Course outline for Applied Entomology (Biol 3043)

1. Introduction
1.1.Historical background of applied entomology
2. Economically important insects and other arthropods
2.1 Apiculture
2.1.1 Life history of honey bees
2.1.2 Bee keeping
2.1.3 Economic importance of honey bees
2.2 Silk culture
2.2.1 Life cycles of silkworm
2.2.2 Strains of silkworms and silk production
2.2.3 Rearing of silkworms
2.2.4 Treatment and disposal of cocoons
2.3. Cochineal (dye production)
3. Insects of medical and veterinary importance
3.1. Culicidae (Mosquitoes)
3.2. Psychodidae (Sandfly)
3.3. Simulidae (Blackfly)
3.4. Ceratopogonidae (Bitting midge)
3.5. Tabanidae (Horsefly)
3.6. Glossindae (Tsetse fly)
3.7. Muscidae and fannidae
3.8. Ostridae
3.9. Hippoboscidae
3.10. Calliphoridae
3.11. Prevention and control of insect vector
3.12. Surveillance of insect vectors
4. Insect pest-categories and causes for outbreak
4.1. Category of pest
4.2. Causes for outbreak of pests
4.3. Losses caused by pests
4.4. Methods of assessing yield loss
4.5. Pest surveillance and forecasting
5. Pest management and its importance
5.1.Components of pest control
5.2.Cultural control
5.3.Biological control
5.4.Genetic control
5.5.Host plant resistance
5.6.Chemical control
5.7.Integrated pest management (IPM)
6. Pesticides and the environment
6.1. Impact of pesticides
6.2. Pesticide handling and usage
6.3. Third generation pesticide (biolrationals)
6.4. Semiochemicals
6.5. Sterility methods (sterilants)
6.6. Insect growth regulators
6.7. Attractants
6.8. Repellents (allomone)
6.9. Antifeedants and deterrants (allomone)
 Unit 1
Introduction

The field of entomology may be divided into 2 major aspects

1. Fundamental Entomology or General Entomology
2. Applied Entomology or Economic Entomology
• Fundamental or General Entomology - deals with the basic or academic
aspects of the science of entomology.
• It includes morphology, anatomy, physiology and taxonomy of the insects.

• We study the subject for gaining knowledge on Entomology irrespective of

whether it is useful or harmful.
• Applied or Economic Entomology - deals with the usefulness of
the science of entomology for the benefit of mankind.
• It covers the study of insects which are either beneficial or
harmful to human beings.
• It deals with the ways in which beneficial insects like predators,
parasitoids, pollinators or productive insects like honey bees,
silkworm and lac insect can be best exploited for our welfare.
• Applied entomology also studies the methods in which harmful
insects or pests can be managed without causing significant damage
or loss to us.

Principles of Applied Entomology

• In fundamental entomology insects are classified based on their
structure into families and orders etc.
• but in applied entomology they can be classified based on their
economic importance i.e. whether they are useful or harmful.
Economic classification of insects
 Insects can be classified as follows based on their economic
importance.
• Insects of no economic importance - There are many insects found in
forests, and agricultural lands which neither cause harm nor benefit us.
Insects of economic importance
A. Injurious insects
a) Pests of cultivated plants (crop pests)
• Each cultivated plant harbor many insect pests which feed on them and
reduce the yield of the crop. Field crops and horticultural crops are
attacked by many insect species. (eg) cotton bollworm, rice stem bores.
b) Storage pests
• Insects feed on stored products and cause economic loss. (eg) rice
weevil, pulse beetle.
c) Pest attacking cattle and domestic animals
• Some insect pests like horse fly, flesh fly, flea and lice suck blood
and sometimes eat the flesh of cattle.
d) House hold and disease carrying insects
• House hold pests include cockroach, ants, etc. and some of
disease carrying insects are mosquitoes, houseflies, bed bugs,
tsetse flies, sand flies, fleas etc.
B. Beneficial insects
a) Productive insects
Silk worm - The silk worm filament secreted from the salivary gland
of the larva helps us in producing silk.
Honey bee- Provides us with honey and many other byproducts like
bees wax and royal jelly.
Lac insects-The secretion from the body of these scale insects is called
lac. It is useful in making varnishes and polishes.
b) Insects useful as drugs, food and ornaments
• As medicine - eg. Sting of honey bees- remedy for rheumatism and
arthritis.
Cantharidin - extracted from blister beetle –useful as hair tonic.
• As food - for animals and human being

For example: aquatic insects used as food for fish.

