramifications.Insect diagnosticians must be knowledgeable on pests that affect human health, stored foods, agriculture, structures, as well as human comfort and the enjoyment of life. The identification and protection of the environment and the non-target animals (especially beneficial insects) in that environment is also considered a part of insect diagnostics. Additionally, Integrated Pest Management recommendations must include any of a variety of management tactics if they are to be effective and sustainable.This greatly needed foundational information covers the current principles of applied insect diagnostics. It serves as a quick study for those who are called upon to provide diagnostics, as well as a helpful reference for those already in the trenches.- Includes useful case studies to teach specific points in insect diagnostics- Provides problem-solving guidance and recommendations for insect identification, threat potential, and management tactics, while accounting for the varying needs of the affected population or client- Contains numerous color photos that enhance both applicability and visual appeal, together with accompanying write-ups of the common pests

Chapter 1

Introduction

Abstract

Insects have always affected how humans live. Many insects are very valuable and positively affect our lives every year. Other insects are referred to as pests because they damage our homes, foods, and even our health. Separating the beneficial from the few detrimental insects requires some level of identification. Naming insects is part of a highly structured system called scientific nomenclature. Diagnosticians are crucial in making correct insect identifications and in providing proper management recommendations.

Insect diagnosticians serve as a liaison between the science of entomology and the general clientele groups.

Keywords

Insect interactions; Value of insects; Insect pests; Insect identification; Common name; Scientific name; Insect diagnostician; Diagnostics

The Interactions of Insects and People

Insects have always been part of the environment in which humans live and regardless of our efforts to eradicate them, we will always live with insects in one way or another.

Insect pest management predates recorded history. The first time an early humanoid swatted at a mosquito could be considered the first incident of insect pest management. As time went on, the principles of pest management were built upon man first being able to recognize an insect as a pest insect and then study its behavior and biology sufficiently to devise a method of control. Whether it was physical (fly swatter), cultural (excluding them from a dwelling) or chemical (using smoke or plant-derived toxins to kill or repel), control methods were tested, improved upon and made available to others experiencing similar infestations.

Early pest management successes were tied very closely to medical, sanitation or other health-related advancements. Improved sanitation and hygiene not only prevented diseases but also insect pest problems. For example, the Romans built massive aqueducts that provided levels of cleanliness previously unavailable. Because bathing had the added benefit of suppressing lice and other personal pests, insects and diseases that tormented people decreased (Figure 1.1).

Unfortunately the road to better health and better pest management was not without setbacks. The Roman Empire eventually collapsed, and the medical and pest management advances of the Greeks and others were lost along with it. Books were destroyed, learned people were persecuted and science was lost. Civilization was thrust into a period called the Dark Ages where pests and pestilences ran rampant.

The bubonic plague was one of several disease epidemics vectored by insects that killed millions of people. Mankind no longer made the connection between pests and pestilences. Ignorance prevailed and death, famine and disease reigned for hundreds of years.

With time, however, came a transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance that gradually led to the rediscovery of science-based medicine and pest management. Progress continued during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. A scientific and systematic study of symptoms and causal agents advanced both medicine and pest management.

Subsequent centuries have seen unparalleled progress. We continue to learn better ways to manage insect pests, improving agriculture as well as human health.

Today, though we may boast of modern methods of insect control, on close inspection these techniques are primarily just improvements upon original methods. Once people understood the value of identifying the pest and then devising ways to control it through understanding its biology and behavior, pest management moved forward and human comfort and safety improved.

FIGURE 1.1 Our desire to manage pests has remained unchanged.

This is not to say that all cultures progressed at an even rate. Those that disregarded the importance of specific pest identification and associated biology, simply lumping all ‘vermin’ together, progressed more slowly.

The understanding of how each pest is unique and has its own biology and behavior was facilitated by the advent of scientific taxonomy. Effective pest management has always relied on an accurate identification of the pest and some understanding of its biology. These two go hand in hand.

