BENEFICIAL
INSECTS
AGRI, GARDEN, NATURAL, SPECIES,
POLLINATION, PEST, CONTROL, FARM,
BENEFICIAL, ORGANIC, INTEGRATED,
BATS, MOTHS, WIND, BEE, CROPS,
SYSTEM, BIRDS, RAIN, BUTTERFLY.
BENEFICIAL INSECTS
POLLINATORS
INSECTS
ENTOMOLOGY
BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT IPM
INSECTARY PLANTS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SCALE INSECTS
PEST CONTROL
LADYBUGS
BEETLES
FIREFLY
BUTTERFLY
LEPIDOPTERIST
SKIPPERS
MOTH
TARDIGRADES
ARTHROPODS
WASP
YELLOWJACKETS
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SECTION 1
BENEFICIAL
INSECTS
BENEFICIAL INSECTS:
In agriculture and gardening, beneficial
insects perform valued services like
pollination and pest control.
In a natural, balanced ecosystem, it is
assumed that all insects contribute to
maintaining the system and therefore, no
species can be considered good or bad.
The concept of beneficial is subjective
and only arises in the light of desired
outcomes from a human perspective.
In farming, where the goal is to raise
selected crops, insects that hinder the
production process are classified as pests,
while insects that assist production are
considered beneficial.
Encouraging beneficial insects, by providing
suitable living conditions, is a pest control
strategy, often used in organic farming organic
gardening or Integrated Pest Management.
Bees are beneficial as pollinators,
facilitating propagation and fruit
production for many plants.
Ladybugs are generally thought of
as beneficial because they eat
large quantities of aphids, mites
and other insects that feed on
various plants.
Other insects commonly
identified as
beneficial include:
Minute pirate bug,
Big eyed-bug,
Assassin bug,
Damsel bug,
Mealybug destroyer,
Soldier beetle,
Green lacewing,
Syrphid fly ,
Tachinid fly,
Ichneumon wasp,
Trichogramma wasp
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SECTION 2
POLLINATORS
POLLINATORS:
A pollinator is the agent that moves
pollen from the male anthers of the
flower to the female stigma of the
flower to accomplish fertilization
or syngamy of the female gamete in
the ovule of the flower by the male
gamete from the pollen grain.
Though the terms are sometimes confused,
a pollinator is different from a pollenizer,
which is a plant that is a source of pollen
for the pollination process.
The most recognized pollinators are the
various species of bees, which are plainly
adapted to pollination.
Many other insects accomplish some pollination.
Wasps, bombyliid flies and syrphid flies are just
a few important pollinators.
Bats are important pollinators of some tropical
flowers. Birds, particularly hummingbirds also
accomplish much pollination, especially of deep
throated flowers.
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SECTION 3
INSECTS
INSECTS:
Insects are invertebrates and are
taxonomically referred to as the
class Insecta.
Insects are the most diverse group
of animals on the earth, with around
925,000 species.
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SECTION 4
ENTOMOLOGY
ENTOMOLOGY:
The study of insects
is called entomology.
Entomology is the scientific study
of insects. Insects have many kinds
of interactions with humans and other
forms of life on earth, so it is an
important specialty within biology;
unlike many other fields however,
entomologists including both persons
studying insects for their own sake,
and those employed by commercial
concerns interested in the control
of insects.
This divides the field into basic
and applied entomology.
The definition is sometimes widened
to include the study of the other
terrestrial arthropods, such as
spiders, scorpions, and ticks.
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SECTION 5
BIOLOGICAL
PEST
CONTROL
BIOLOGICAL
PEST
CONTROL:
Biological pest control is a
rapidly expanding field of
agriculture, where natural
agents, primarily parasitoids
and predators are used to
control a pest organism that
has been causing economic harm
to human interests.
These methods can be as alternatives
or supplements to conventional pest
control methods such as insecticides.
Human disturbance of ecology ecological
systems, particularly the development of
monoculture and the movement of species
tends to stimulate pest problems by
reducing biodiversity which usually has
natural controls that keep the pest
populations in line.
Biological pest control does not seek to
erradicate pests, but to keep them to
onomically minimal factors by reducing
populations to acceptable levels.
Some organisms have been intesively
studied and are in modern commercial
use. Many other organisms have potential
and are candidates for use in this field.
This category includes both current and
potential biologicial control agents.
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SECTION 6
INTEGRATED
PEST
MANAGEMENT
IPM
INTEGRATED
PEST
MANAGEMENT
IPM:
In agriculture, Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) is a pest control
strategy that uses an array of
complementary methods: natural
predators and parasites,
pest-resistant varieties, cultural
practices, biological controls,
various physical techniques, and
pesticides as a last resort.