Grass hoppers, termites, pupae of moths have been used as food by
human beings in different parts of the world.
• Ornaments, entertainers

- Artists and designers copy color of butterflies

- Beetles worm as necklace
- Insect collection as a hobby
c) Scientific research
• Drosophila and mosquitoes are useful in genetic and toxicological
studies, respectively.
C. Helpful insects
(i) Parasitoids: These are small insects which feed and live on harmful
insects by completing their life cycle in a host and kill the host insect.
E.g. Egg, larval and pupal parasitoids of some species of wasps
(ii) Predators: These are large insects which capture and consume
harmful insects.
E.g. preying mantids
(iii) Pollinators: Many cross pollinated plants depend on insects for
pollination and fruit set.
E.g. Honey bees
(iv) Weed killers: Insects which feed on weeds kill them thereby killers.

E.g. Parthenium beetle eats on parthenium, Cochneal insect feeds in

Opuntia dillenii.

(v) Soil builders: soil insects such as ants, beetles, larval of cutworms,
crickets, collumbola, make tunnels in soil and facilitate aeration in soil.
They become good manure after death and enrich soil.

(vi) Scavengers: Insects which feed on dead and decaying matter are
called scavengers. They are important for maintaining hygiene in the
surroundings.

E.g. Carrion beetles, Rove beetles feed on dead animals and plants
D) House hold and disease carrying insects

i) Pests which cause damage to belongings of human being like

furniture, wool, paper etc.

E.g. Cockroaches, furniture beetle, silver fish etc.

ii) Pests which cause painful bite, inject venoms.

E.g. Wasps, bees sting us. Hairy caterpillar nettling hairs are
poisonous. Mosquitoes, bugs and other insects bite, pierce and suck
blood from human.

