C.

ARTHROPODS
Taxonomic Classification
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Arthropoda
(arthros –joint; poda- foot)

Entomology – a sub-discipline of Zoology which deals

with the study of insects and related arthropods.

This came from the greek word “Entomon”, which

means insect and ”logus” which means study.
Classes of Arthropoda

DIPLOPODA CHILOPODA
CRUSTACIA INSECTA ARACHNIDA
Characteristics of
Arthropods
1. Arthropods are bilaterally symmetrical.
2. They possess segmented bodies.
3. Their body is covered with exoskeleton consisting
of hardened plates which serves as shield or
protection.
4. There are some segments of the body which
possess paired appendages which are modified
depending upon the location of the body.
5. They possess different internal systems such as the
nervous, circulatory, digestive, reproductive,
tracheal, muscular and skeletal systems.
Characteristics of Insects
 Characteristics of Insects

1. Their body is divided into three regions: the head,

thorax and abdomen
2. They possess one pair of antennae.
3. Their thorax is divided into three: the prothorax,
mesothorax and metathorax; each with a pair of
legs and the last two with a pair of wings.
4. The abdomen is without ambulatory appendages.
The appendages at the caudal end are involved in
reproduction.
5. A metamorphosis is undergone.
Insect populations
 There are 1.5 million species of animals in
the world.
 Of these, insects have 932,000 species.
 In the Phylum Arthropoda, the Class Insecta

is the largest group comprising of more or

less 25 orders.
 It occupies 85% of the arthropods

population while the 15% is shared among

the other four classes
 
ATTRIBUTES OF INSECTS
1. They have the capacity for flight. This is a unique
means of dispersal, discovering their mates,
seeking food and shelter, escaping from enemies
and many others.
2. They have wide range of adaptability. They have
invaded and colonized the globe. All kinds of
environment support the insects.
3. They are relatively small in size.
4. They possess exoskeleton which provide protection
of the body against mechanical injury and
predators.
5. They could resist dessication.
HOW INSECTS AFFECT MAN
 Because they dominate all terrestrial
environments that support human life,
insects are usually our most important
competitors for food, fiber, and other
natural resources.

 They have a direct impact on agricultural

food production by chewing the leaves of
crop plants, sucking out plant juices,
boring within the roots, stems or leaves,
and spreading plant pathogens.
 They feed on natural fibers, destroy wooden
building materials, ruin stored grain, and
accelerate the process of decay.

 They also have a profound impact on the

health of humans and domestic animals by
causing annoyance, inflicting bites and
stings, and transmitting disease.
Economic impact of insects
 The economic impact of insects is measured not only
by the market value of products they destroy and
the cost of damage they inflict but also by the
money and resources expended on prevention and
control of pest outbreaks.

 Although dollar values for these losses are nearly

impossible to calculate, especially when they
affect human health and welfare, economists
generally agree that insects consume or destroy
around 10% of gross national product in large,
industrialized nations and up to 25% of gross
national product in some developing countries.
These and other aspects of economic
entomology will be our main emphasis in
the final section of this course when we
focus entirely on insect pests and the
tactics used to control them.
 But despite the tremendous economic

losses they may cause, it is not entirely

fair to cast the members of Class Insecta
as villains who rob us of our food and
livelihoods.


 They are also cherished allies on whom we
depend to keep the natural environment
clean and productive.

 They have shaped human cultures and

civilizations in countless ways, they supply
unique natural products, they regulate the
population densities of many potential pest
species, they dispose of our wastes, bury
the dead, and recycle organic nutrients.
 Indeed, we seldom stop to consider what life
would be like without insects and how much we
depend on them for our very survival.

 To paraphrase William Shakespeare,

"The evil that insects do lives after them, the

good is oft interred with their exoskeletons."
INSECT ORDERS
Archaeognatha
 Bristletails
 Petrobius maritimus
 No wings
 Chewing mouthparts
 No metamorphosis

Bristletails
Blattodea
 American Cockroaches
 Four wings
 Chewing incomplete
 Incomplete
metamorphosis
 Dorso-ventrally
flattened

Periplaneta americana
Grylloblattodea/
Notoptera
 Grylloblatta barberi
 Grylloblattidae, and wingless
insects that live in the cold on
top of mountains and the
edges of glaciers.
 are tiny, wingless insects with
a head resembling that of a
cockroach, with long antennae
and having elongated cerci
arising from the tip of their
abdomen.
 They cannot tolerate warmth
(most species will die at 10° C)
and many species have small
distribution ranges and are
threatened by climate change.
icebugs, or ice crawlers
Mantophasmatodea
 Mantophasma zephyra
Mantodea
 Mantids
 A Praying Mantis
(Hierodula patellifera) in
typical 'praying' posture.
 get their common name
from the stance they
commonly adopt. ...
 large raptorial (adapted
for the seizing prey) fore
legs.
Megaloptera
•often large, stout-bodied, net-
winged aquatic insects found nearly
worldwide. Larvae are called
hellgrammites or dobsons and are
sometimes used as fishing bait.
• females lay eggs on leaves or
rocks overhanging water, into which
the larvae drop when hatched.
•The larvae remain in the water for
up to three years
•They then move to land, where they
pupate under stones and emerge as
adults in about one month. The
adults, although large, are weak
flyers. Male and female eastern dobsonflies, Corydalus
cornutus (Linnaeus), showing differences in
mandibles and antennae.

Corydalus cornutus
(Linnaeus) dobson flies