It is an ecological approach that
can significantly reduce or
eliminate the use of pesticides.
An IPM regime can be quite simple,
or sophisticated enough to be a
farming system in its own right.
The main focus is usually insect
pests, but IPM encompasses diseases,
weeds, and any other naturally
occurring biological crop threat.
An IPM system is designed
around six basic components:
1. Acceptable pest levels:
The emphasis is on control,
not eradication.
IPM holds that wiping out an entire
pest population is often impossible,
and the attempt can be more costly,
environmentally unsafe, and all-round
counterproductive than it is worth.
Better to decide on what constitutes
acceptable pest levels, and apply
controls if those levels are reached.
2. Preventive cultural practices:
Selecting varieties best for local
growing conditions, and maintaining
healthy crops, is the first line of
defense.
3. Monitoring:
Regular observation is the cornerstone
of IPM. Visual inspection, insect traps,
and other measurement methods are used
to monitor pest levels. Record-keeping
is essential, as is a thorough knowledge
of the behavior and reproductive cycles
of target pests.
4. Mechanical controls:
Should a pest reach an unacceptable level,
mechanical methods are the first options
to consider.
They include simple hand-picking, erecting
insect barriers, using traps, vacuuming,
and tillage to disrupt breeding.
5. Biological controls:
Natural biological processes and materials
can provide control, with minimal environmental
impact, and often at low cost.
The main focus here is on promoting
beneficial insects that eat target
pests.
6. Chemical controls:
Considered as an IPM last resort,
synthetic pesticides may be used
when other controls fail or are
deemed unlikely to prove effective.
Biological insecticides, derived
from plants or naturally occurring
microorganisms, also fit in this
category.
IPM is applicable to all types of
agriculture.
Reliance on knowledge, experience,
observation, and integration of
multiple techniques makes IPM a
perfect fit for organic farming
(the synthetic chemical option
is simply not considered).
For large-scale, chemical-based
farms, IPM can reduce human and
environmental exposure to hazardous
chemicals, and potentially lower
overall costs.
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SECTION 7
INSECTARY
PLANTS
INSECTARY
PLANTS
Insectary plants is a term used by
the organics farming movement to
describe plants that attract insects.
As such, beneficial insectary plants
are intentionally introduced into an
ecosystem to increase pollen resources
and nectar resources required by the
natural enemies of unfriendly, harmful
or unwanted insect pests.
Beyond an effective natural control of
pests, the friendly insects/pests also
assist in pollenation.
The plants also are benefical to an
organic sustainable garden and organic
kitchens.
The "friendly
insects/pests"
include:
ladybugs,
lizards,
spiders,
toads,
bees,
ground beetles,
hover flies,
hummingbirds
parasitoid wasps.
Beneficial insects are as much as
ten times more abundant in the
insectary plantings area.
Mortality of the pest scale insects
(caused by natural enemies) is up to
double in the insectary plantings.
In addition. a diversity of plants
increases the levels of beneficial
insects and remain higher even when
the insectary plants are removed.
For maximum benefit insectary plants
should be match with favoring plants.
Beneficial insectary planting refers
to intentionally introducing flowering
plants into agricultural ecosystems to
increase pollen-and nectar-resources
required by natural enemies of insect
pests.
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SECTION 8
ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS
An organic compound is any member
of a large class of the chemical
compounds whose molecules contain
carbon and hydrogen; therefore,
carbides, carbonates, carbon oxides
and elementary carbon are not
organic.
The study of organic compounds is
termed organic chemistry, and what
with it being such a vast collection
of chemicals (over half of all known
chemical compounds), systems have been
devised to classify organic compounds.
Organic chemistry is a specific discipline
within the subject of chemistry. It is the
scientific study of the structure, properties,
composition, reactions, and preparation of
chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen,
which may contain any number of other elements,
such as nitrogen, oxygen, halogens, and more
rarely phosphorus or sulphur.
Horticultural oil is usually a light oil and
surfactant. It is used to suffocate stationary
insect pests such as aphids and scale. It works
by smothering the insect's breathing hole.
It is considered an 'organic pest control'.
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SECTION 9
SCALE
INSECTS
SCALE
INSECTS
The scale insects are small insects
of the order Hemiptera, generally
classified as the superfamily
Coccoidea. There are over 7,000
species of scale insect.
Scale insects are all parasites of
plants, feeding on sap drawn directly
from the plant's vascular system.
Adult scales are immobile and are
permanently attached to the plant
they have parasitized.
They secrete a waxy coating for defense;
this coating causes them to resemble
reptilian scales, hence the name.
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SECTION 10
PEST
CONTROL
PEST
CONTROL
Differing approaches to pest
control are equally notable.