iii) Disease causing insects like mosquito (malaria, filariasis, dengue

fever), housefly (typhoid, cholera, leprosy and anthrax), etc
 Unit 2
Economically important insects and related arthropods
2.1 Apiculture
• Apiculture or bee-keeping is the science and art of managing honey
bees in large quantity, over and above their own requirements.
• The scientific names of different species of honeybees begin with
the generic name Apis. Honey bees comprise the genus Apis in the
family Apidae, order Hymenoptera.
• The first beekeepers were hunters, seeking out wild nests of honey
bees, which often were destroyed to obtain the sweet reward, called
honey, for which these insects are named.
• Thousands of years ago, Egyptians were well acquainted with bee
keeping before the Christian era.
• Honey bees originated in Africa and spread into Europe and Asia.
European honey bees were introduced into North America in the
early 1600’s primarily for honey production.
• Besides honey production, honey bees are used extensively by
farmers to pollinate crops such as almonds, apples, and watermelons.
• As humans learned more about bees, they built beehives of clay
pots, straw baskets, and wooden boxes.
• They wanted to find ways of controlling their bees so that the
colonies could survive from year to year and still produce enough
honey for the needs of the beekeepers.
• The modern bee keeping became possible after the discovery of
movable frame hive in 1851 by Rerd. L. L. Langstroth.
• He built the first modern beehive with frames of combs that could
be easily removed from a wooden box. His invention led to many
improvements in beekeeping equipment.
• Bee-keeping became a commercial proposition during the 19 th
century as a result of scientific research.
• Apiculture is a flourishing industry in many advanced countries
like USA, Canada, Germany and Australia.
• Today, beekeeping is more successful than it was before
Langstroth’s movable-frame hive, because the entire hive can be
inspected and manipulated.
2.1.2 Species of honey bees
There are four common species of honey bees under a single genus
Apis (apis = bee):
1. Apis dorsata (The rock- bee)
- These are the largest honeybees in size.
- They build single large open comb on high branches of trees and
rocks.
- Produces large quantity of honey (36 Kg honey /comb/year), but this
bee is difficult to domesticate.
-These bees are ferocious, stings severely causing fever and
sometimes even death so difficult to rear.
-They shift the place of the colony often.
2. Apis indica (The Indian bee)
- They make multiple parallel combs on trees, cavities in darkness,
mud walls, earthen pots, etc.
- Larger than Apis florea but smaller than Apis mellifera size wise
- They produce about 5Kg of honey/year/hive
- They are more prone to swarming and absconding
- They are native of India/Asia
3. Apis florea (The little bee)
• Small-sized
• Construct comb in open of the size of palm in branches of bushes,
hedges, buildings, caves, empty cases etc.
• Produce about 1/2Kg honey /year/ hive
• They are difficult to rear as they frequently change their place
• They are distributed only in plains and not in hills above 450m
4. Apis mellifera (The European bee)
- They make multiple parallel combs in cavities in darkness
- Larger than Indian bees but smaller than Rock bees
- They have been imported from European countries (Italy)
- They yield on average 35Kg honey/ year / hive
- They can easily domesticated
- They are less prone to swarming and absconding
2.1.3The bee colony
• What are the different castes of honey bees that are found within
the colony? How these castes differ from each other in their
biology and duties?
A honey bee colony has three castes
(i) Queen – single, fertile female
(ii) Workers – several thousands, sterile females
(iii) Drones – a few hundred, fertile males available prior to
swarming.
Figure . Apoidea. The honey bee, Apis mellifera (Apidae). (A)
Queen (B) worker (C) drone.
 Queen
• Queen is the only perfectly developed female bee that has well
developed ovaries and other organs of female reproductive system.
Its length (around 20 mm) is due partly to an elongated body, but
mainly to a large abdomen, so the wings appear shorter than the
body .
• The head is small, with eyes moderately developed.
• The three pairs of legs are similar.
• The reproductive system is functional and the abdomen is armed
with a curved smooth sting.
• Mouthparts are shorter than that of workers and for sucking food.
• She does not have wax glands.
• Glands that produce pheromones are in the mandibles, tergites,
rectum and tarsi.
• Her abdomen is noticeably enlarged when actively laying eggs, as
her ovaries fill most of her abdomen.
• Queen cell is very large with an irregular shape which may appear
as an inverted, thimble shaped cup in the lowest zone, at certain
periods of the colony's development.
• Nurse worker bees add a glandular secretion, royal jelly, to the cup
as the larva grows inside of the queen cell.
• Worker bees extend the cell walls as the larva grows. Soon the cell
takes on a peanut shape, hanging down across the face of comb.
The highly nutritious royal jelly allows the queen to reach
adulthood only 16 days after being laid as an egg.
• Within a week or two of emerging from the cell, the queen takes a
mating flight, returns to the hive, and begins to lay eggs.
• In the course of one or several flights, she will mate with 15–20
drones.
• When she begins to fail due to age or disease, the workers rear a
replacement queen, a process called supersedure.
Duties of a queen
• The only individual which lays eggs in a colony (mother of all bees).
Lays up to 2000 eggs/day in case of Apis mellifera.
• The queen can lay either fertilized eggs (eggs that produce females) or
unfertilized eggs (eggs which produce drones) depending on the
requirement.
• She mates with drones in one or more nuptial flights (five to ten days
after emergence)
• Secrete queen’s substance from mandibular gland
 The queen substance if present in sufficient quantity performs the
following functions
a) Prevent swarming and absconding of colonies
b) Prevent development of ovaries in workers
c) To maintain colony cohesion
• When a colony swarms, it splits in two parts: one part stays in the
old home and one part finds a new home. ... When a colony
absconds, however, the entire colony leaves together and finds a
new home.
• Honey bee larvae feed with a nutritious substance called royal
jelly secreted by the brood-food glands (hypopharyngeal glands)
of young workers.
• During the first 24 hours, worker larvae are fed abundant amounts
of royal jelly by older nurse bees.
• During the second 24 hours, they get very little additional food
and thereafter are cared for by nurse bees of all ages. Pollen and
honey are present in the food of older worker larvae.
• Honey bees use two systems of feeding larvae. Young larvae feed with
excessive amounts of food to their needs and older larvae are provided with
small quantities of food as needed.

• It has been estimated that 110,000 visits are made to a single bee during its
egg and larval stages, 3,500 of these during the last 24 hours.

• A female larva fed continuously on plenty of royal jelly and provided a large,
peanut-shaped cell will become a queen.

• Another larva given a mixture of honey and pollen during the latter half of
its larval life and kept in a worker cell becomes a worker.

