Entomology Essentials

Arthropoda — that's the phylum, insects and mites inside Invertebrates got no backbone — that's how you tell 'em wide IPM triangle bottom to top — cultural, physical, bio, chem General entomology facts locked tight — let's run through all of them All insects and mites fall under Phylum Arthropoda — that's the class Invertebrates have no backbone — that's the definition to grasp All insects have six legs — all spiders and ticks have eight Most difficult stage to kill for any insect? The egg — don't conflate Complete metamorphosis — four stages — egg, larva, pupa, adult — write it down Gradual metamorphosis — three stages — egg, nymph, adult — lock that crown An insect that hatches already resembling its adult form has no metamorphosis at all Bed bugs are an example — no complete meta — they skip that call At 120 degrees Fahrenheit all insect life stages are killed — heat is the weapon of choice Fumigants like Sulfuryl Fluoride — most toxic formulations — they work without noise Fumigants are a gas at room temperature, inhaled through spiracles by the pest Non-specific — at high concentrations kills most living things — that's the test Which orders have a caste system — division of labor running deep? Bees, ants, and termites — three orders — that's the answer you keep All stinging insects are female — the drone caste has no stinger at all Pheromones — chemicals that affect insect behavior — answer the call Sex, alarm, trailing, and aggregation — four types of pheromone communication They attract only members of a specific species — that's the pheromone's station Used as a monitoring tool — pheromone traps draw the target pest in tight Fruit flies and Indian meal moths use pheromone traps — that's done right The IPM triangle — from bottom to top — four levels on the rise: Cultural control first — trim trees, remove standing water, pick up dog supplies Physical control next — traps, electrocution, heat, fly scatter — hands-on approach Biological control — use one living thing to control another — no chemical encroach Chemical control at the top — last resort when all other methods fall short Trimming foliage, removing water, picking up dog waste — cultural control sport Repetitive use of the same chemical leads to insecticide-resistant populations — that's the law Treatment fails for four reasons — know all four without a flaw: Misidentifying the pest — wrong ID means wrong treatment, every time Pest resistance — the product stops working — rotate to climb Wrong product applied — never match a pesticide to the wrong pest Applying incorrectly — dose, area, method — all affect the test Re-introduction is why bed bug treatments fail in hotels the most Lack of customer cooperation — competing food sources — that's the ghost Lyme disease is carried by the black-legged deer tick — one species, one name Rocky Mountain spotted fever — American dog tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick, brown dog tick carry that claim Plague is linked to fleas — rat bite fever and salmonella come from rats on the scene Hantavirus is a pulmonary disease — inhaled — only from deer mice — keep the vector clean First step in any pest inspection process? Conduct a detailed interview with the customer — that's step one Identify the pest before you treat — without that, nothing gets done Monitoring methods — glue boards, light traps, pheromone traps — three tools in the kit Glue boards track population reduction — light traps pull in moths — that's it Imported fire ant is the most problematic invertebrate pest in North America — true Argentine ant is the most common household pest in California — that's the view Robin is sometimes considered a pest bird in California — file that in the list Mites can transmit at least three diseases — don't let that fact be missed Pest birds, disease vectors, resistance, IPM — every fact is locked and sealed Phylum Arthropoda, six legs, no backbone — the classification is revealed 120 degrees kills all stages — heat is always on the exam Now every general entomology answer lives inside your brain — go pass, fam Arthropoda — that's the phylum, insects and mites inside Invertebrates got no backbone — that's how you tell 'em wide IPM triangle bottom to top — cultural, physical, bio, chem Every fact is in your head now — go ace that exam General entomology mastered.