ENTOMOLOGY 2040 SECTION XIII DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF INSECTS TO ANIMALS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF SECTION

After completing this section students should be able to:

• Describe the various ways that insects cause damage to humans and other animals.

• List the major insect groups that feed on blood and give examples of each.

• Describe the problems that blood feeders must overcome in order to use this material as a food source.

• Explain how some insects can cause "damage" simply by their annoying behavior and give examples.

• Describe the different food sources of male and female mosquitoes and explain why they have different food requirements.

• Describe the various ways that venomous insects cause damage, and the reasons for their activities.

• Give examples of venomous insects that should be avoided and explain how those insects can be recognized.

• Describe the various ways that biting flies obtain their food.

• Describe the insects, and their geographic distribution, that are internal parasites of humans and other animals and explain how they may be avoided.

Terms: Annoyance, venomous, stinging, biting, caustic fluid, Yellow flies, stingless bees, bombardier beetles, pool feeders, parasitic insects, human bot fly, sheep ked, Mange mite, itch mite, dust mites, cattle grubs.

Detrimental Effects of Insects to Animals.

    1. Annoying insects.

        a. Presence.

            (1) Flies.

            (2) Boxelder bugs.

            (3) Mites.

        b. Sounds.

            (1) Cicadas.

            (2) Mosquitoes.

        c. Odors.

            (1) Cockroaches.

            (2) Stink bugs.

    2. Venomous insects.

        a. Stinging (for defense).

            (1) Wasps, bees.

            (2) Ants.

        b. Biting (for food).

            (1) Mosquitoes.

            (2) Kissing bugs.

        c. Poison hairs (for defense).

            (1) Saddle back caterpillar.

            (2) Tussock moths.

        d. Caustic Fluids (for defense).

            (1) Bombardier beetles.

            (2) Stingless bees.

        e. Poisonous bodies (for defense).

            (1) Blister beetles.

            (2) Rose chafers.

    3. Parasitic insects (for food).

        a. External parasites.

            (1) Biting Flies (for food).

                • Mosquitoes.

                • Deer flies.

                • Horn flies.

                • Stable flies.

                • Sheep keds.

            (2) Nonbiting flies.

                • Face flies.

            (3) Lice

                • Sucking lice (Anoplura).

                • Chewing lice. (Mallophaga).

            (4) Fleas.

            (5) Ticks (Acarina).

            (6) Mites (Acarina).

        b. Internal parasites.

            (1) Diptera.

                • Cattle grubs.

                • Human bot fly.

            (2) Acarina.

                • Itch mite.

                • Mange mites.

                • Dust mites.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Describe three ways that insects cause annoyance to humans and other animals and give an example of each.

2. What is the difference between "biting" and "stinging".

3. What is the basic reason that venomous insects "sting" humans and other animals?

4. Why does the kissing bug do to warrant its' ususal name?

5. Which sex of the mosquito is a blood feeder? What does the other sex feed upon? Why do you think they differ in their feeding habits.

6. List two insect groups that use poisonous hairs for defense. Describe them sufficiently so that a person could recognize and avoid these "pests".

7. How does the stingless honey bee defend its food stores (honey) and its young bees?

8. Why are horse owners so concerned about blister beetles?

9. How do "pool feeders" differ from other blood feeding insects? Give an example of a pool feeder.

10. What is a "bot fly"? Describe the oviposition behavior of the cattle bot fly and the human bot fly. Why do you think the human bot fly has evolved its' this type of behavior?

Go to Section XIV Insects as Vectors of Disease

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