• The sexual characteristic in a queen is considered to be caused by differences

in both the quality and the quantity of the larval food provided
• Drone larvae grow larger than either workers or queens and,
therefore, require more food.
• Food given to young drone larvae is nearly devoid of pollen and is
milky-white while that given to older drone larvae is a yellow-
brown color and contains considerable pollen.
• The food given to older drone larvae also is higher in pollen
content than that given older worker larvae.
• Thus, both qualitative and quantitative differences distinguish the
larval food given to queen, worker and drone.
 Drone bees
• The drone is designed entirely for reproduction.
• It is easily recognized by his robust thorax and abdomen, and large
compound eyes which touch each other dorsally and cover most of
his head.
• Most of the abdominal cavity is filled with the reproductive organs.
• Drone cells are hexagonal and horizontal, usually built along the
bottom and edges of the comb.
• Drone larvae are fed a mix of glandular secretions and honey.
• The drone emerges as an adult after 24 days of development.
• He prepared for mating flights within several weeks of adult life.
• He may fly a kilometer or more to a drone congregation area where
he may mate in the air with a young queen.
• If he is successful in mating, he then falls away from the queen,
leaving his genitalia inside of her, and dies soon afterward.
• In temperate climates, any drones that survive until autumn are
evicted from their hive by worker bees and die soon afterward.
Duties of drones
- Their important duty is to fertilize the queen
- They also help in maintenance of hive temperature
The drones cannot collect nectar / pollen and they do not possess a
sting.
Worker bees
• The workers are smaller than the queen with strong wings to fly.
• They have a large and efficient proboscis (mouthparts packed together like a
thin tube) for sucking nectar.
• Although she has several small ovarioles in each ovary, she is usually sterile.
• A few individuals in a typical colony are inclined to become “laying” workers
with developed ovaries.
• A well-developed sting is present at the tip of the abdomen.
• Hind legs have “pollen basket” for collecting pollen. The workers have a life
span of about 35 days.
• Most of the cells in the hive are worker cells.
• They are hexagonal and horizontal like drone cells, but smaller.
Worker larvae, like drones, consume glandular secretions and
honey.
• A worker bee takes 21 days to mature in the cell, and emerges as
an adult.
Duties of workers
The adult lifespan can be divided into:
- First three weeks (house hold duty)
- Rest of the life (outdoor duty)
House hold duties
• Build comb with wax secretion from wax glands
• Feed the young larvae with royal jelly secreted from hypopharyngeal
gland
• Feed older larvae with bee-bread (pollen+ honey)
• Feeding and attending queen, feeding drones
• Cleaning, ventilating and cooling the hive
• Guarding the hive
• Evaporating nectar and storing honey

