Contemporary Insect Diagnostics: The Art and Science of Practical Entomology

332 Pages·2014·82.21 MB·English

by  Timothy J. Gibb

Dedication
To Loni
my committed, charming, cute and compassionate wife.
Who doubles as my consultant, chum, center, cheerleader, copartner, chief of staff, crutch,
comforter, co-conspirator, compass, celestial companion, comrade, confidant, constant, champion,
cornerstone, counselor, and when need be, critic, cook and cuddler.
…. and those are just the ‘C’ words.
I love you.
You are beyond compare
CONTEMPORARY
INSECT
DIAGNOSTICS
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF
PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGY
T G
imoThy ibb
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Notices
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ISBN: 978-0-12-404623-8
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Acknowledgements
I express my sincere appreciation to all of my coworkers and friends in Cooperative E xtension.
Thanks to your support, encouragement and friendship over many years, this book finally has
finally become a reality. One of the best decisions I have made in my life was choosing to work in
Extension where the spirit of sharing, giving and helping others is the center of all that we do.
Photographic credits:
Thanks to John Obermeyer, who is the expert behind the camera for the majority of the photo­
graphs in this book ­ certainly all of the really good ones.
vii
Preface
Diagnosticians include a widely diverse group diagnostics. For example, pest auditors, consul-
of entomologists who are engaged in prob- tants, and quality control managers in large food
lem solving. Whether in academia or industry, or pharmaceutical plants also have responsibili-
every practicing entomologist can benefit with ties for insect identification and making control
improved diagnostic skills. recommendations.
This book is designed to provide a basic under- Integrated pest managers rely on insect iden-
standing of the workings of an insect diagnostic tification and the principles of pest management
laboratory. It describes the required techniques as a basis for what they do. Extension agents,
and equipment as well as an update of new devel- professional urban pest managers and agricul-
opments, tools, procedures, and advances in tural insect scouts all can be considered practic-
diagnostic technology, necessary for beginning or ing insect diagnosticians.
established laboratories. It describes the respon- As a resource text, this book is valuable in
sibilities of an insect diagnostician and provides many college courses. It may be a primary ref-
case examples of practical, applied entomology. erence text for courses in extension, insect IPM
Many entomology departments, particularly or insect diagnostics, and because of its practi-
those housed in land grant universities, employ a cal nature, it provides valuable instruction for
specialist with primary responsibilities in insect other college courses in insect classification and
diagnostics. In smaller departments, diagnostic related pest management fields.
responsibilities are divided among extension The principles taught herein are indeed the
faculty. essence of practical entomology.
Entomologists working in industry often have
a minor but important responsibility in insect
ix
C H A P T E R
1
Introduction
THE INTERACTIONS OF INSECTS Unfortunately the road to better health and
AND PEOPLE better pest management was not without set-
backs. The Roman Empire eventually collapsed,
Insects have always been part of the environ- and the medical and pest management advances
ment in which humans live and regardless of of the Greeks and others were lost along with it.
our efforts to eradicate them, we will always live Books were destroyed, learned people were per-
with insects in one way or another. secuted and science was lost. Civilization was
Insect pest management predates recorded thrust into a period called the Dark Ages where
history. The first time an early humanoid swat- pests and pestilences ran rampant.
ted at a mosquito could be considered the first The bubonic plague was one of several dis-
incident of insect pest management. As time ease epidemics vectored by insects that killed
went on, the principles of pest management millions of people. Mankind no longer made the
were built upon man first being able to recog- connection between pests and pestilences. Igno-
nize an insect as a pest insect and then study rance prevailed and death, famine and disease
its behavior and biology sufficiently to devise a reigned for hundreds of years.
method of control. Whether it was physical (fly With time, however, came a transition from the
swatter), cultural (excluding them from a dwell- Middle Ages to the Renaissance that gradually led
ing) or chemical (using smoke or plant-derived to the rediscovery of science-based medicine and
toxins to kill or repel), control methods were pest management. Progress continued during
tested, improved upon and made available to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. A scientific and
others experiencing similar infestations. systematic study of symptoms and causal agents
Early pest management successes were tied advanced both medicine and pest management.
very closely to medical, sanitation or other Subsequent centuries have seen unparalleled
health-related advancements. Improved sanita- progress. We continue to learn better ways to
tion and hygiene not only prevented diseases manage insect pests, improving agriculture as
but also insect pest problems. For example, the well as human health.