Effective insect pest management strategies are built upon the foundation of accurate identification and an understanding of the insect’s life history and habits.

FIGURE 1.2 Effective insect pest management strategies are built upon the foundation of accurate identification and an understanding of the insect’s life history and habits.

Even today, the first step in managing an insect pest is to accurately identify it, learn its biology and life history in an effort to determine how and why it became a pest, and then to use a commonsense and logical series of control techniques to not necessarily eradicate it but rather render it non-threatening. Shortcuts often lead to disaster (Figure 1.2).

The Value of Insects

Even a cursory study of our environment reveals that insects are nearly everywhere. Biologists clearly recognize insects as the most common animals on our planet. Today, more than 1.5 million species of insects have been named. This is three times the number of all other animals combined. Some scientists say that the list of insects that have been given names represents only a small fraction of all insects in nature. No doubt many are yet to be discovered.

Insects can be found in almost every conceivable habitat. Their size, shape, color, biology, and life history are diverse, making the study of insects challenging yet absolutely fascinating.

Insects are valuable to humans in many ways. In fact, without insects our society would not be the same. Insects pollinate many of our fruits, flowers and vegetables. We would not have many of the agricultural and horticultural products that we enjoy and rely upon without the pollinating services of bees. Insects not only improve agriculture, but their by-products (honey, beeswax, silk, dye, and other useful products), have become valuable commodities in our world.

Insects affect our world in other ways as well. They feed on a seemingly endless variety of foods. Many insects are omnivorous, meaning that they can eat a variety of foods, including living or dead plants and animals, fungus, decaying organic matter, and nearly anything else they encounter. Some can even digest wood. Still others are particular specialists and may totally rely on only one particular part of one species of plant to survive.

Many insects are predators or parasites, preying either on other insects or animals, including people. Such insects are valuable to people by helping to keep the population of pest insects or weeds tolerable.

Without insects to help break down and dispose of organic wastes such as dead animals and plants, our environment would be messy indeed. A great many insects and other arthropods assist by breaking down naturally occurring organic wastes. In so doing they also facilitate fertilization and aerate the soils they help create.

Insects are underappreciated for their role in the food web. They are the sole source of food for many amphibians, reptiles, birds and even mammals. They form an important part of the diet of many others, making them an essential component in nature.

As if these attributes were not enough, insects make one more valuable contribution: they make our world much more interesting. Naturalists and laypersons alike derive a great deal of satisfaction in watching ants work, bees pollinate, or dragonflies patrol. Can you imagine how dull life would become without having butterflies or lightning beetles to add interest to a landscape?

People benefit in many ways by sharing their world with insects.

Insects as Pests

In spite of all their many positive attributes, some small percentage of insects can become pests. We know from history that insects can feed on the blood of people or other vertebrate animals and can transmit diseases that create serious health concerns. Most parasitic or blood-sucking insects are not only an irritation, but they can be deadly because of their role in vectoring diseases. Even today, mosquitoes cause millions of deaths each year due to any of several diseases that they transmit, including malaria. Epidemics and even forecasted pandemics of various strains of influenza can be vectored by mosquitoes. Ticks, lice, other biting flies and bugs also transmit deadly diseases.

Nearly every kind of plant in nature is food to some insect or another. It follows that any agricultural crop or horticultural plant that is of value to people may also be consumed by insects and is at risk from the time the seed is planted until the crop is harvested, stored or consumed. This creates a conflict between people and insects. When insects destroy our food, we suffer.

A pest can generally be defined as any animal, plant, or other organism whose biology, behavior, or locatio...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Chapter 1. Introduction
• Chapter 2. Equipping a Diagnostic Laboratory
• Chapter 3. Submitting Samples to a Diagnostic Laboratory
• Chapter 4. Insect Identification Techniques
• Chapter 5. Pest Insects
• Chapter 6. Understanding the Client
• Chapter 7. Responding, Educating and Record-Keeping
• Chapter 8. Making Management Recommendations Using IPM
• Chapter 9. Networking
• References
• Index