Outdoor duties
- Collecting nectar, pollen, propolis and water
- Ripening honey in honey stomach
• Worker bees are distinguished from the queen by some anatomical
and physiological features: Some of these features which are
present on worker bees are:
• Well developed and long proboscis for nectar gathering
• Wax and brood food producing glands
• Hind legs modified for pollen collection
• Well developed sting apparatus with a curved denticulated barb
• Incomplete and normally non-functional reproductive system
• The egg, larval and pupal stages of each bee spent inside of a
beeswax cell.
• The cells are built by worker bees according to the needs of the
colony.
• In this way, the workers direct much of colony growth and
reproduction.
2.1.4 Bee behavior
• Swarming: Swarming is a natural method of colony multiplication
in which a part of the colony migrates to a new site to make a new
colony.
• Swarming occurs when a colony builds up a considerable strength
or when the queen’s substance secreted by queen falls below a
certain level.
• Swarming is a potent instinct in bees for dispersal and
perpetuation of the species.
• When a colony is preparing to swarm, bees build large number of
queen cells about 6 to12, but some strains build 20 or more.
• They are built on the sides or along the bottom of the comb in
successive batches and are found in various stages of development.
• This occurs depending on the weather and the strength of the hive
and the swarming tendency of the bees.
Figure 3. Queen cells build on the bottom of a comb
Steps involved in swarming
1. Strong colonies develop the instinct of swarming
2. Development of drone brood and emergence of large number of
drones is first sign of swarming
3. New queen cells are built at the bottom of comb
4. When the queen cells are sealed after pupation the old queen
along with 1/3rd or half colony strength moves out of the hive
5. They first settle in a nearby bush and hang in a pendant cluster
6. The scout bees go in search of appropriate place for colonization
and later the entire colony moves to the suitable site
7. The first swarm which comes of the parent colony with the old
queen is called primary swarm
8. The new queen which emerges kills all other stages of queen
present inside the queen cell
9. Sometimes the new queen is not allowed to destroy stages of other
queens
10. In this case the new queen leaves the hive along with a group of
workers. This is called after swarm or cast.
B. Supersedure: When an old queen is unable to lay sufficient eggs,
or when she runs out of spermatozoa in her spermatheca, and lays
many unfertilized eggs from which only drones emerge she will be
replaced or superseded by supersedure queen.
• In this case one or 2 queen cells are constructed in the middle of
the comb and not at the bottom.
• At a given time both new and old queens are seen
simultaneously. Later the old queen disappears
Figure 4. Supersedure queen cell constructed in the middle of the comb.
C. Emergency queen: In the event of death of the queen, the eggs
(less than 2½ days old) in worker cells are selected and the cell
extended like a queen cell.
• It is fed with abundant royal jelly and converted into queen. In this
case, many queen cells are built in the middle of the comb.
• The first queen which comes out of the emergency queen cells
kills other stages of queen inside the cells and then goes for
mating.
• After mating they lay fertile eggs.
Figure 5. Emergency queen cells
• Emergency queen cells are distinguished from the queen cells of
supersedure or swarming by being raised in enlarged worker cells
on the comb face and are often smaller in size than queen cells
raised from queen cups.
D. Colony odor: Every colony has a specific odor. This is brought
about by scent fanning of secretion of vasanov gland present in last
abdominal segment of worker bees.
• The worker bees recognize colony odor and return to the same
hives.
• Hive temperature maintenance brought about by fanning of wings in
hot weather to reduce temperature.
• In cold weather they sit on the brood and prevent heat loss.
E. Division of labor: Each and every caste of bees has their own role
to play as described earlier. Queen controls colony with her queen’s
substance guarding the hive. The workers perform this duty by sitting
at hive entrance and preventing and stinging intrudes.
F. Royal fidelity or Blossom faithfulness- Bees restrict themselves to
a single source of pollen and nectar until it is available. Only if the
pollen and nectar from a plant species is exhausted they move to the
next plant species.
G. Communication in bees:
• Bees communicate using various pheromones; including the queen’s
substance, vasanov gland secretion, alarm pheromone emitted from
sting and secretion of tarsal gland.
• In addition, the bees also communicate by performing certain dances.

• For foraging, some scout bees set out in the morning. On locating good
sources of nectar (i.e. flowers) they return to their hive and perform
characteristic movements (bee dances) on the top of the hive.
• These dances communicate to the other worker bees the distance,
direction and quality of food sources to other foragers inside the hive.
The important types of dances are:

Round dance: is used to indicate a short distance (less than 50m in case of A.
mellifera).
• The bee runs in circles, first in one direction and then in opposite direction,
(clockwise and anticlockwise)

Tail wagging dance or Wag-tail dance. This is used to indicate long distance
(more than 50m in case of A. mellifera).
• Here the bee makes two half circles in opposite directions with a straight run
in between .
• Direction is given by the angle of the dance on the comb, distance by the
duration of the waggling, and quality by its vigor.
• During the straight run, the bee shakes (wags) its abdomen from
side to side, the number of wags per unit time inversely
proportional to the distance of the food (more the wags, less the
distance).
• The direction of food source is conveyed by the angle that the
dancing bee makes between its straight run and top of the hive
which is the same as between the direction of the food and
direction of the sun. The bees, can know the position of the sun
even if it is cloudy.
• Recruit workers that attend the dances are then able to find the
flora, even kilometers from the hive.
• This is how more and more worker bees are organized in food
gathering.
• The workers move from one flower to another flower, collect
nectar and pollen and return to their own nest against taking clue
from the position of sun as well as by certain amount of memory
and finally the smell of their own particular hive.
Figure 6. Communication in bees, Round dance (left) and Wag-tail
dance (right)
2.1.5 CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF BEEKEEPING
The pre-requisites which are considered must to start beekeeping are
as follows
• Knowledge and training on bee keeping
• Knowledge on local bee flora
• Sufficient local bee flora
• Knowledge of migratory bee keeping
 Apiary site requirements
Some of the requirements for bee keeping are:
a. Dry site without dampness- High relative humidity will affect bee
flight and ripening of nectar
b. Water - natural source/ artificial provision
c. Wind breaks - trees serve as wind belts in cool areas
d. Shade - hives can be kept under shade of trees or artificial
structures can also be constructed
e. Bee pasturage/ florae - plants that yield pollen/ nectar to bees
General apiary management practices
Hive inspection - Opening the hive at least twice a week and
inspecting for the presence of queen, eggs and brood, honey and
pollen storage; presence of bee enemies like wax moth, mite, disease
and hive record to be maintained for each hive.
ii. Expanding brood net - Done by providing comb foundation sheet
in empty frame during honey flow period.
iii. Sugar syrup feeding- Sugar dissolved in water at 1:1 dilution
used to feed bees during dearth period
iv. Supering (Addition of frames in super chamber)
- This is done when brood chamber is filled with bees on all frames
are covered
- Comb foundation sheet or constructed comb provided in super
chamber
Figure 9. Frame of brood cut into V shaped
v. Honey extraction
• Honey is best harvested after the peak of the bee season.
• The quality of honey changes during its production in the hive, so
the selection of which combs to harvest determines in part the
quality of the honey.
• When removing combs from the hive, application of too much
smoke should be avoided.
• It is important to separate combs before extraction, and harvesting
of full combs is preferred.
• It is better not to harvest combs that contain unripe honey, bee bread
and brood if pure honey with low moisture content is desired.
• Ripe honey contains glucose, fructose, approximately 18% water, a
small amount of hydrogen peroxide and is slightly acidic.
• Microbes will not grow in ripe honey.