Romans built massive aqueducts that provided Today, though we may boast of modern meth-
levels of cleanliness previously unavailable. ods of insect control, on close inspection these
Because bathing had the added benefit of sup- techniques are primarily just improvements
pressing lice and other personal pests, insects upon original methods. Once people understood
and diseases that tormented people decreased the value of identifying the pest and then devis-
(Figure 1.1). ing ways to control it through understanding its
Contemporary Insect Diagnostics
1
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-404623-8.00001-6 © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2
1. INTRODUCTION
FIGURE 1.1 Our desire to manage pests has remained unchanged.
biology and behavior, pest management moved pest management has always relied on an accurate
forward and human comfort and safety improved. identification of the pest and some understanding
This is not to say that all cultures progressed of its biology. These two go hand in hand.
at an even rate. Those that disregarded the
importance of specific pest identification and
Effective insect pest management strate-
associated biology, simply lumping all ‘vermin’
gies are built upon the foundation of accu-
together, progressed more slowly.
rate identification and an understanding of
The understanding of how each pest is unique
the insect’s life history and habits.
and has its own biology and behavior was facili-
tated by the advent of scientific taxonomy. Effective
PPeesstt MMaannaaggeemmeenntt
BiologicalBiologicalBiologicalBiological CulturalCulturalCulturalCultural ChemicalChemicalChemicalChemical
AAAAccccccccuuuurrrraaaatttteeee IIIIddddeeeennnnttttiiiiffffiiiiccccaaaattttiiiioooonnnn
FIGURE 1.2 Effective insect pest management strateg ies are built upon the foundation of accur ate identification and an
understanding of the insect’s life history and habits.
InsECTs As PEsTs 3
Even today, the first step in managing an totally rely on only one particular part of one
insect pest is to accurately identify it, learn its species of plant to survive.
biology and life history in an effort to determine Many insects are predators or parasites, prey-
how and why it became a pest, and then to use a ing either on other insects or animals, including
commonsense and logical series of control tech- people. Such insects are valuable to people by
niques to not necessarily eradicate it but rather helping to keep the population of pest insects or
render it non-threatening. Shortcuts often lead weeds tolerable.
to disaster (Figure 1.2). Without insects to help break down and dis-
pose of organic wastes such as dead animals and
plants, our environment would be messy indeed.
THE VALUE OF INSECTS A great many insects and other arthropods assist
by breaking down naturally occurring organic
Even a cursory study of our environment wastes. In so doing they also facilitate fertiliza-
reveals that insects are nearly everywhere. Biol- tion and aerate the soils they help create.
ogists clearly recognize insects as the most com- Insects are underappreciated for their role in
mon animals on our planet. Today, more than the food web. They are the sole source of food
1.5 million species of insects have been named. for many amphibians, reptiles, birds and even
This is three times the number of all other ani- mammals. They form an important part of the
mals combined. Some scientists say that the list diet of many others, making them an essential
of insects that have been given names represents component in nature.
only a small fraction of all insects in nature. No As if these attributes were not enough,
doubt many are yet to be discovered. insects make one more valuable contribution:
Insects can be found in almost every con- they make our world much more interesting.
ceivable habitat. Their size, shape, color, biol- Naturalists and laypersons alike derive a great
ogy, and life history are diverse, making the deal of satisfaction in watching ants work, bees
study of insects challenging yet absolutely pollinate, or dragonflies patrol. Can you imag-
fascinating. ine how dull life would become without having
Insects are valuable to humans in many butterflies or lightning beetles to add interest to
ways. In fact, without insects our society would a landscape?
not be the same. Insects pollinate many of our People benefit in many ways by sharing their
fruits, flowers and vegetables. We would not world with insects.
have many of the agricultural and horticultural
products that we enjoy and rely upon with-
out the pollinating services of bees. Insects not INSECTS AS PESTS
only improve agriculture, but their by-products
(honey, beeswax, silk, dye, and other useful In spite of all their many positive attributes,
products), have become valuable commodities some small percentage of insects can become
in our world. pests. We know from history that insects can
Insects affect our world in other ways as feed on the blood of people or other vertebrate
well. They feed on a seemingly endless variety animals and can transmit diseases that cre-
of foods. Many insects are omnivorous, mean- ate serious health concerns. Most parasitic or
ing that they can eat a variety of foods, includ- blood-sucking insects are not only an irritation,
ing living or dead plants and animals, fungus, but they can be deadly because of their role in
decaying organic matter, and nearly anything vectoring diseases. Even today, mosquitoes
else they encounter. Some can even digest wood. cause millions of deaths each year due to any
Still others are particular specialists and may of several diseases that they transmit, including
4
1. INTRODUCTION
malaria. Epidemics and even forecasted pan- IDENTIFYING INSECTS
demics of various strains of influenza can be
vectored by mosquitoes. Ticks, lice, other biting Common Names
flies and bugs also transmit deadly diseases.