In chemical horticulture, a specific
insecticide may be applied to quickly
kill off a particular insect pest.
Chemical controls can dramatically
reduce pest populations for the short
term, yet by unavoidably killing (or
starving) natural predator insects
and animals, cause an ultimate
increase in the pest population.
Repeated use of insecticides and
herbicides and other pesticides
also encourages rapid natural
selection of resistant insects,
plants and other organisms,
necessitating increased use,
or requiring new, more powerful
controls.
In contrast, organic horticulture
tends to tolerate some pest populations
while looking to the long haul.
Organic pest control
involves the
cumulative effect of
many techniques,
including:
allowing for an acceptable
level of pest damage,
encouraging predatory
beneficial insects to
flourish and eat pests,
encouraging beneficial
microorganisms,
careful plant selection,
choosing disease-resistant
varieties,
planting companion crops
that discourage or divert
pests,
using row covers to protect
crop plants during pest
migration periods,
rotating crops to different
locations from year to year
to interrupt pest reproduction
cycles,
Using insect traps to monitor
and control insect populations,
Each of these
techniques also
provides other
benefits,
soil protection
and improvement,
fertilization,
pollination,
water conservation,
season extension,
and these benefits are both
complementary and cumulative
in overall effect on site health.
Effective organic pest control
requires a thorough understanding
of pest life cycles and interactions.
Organic pest control is not synonymous,
but shares some concepts with integrated
pest management.
In agriculture, Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) is a pest control strategy that uses
an array of complementary methods:
natural predators and parasites,
pest-resistant varieties,
cultural practices,
biological controls,
various physical techniques,
and pesticides as a last resort.
It is an ecological approach
that can significantly reduce
or eliminate the use of
pesticides.
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SECTION 11
LADYBUGS
LADYBUGS
Coccinellidae is a family of beetles,
known variously as ladybirds, ladybugs
or lady beetles (preferred by scientists.
Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over
4,500 species described, more than 450 native
to North America alone.
Coccinellids are small insects, ranging from
1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are
usually yellow, orange, or red with small black
spots on their carapace, with black legs, head
and feelers.
As the family name suggests, they are usually
quite round in shape. Because they are useful,
colourful, and harmless to humans, coccinellids
are typically considered cute even by people who
hate most insects.
Some people consider seeing them or having them
land on one's body to be a sign of good luck to
come, and that killing them presages bad luck.
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SECTION 12
BEETLES
BEETLES
Beetles are one of the most
diverse groups of insects.
Their order, Coleoptera
(meaning "sheathed wing"),
has more species in it than
in any other order in the
animal kingdom.
Forty percent of all described insect
species are beetles; (about 350,000
species), and new species are regularly
discovered.
Approximately one out of every five
animals on our planet is a beetle
(20% of all animal life). Estimates put
the total number of species, described
and undescribed, at between 5 and 8
million.
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SECTION 13
FIREFLY
FIREFLY
Fireflies,
(family Lampyridae),
also known as
lightning bugs,
are nocturnal,
luminous beetles.
These names come from the fact that
some species as adults emit flashes
of light to attract mates in order
to reproduce, using the special
light-emitting organs in the abdomen.
The enzyme luciferase acts on the
substrate luciferin to stimulate
light emission. This reaction is of
scientific interest, and genes coding
for these substances have been spliced
into many different organisms.
Many species, especially in the genus
Photinus, are distinguished by the unique
courtship flash patterns emitted by flying
males as they search for females.
Photinus females generally do not fly, but
give a flash response to males of their own
species.
The larvae of most species are specialized
predators and feed on other larvae, terrestrial
snails, and slugs. The diet of adults is not
entirely clear.
It has been reported that some are predatory and
some feed on plant pollen or nectar.
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SECTION 14
BUTTERFLY
BUTTERFLY
A butterfly is an insect of the
Order Lepidoptera, and belongs
to one of the superfamilies
Hesperioidea (the skippers) or
Papilionoidea,
(all other butterflies).
Some authors would include also
members of the superfamily Hedyloidea,
the American butterfly moths.
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SECTION 15
LEPIDOPTERIST
LEPIDOPTERIST
A lepidopterist
is a person who:
catches,
collects,
or simply studies,
lepidopterans,
members of an order
comprising butterflies,
skippers, and moths.
People who study or collect butterflies
(or the closely related moths) are called
lepidopterists.
Butterfly watching is growing in
popularity as a hobby. Another old
term for a lepidopterist is aurelian.
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SECTION 16
SKIPPERS
SKIPPERS
The Skippers are
a group of insects
in the order
Lepidoptera.