• Separating combs with different honey colours and extracting the

honey separately will enable a beekeeper to diversify his or her
production.
• Honey in freshly built combs is often lighter in taste and color.
Extraction methods
• Honey can be separated from the comb in various ways: through
floating or dripping, pressing, or centrifugal extraction.
• The floating and dripping methods make use of differences in density.

• In the floating method, the wax floats to the surface and in the
dripping method the honey drips from the comb.
• Dripping, floating and hand pressing honeycombs are considered to
be traditional beekeeping methods, but if practiced well they can be
very effective and give good honey.
• Dripping and floating will often lead to higher moisture content,
especially in the rainy season.
• Before pressing, combs are wrapped with mesh material to retain the
wax particles.
• The honey extracted in this way is less clear than with dripping or
centrifuging.
• Plastic screening material and stainless steel sieves are better than cloth
as they are more hygienic and leave no (cloth) particles behind that may
serve as kernels for crystallisation.
• Centrifugal extraction using a centrifugal honey extractor is a good
method for movable combs from chambered hives or top-bar hives.
vi. Swarm management
- Remove brood frames from strong colony and provide to weak
- Pinch off the queen cells during inspection
- Divide strong colonies into 2 or 3
- Trap and hive primary swarm
Foraging - refers to collection of nectar and pollen by bees.
Nectar foragers
Collect nectar from flowers using lapping tongue then they passes the
nectar to hive bees. Hive bees repeatedly pass the nectar between
preoral cavity and tongue to ripen honey later drops into cell.
Pollen foragers
• The forager honey bees collect pollen by moving from flower to
flower.
• Pollen sticking to body removed using pollen comb and packed
using pollen press into corbicula (pollen basket on the hind leg).
• A single bee carries 10-30mg pollen (25% of bee’s weight) and
dislodge by middle leg into cell then mix with honey and store.
Qualities of honeybees as good pollinators
Some of the qualities which make honey bees good pollinators of
flowering plants are:
1. Their body covered with hairs and has structural adaptation for
carrying nectar and pollen
2. They are not injurious to plants
3. Adult and larva feed on nectar and pollen - available in plenty
4. Superior pollinators - since store pollen and nectar for future use
5. No diapause - need pollen throughout the year
6. Their body size and proboscis length - suitable for many crops
7. They pollinate wide variety of crops
2.1.6 Bee products- their properties and uses
Honey: Modified nectar collected by honey bees that is mostly
carbohydrate.
Pollen: The male floral part collected by honey bees that is mostly
protein.
Propolis: A mixture of resins and oils collected by bees from plants
used to “glue” hive parts together and patch holes.
Bees wax: The material that makes up the bee nest.
Royal Jelly: A high-protein food that is used to feed developing queens.
Venom: A mixture of compounds injected by bees for defensive
purposes.
Honey
• Honey bees collect nectar from flowers. Nectar is sugary water that
differs in composition per plant species.
• The forager bees bring the nectar in their honey stomachs to the
hive and give it to the hive bees.
• The hive bees process the nectar, thicken it and fill the cells of the
comb with it, where it ripens further into honey and then is sealed in
with a wax capping.
• Honey is a sweet, viscous fluid produced by honey bees.
• It is collected as nectar from nectaries at base of flower and also
collected from extra floral nectaries (nectar secreted by parts other
than flowers) and from fruit juice, cane juice etc.
• Honey in the comb contains small amounts of pollen, wax, propolis
and possibly also bee venom.
• The amount of these substances depends on how long the honey is
left in the comb.
• If the honey comes from combs previously used for brood, it will
contain propolis from the membranes of cocoons.
• However, only minimal amounts of pollen are contained in this
honey.
• Other particles that the flying bees have caught while in the air and
combed off with the pollen are also present in minimal amounts in
the honey.
Collection and ripening of honey
- Bee draws nectar by its tongue (proboscis)
- Regurgitated by field bees
- Collected by hive bees - Deposited in cells in comb
- Invertase converts sucrose into dextrose (glucose) and levulose
(fructose) - Nectar contains 20-40% sucrose
- Invertase is present in nectar itself and in saliva of honey
- Ripening of honey is by action of enzyme and by evaporation of
water by fanning of wings
Composition of fully ripened honey Percent
(approximately)
Levulose 41.0
Dextrose 35.0
Sucrose 1.9
Dextrins 1.5
Water 2.0
Minerals 17.0
Undetermined (enzymes, vitamins, pigments) 1.6
• Honey contains enzymes, i.e. biologically active substances from the bees’ saliva and
stomach fluid, as well as short proteins or oligopeptides.
• Pure honey has very little minerals, spore elements and vitamins.