Creating names is the human way of facilitat-
Nearly every kind of plant in nature is food to
ing communication. By creating and using names
some insect or another. It follows that any agri-
we have a common reference point. Common
cultural crop or horticultural plant that is of value
insects almost always have a common name. This
to people may also be consumed by insects and is
is a name given to them by laypeople and most
at risk from the time the seed is planted until the
often describes an insect’s appearance, behavior
crop is harvested, stored or consumed. This cre-
or even more commonly, where it is found or what
ates a conflict between people and insects. When
it is feeding on. Names such as ‘beetles,’ ‘moths’
insects destroy our food, we suffer.
or even ‘bugs’ refer to large groups or orders of
A pest can generally be defined as any ani-
insects. While these names are not incorrect, they
mal, plant, or other organism whose biology,
offer little specificity in identifying just what
behavior, or location places it in direct conflict
insect is being discussed. Common names of fam-
with humans. Because some insects threaten
ilies are also used. These names are much more
human health, destroy food, damage structures
detailed and offer a more specific idea. Still more
or landscapes, or cause general annoyance or
specific are the common names of individual
anxiety, they are considered pests.
insect species such as ‘stink bug,’ ‘tomato worm,’
or ‘burrowing beetle.’ These names are valuable
Insects that harm people or animals, only to the extent that everyone associates these
destroy foods, damage structures or products particular insects with the name. Even though
or that harm humans in any way are called common names are generally helpful, they can
pests. Insects that annoy or contaminate or sometimes be ambiguous and confusing.
that make life less pleasurable to people are This creates serious confusion in communica-
also considered pests. tion. Ultimately, identifying or communicating
about an insect by using common names alone
becomes dubious and arbitrary. To avoid confu-
sion, especially in science, communication must
Interestingly, most people are much more
be based on a more exact naming system and
aware of the relatively few insects that cause
reference to specific insect species.
problems than they are of beneficial insects. As
a result, most texts (including the one you are
reading) tend to focus on the few insect pests
Binomial Nomenclature
that cause us harm.
Uninformed people may inaccurately gener- Insects, like all plants and animals, can be
alize and consider all insects as ‘bad or harm- identified using scientifically accepted names.
ful’ and in need of control. This is precisely the Science has a very discrete set of rules for refer-
thinking of the Dark Ages. Enlightened societies ence to all organisms. Scientific names are usu-
recognize that the good done by the many ben- ally based in Latin, and are composed of two
eficial insects far outweighs any bad caused by a parts: a genus name (always capitalized) and a
few pest species. We must study each insect spe- species name (always lowercase). By rule, scien-
cies and judge them based on their individual tific names are always italicized when typed and
behavior and biology. underlined when hand-written.
IdEnTIfyIng InsECTs 5
The system for naming plants and animals By comparison, common names, if estab-
was developed by a Swedish taxonomist by lished and agreed upon, are not subject to the
the name of Carl von Linne (1707–1778). He is same rules as are scientific names and thus can
known today as the father of taxonomic nomen- actually remain more stable than scientific taxa.
clature and is famous for actually changing his In the early part of the 20th century, entomolo-
own name Carl Linne to Carolus linnaeus, reflect- gists in America began discussing a method of
ing his dedication to Latinizing names of all overseeing a list of accepted common names,
organisms for classification. linked to their scientific (genus and species)
This two-part (genus/species) naming name. Considerable effort has gone into creat-
system is called binomial nomenclature. It ing and monitoring this list. Maintaining the
radically simplifies sharing research and dis- list (Common Names of Insects and Related
covery information in the scientific commu- Organisms) (reference) is now a function of
nity. Whereas a single insect could go by two, the Entomological Society of America. Many
three, or even more different common names of our most common insects have become part
depending on who is speaking and what geo- of this list. To date, over 2000 common names
graphical region they come from, a reference have been approved. Great effort has gone into
in binomial nomenclature can only correspond ensuring that the common name is complete
to one organism. Relying only on common and that it in some way describes the insect in
names would make it difficult and frustrating question.
for scientists to share research with one another The list of common names is intended to
around the world because it is never absolutely contain insects of general concern or interest
certain as to what organism one may be refer- because of their economic or medical impor-
ring. It is less complicated for scientists to learn tance, striking appearance or abundant occur-
one Latin name for an organism rather than rence. It contains most of the insects that are
many common names in many languages and common to homeowners, gardeners, farmers,
regions. health care providers, and pest managers in
The scientific code of zoological nomencla- America.
ture generally promotes dependability and reli- Most laypersons prefer to use common
ability as well as accuracy and universality of rather than scientific names, as these are easier
an organism’s scientific name. Having said that, to employ in common speech and are easier to
stability of scientific names is not a given. Over remember. For example, referring to an insect
time, taxonomic studies often lump, separate as a boxelder bug rather than Boisea trivittata
or reassign organisms to different taxon, mak- (its scientific name) is usually preferred. In
ing the science of taxonomy somewhat fluid. most cases, insect diagnosticians also prefer
This makes it difficult for a generalist to know to use accepted common names over scientific
what the most current scientific name actually names when possible. Keep in mind that not
is. Entomologists specializing in the classifica- all insects have an accepted common name and
tion of insects are called insect taxonomists or furthermore, that many insects are similar in
systematists. They deal in heavily in scientific appearance. A person dedicated to the science
names and classification systems that have rigid of entomology is required to accurately and reli-
and specific rules regarding their use. The pub- ably identify them.
lic record (peer-reviewed published papers) A more detailed examination of common and
is currently accepted as the official regulating scientific names is found in Chapter 5 in the dis-
process. cussion of arthropod identification.