Agricultural Entomology

What is Agriculture?
„ The cultivation of plants/animals for Human
Use
„ Includes plants used for :
„ Food (Fruits, vegetables, grains and oil seeds)
„ Animal Feed
„ Fiber products (like wood or cotton)
 Tarrant Co. Agriculture Factoids
„ In 1997, There were 1048 farms covering 184,081
acres of land.
„ These farms produce over $40 Million worth of ag.
Products each year.
„ Major Tarrant Co. Crops include:
„ Seed Corn
„ Sorghum
„ Wheat
„ Grass and alfalfa hay
 What Role Do Insects Play in
Agriculture?
„ Harmful insects:
„ Eat parts of plant, causing weakened growth and
production
„ Eat parts of plant that we eat, spoiling crop
„ Spread diseases that weaken or kill the plant
 Beneficial Insects:
„ Eat or parasitize harmful insects, keeping
their populations in check.
„ Pollinate
„ Produce Marketable Products (honey, wax,
silk)
 One Plant, Many Pests
„ Apple Trees:
„ Plum Curculio – Fruit Damage
 Apple Pests
„ Codling Moth-fruit damage
 Apple Pests
„ Apple Maggot Fly – Fruit Damage
 Apple Pests
„ Rosy apple aphid – Foliage and Fruit
Damage
 Apple Pests
„ Flat-Head Apple Tree Borer – Wood
Damage
 Cotton Pests
„ Cotton Aphid
Cotton Pests
„ Cotton Bollworm
 Cotton Pests
„ Cotton Leaf Perforator
 How Do Farmers Deal With Pest
Insects?
„ Chemical Control

„ Biological Control

„ Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

 Chemical Control
Pesticides: Synthetic or Natural Chemicals used to interrupt the
normal physiological processes of insects.
Timing is important!

Some applications
may make the problem
worse in the long run.

Some pesticides can harm

people, too!
 BioControl
„ Natural Enemies: Insects that prey upon or
parasitize pest insects, keeping their
populations at a minimal level
„ Pheromone Trapping: using chemical
signals to trap adults before they can lay
eggs
„ Bt transgenic plants – are toxic to
Lepidopteran pests.
 Natural Enemies
„ Come in 2 categories:
„ Generalists – eat a variety of pest and beneficial
species.
„ Specialists – Have specific prey or hosts.
Frequently Released Generalists
Green Lacewings
 Frequently Released Generalists
„ Ladybird Beetles
 Frequently Released Generalists
„ Mantids
 Specialists
„ Mealybug Destroyer

Predatory Thrips
 Specialists
„ Parasitoids
Pheromone Trapping
Transgenic Crops
„ Bacillus thuringiensis genes inserted into
genome of many different crops.
„ B. thuringiensis is a naturally occuring bacteria
that produces a protein that is lethal to
Lepidoptera.
„ Bt Plants produce their own pesticide, and aren’t
harmful to people.
„ Selection for plants that don’t produce the protein
in their pollen reduces the risk to non-target
species.
How Bt Crops Work
 Pollinators
„ In order to produce fruit, vegetables, or
seed, many plants need insect pollinators.
 Insect Products
„ Apis millifera, The Honey Bee
Silkworms
Silkworm Production
 Scale Insect Products
„ Shellac
„ Cochineal dyes
The End