 Physical properties of honey

1. Honey is hygroscopic. If exposed to air it absorbs moisture

2. Honey is a viscous fluid. Heating of honey reduces viscosity
3. Specific gravity of pure honey is 1.35 - 1.44 gms/cc
4. Refractive index of honey - helps to find moisture content measured using
refractometer
Purity test for honey
Measure specific gravity of honey using hydrometer (if the specific
gravity is between 1.25-1.44 it is pure honey)
Aroma and flavor of honey
- Acquired from the nectar of the flower
- Lost if heated or exposed to air for long time
Color of honey
1. Depends on the nectar of flower (plant species)
2. Darker honey has stronger flower
3. Lighter honey has more pleasant smell
Fermentation of honey
- Honey containing high moisture can ferment
- Sugar tolerant yeast present in honey cause fermentation
- Fermentation more at 11-21oC
- Fermentation leads to formation of alcohol and carbondioxide
- Alcohol later converted into acetic acid
- Fermented honey sour in taste due to acidity
- Heating honey to 64oC for 30 min destroys yeast and prevents
fermentation
Health value of honey
Properties
• Honey can be a lifesaver for people and animals in critical health.
• The simple sugars and especially the fructose content play an
important role.
• Honey is absorbed very quickly into the tissues. It contains small
amounts of other bee products such as pollen, bee milk, propolis
and bee venom.
• These products together have a healing effect on the throat, the
gastrointestinal tract, skin and body tissues.
• Glucose-oxydase is an enzyme that begins to produce hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2) when the honey is diluted with water, saliva or fluid
from a wound.
• This substance has a disinfecting effect. It is released slowly and is
therefore more effective and does not bite as much as a 3% solution
of hydrogen peroxide from a pharmacy.
• When honey is warmed the enzyme becomes denatured, so fresh,
raw honey is the most effective.
Uses
• Honey has traditionally been used to relieve the symptoms of asthma, hangovers
and for diabetic comas.
• It is known to help induce sleep and to improve physical performance. Fructose is
quickly absorbed by the tissues, without the intervention of the hormone insulin.
• Of course, this does not mean that honey can be added without caution to a
diabetic’s diet.
• Honey is thinned for use as a cough syrup or it is added to improve the syrup's
effectiveness.
• This is the most important use of honey in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

• The short proteins and propolis play an important role in the honey’s
effectiveness.
• Honey is also used for burns and other wounds because of its osmotic
cleansing effect and its healing properties.
• The hydrogen peroxide released when honey is thinned disinfects
wounds and stings a bit.
• To reduce this discomfort, the honey is mixed with an equal amount of
oil, butter or fat.
• As the wound heals, the percentage of fat is reduced.