The skippers are usually counted as
butterflies, but they are somewhat
intermediate between the rest of the
butterflies and the remaining
Lepidoptera, the moths.
Skippers are classified in the superfamily
Hesperioidea, which includes only one family,
the Hesperiidae.
They differ in several important ways from
the remaining butterflies, which are classified
in superfamily Papilionoidea.
Skippers have the antennae clubs hooked backward,
have stocky bodies, and possess stronger wing
muscles and better eyes.
Nonetheless, the two superfamilies are regarded
as sister taxa, so the butterflies collectively
form a true clade.
In fact, some taxonomists place the family
Hesperiidae within the superfamily
Papilionoidea.
There are about 4000 species of Skippers.
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SECTION 17
MOTH
MOTH
A moth is an
insect closely
related to the
butterfly.
Both are of the
order Lepidoptera.
The division of Lepidopterans into
moths and butterflies is a popular
taxonomy, not a scientific one.
Sometimes the names "Rhopalocera"
(butterflies) and "Heterocera"
(moths) are used to formalize the
popular distinction.
Many attempts have been made to
subdivide the Lepidoptera into
groups such as the Microlepidoptera
and Macrolepidoptera, Frenatae and
Jugatea or Monotrysia and Ditrysia.
Failure of these names to take hold
is due to the fact none of them represent
a "monophyletic group".
Most species of moths are nocturnal, but
there are crepuscular and diurnal species.
They can be distinguished from butterflies
in several ways.
People who study butterflies and/or moths
are called lepidopterists; the study of
butterflies is known as butterflying, and
the study of moths mothing, the latter
giving rise to the term mother for someone
who takes part in this activity sometimes
written with a hyphen inserted (moth-er) or
as moffer to distinguish it from the word for
a female parent (in spoken English, confusion
does not arise as the two are pronounced
differently).
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SECTION 18
TARDIGRADES
TARDIGRADES
Tardigrades
water bears
comprise the
phylum Tardigrada;
they are small,
segmented animals,
similar and are
probably related
to the Arthropods.
Tardigrades were
first described by
J.A.E. Goeze in 1773
(kleiner Wasserbär = little water bear).
The name Tardigrada means "slow walker"
and was given by Spallanzani in 1776.
Tardigrades are small animals.
The biggest adults may reach a body length
of 1.5 mm, the smallest below 0.1 mm.
Freshly hatched larvae may be smaller than
0.05 mm.
Most tardigrades are: phytophagous or
bacteriophagous, but some are predators
(e.g. Milnesium tardigradum).
The species Beorn leggi has been recorded
from Canadian Cretaceous amber. Aysheaia
from the middle Cambrian Burgess shale might
be related to tardigrades.
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SECTION 19
ARTHROPODS
ARTHROPODS
Arthropods are
characterised
by the possession
of a segmented body
with appendages on
each segment.
They have a dorsal heart and
a ventral nervous system.
All arthropods are covered by a
hard exoskeleton that is made out
of chitin, a polysaccharide.
Periodically, an arthropod sheds
this covering when it moults.
This covering makes arthropods less
prone to dehydration.
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SECTION 20
WASP
WASP
A wasp is any
insect of the
order Hymenoptera
and the suborder
Apocrita that is
not a bee, sawfly,
or an ant.
Less familiar, the suborder Symphyta
includes the sawflies and wood wasps,
which differ from the Apocrita by
having a broad connection between the
thorax and abdomen.
Also, Symphyta larvae are mostly
herbivorous and "caterpillarlike",
whereas those of Apocrita are largely
predatory or parasitic.
Most familiar wasps belong to the Aculeata,
a division of the Apocrita, whose ovipositors
are modified into a venomous stinger.
Aculeata also contains ants and bees.
A narrower meaning of the term wasp is any
member of the Aculeate family Vespidae.
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SECTION 21
YELLOWJACKETS
YELLOWJACKETS
Yellowjackets are
black-and-yellow
wasps of the genus
Vespula or
Dolichovespula
(though some can
be black-and-white,
the most notable of
these being the
bald-faced hornet,
Dolichovespula maculata).
They can be identified by their
distinctive combination of a
black-and-yellow color, small size
(slightly larger than a bee), and
entirely black antennae.
In some parts of the United States,
they are called meat bees.
Like some other vespids, they live in
colonies and build globular paper nests.
Workers are around 12-20 mm in length,
depending on species, and feed on nectar,
while collecting other foods (primarily
arthropods) for their larvae.
They can sting repeatedly and without
apparent provocation (especially so in
response to nest disturbance), and so can
be major pests.
In autumn, they switch from collecting
arthropods and nectar to scavenging other
food sources, which can increase their
contact with people.
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