• Because of the minimal amount of pollen contained in honey, it is eaten

to build up a resistance to hay fever or a pollen allergy.
Pollen
• Honey bees collect pollen from the stamens of flowers.
• The pollen sticks to the bee’s hairs while the bee is sucking nectar.
• The bee removes the pollen from its hairs using a comb on its
forelegs and adds some saliva to help roll it into a ball.
• The bee flies with these loads in the pollen baskets on its hind legs
to the beehive.
• House bees push these loads with their heads into the honeycomb
cells, together with a small amount of honey and saliva. The bees
then process this mixture and it ripens into bee bread.
• Pollen contains lipids, essential oils, vitamin E (tocopherol), carbohydrates,
peptides, short proteins or oligopeptides, amino acids, pantothenic acid,
anthocyanins, carotenoids, flavonoids, ferulic acids and enzymes as well as
many minerals such as iron, manganese, zinc and spore elements.
• Pollen is used for improving fertility, relieving the discomforts of oldage,
and combating the symptoms of menopause, an enlarged prostate,
listlessness and stress.
• Due to the high amounts of micronutrients contained in pollen, it is used by
athletes to optimize their diet.
• Dry pollen loads or pollen in the form of capsules or pills are also taken as
a remedy for hay fever, asthma, soar throats and colds. Because it is so
difficult to digest, pollen is a good remedy for intestinal problems.
Royal jelly
 The young bees add secretions from glands on their heads to the ingested
bee bread to make bee milk or royal jelly.
 They put this bee milk in cells that contain young larvae. The larvae of
worker bees, drones and the egg-laying female (the queen) eat these
products, which make them grow.
 The bee milk is made up of two components: a clear and a milky white
fluid.
 Royal jelly consists of approximately equal parts of these two, whereas the
bee milk for the drones and workers is made up mostly of the clear
component.
 The bees produce the most bee milk when they are a week old; after three
weeks the secretions stop and they go outside to collect nectar and pollen.
 For the production of royal jelly it is therefore important to have many
young bees in the colony.

Royal jelly is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B6, folic acid, inositol, pantothenic
acid, vitamin C and vitamin E .

It also contains peptides, lipids, sterols, aromatic oils, carbohydrates,

enzymes, anthocyanins, carotenoids, flavenoids, ferulic acids, as well as
minerals and spore elements from the bee bread.
 Royal jelly is acidic and tastes somewhat rancid, even if it is fresh.
It stays good for only a limited time (5 days) without refrigeration
or freezing, but it can be kept longer by mixing it with honey.

The acidic fraction royalisin makes royal jelly effective in

combating a broad spectrum of bacteria, but not fungi.

Royalisin contains gamma globulins, which are important amino

acids in the immune system.
• This fraction also contains 16% asparagin, which is needed for
tissue growth.
Royal jelly is recommended for stomach, liver and digestion
problems, high blood pressure, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue,
listlessness, insomnia, pregnancy, menopause, old-age problems,
convalescence and athletics.

Royal jelly can be viewed as a tonic to make you feel stronger,

healthier and less tired.
Beeswax
• Bees need wax to build their honeycomb nest.
• The building material and supply of energy for this activity is
honey.
• The bees sweat wax out of four pairs of glands on the underside of
their abdomens.
• Bees that are about ten days old sweat the most wax.
• While producing and building with wax, the bees eat and digest a
lot of honey.
• Beeswax is a natural product that consists of a number of insoluble
fractions. It is chemically inert.
• Beeswax does not dissolve in water; this makes it suitable for
waterproofing material but dissolve in organic solvents such as
benzene, ether or chloroform, as well as in fats and oils through
heating.
• The most important use of beeswax is in beekeeping itself, namely
for the production of artificial combs.
• Artificial comb foundation is made of moulded or pressed wax
sheets with cells imprinted on them that the bees very quickly and
economically (using very little honey) build into comb.
• Makers of musical instruments use beeswax because of its shaping,
gliding and tanning properties on wood and leather
• It is applied in woodworking, metal casting, printing presses, for
carbon paper, waterproofing of textiles and in the electro-technical
industry.
• It is also an important ingredient in polishing and furniture wax,
shoe polish, car wax and lubricants and metal polish.
Propolis
• Propolis is made by bees out of tree gums, glues, waxes and resins.
• These can be found around the flower buds and are excreted as
drops from the tree's bark if it is cut or cracked.
• The bees bring them on their hind legs, just like pollen, to the hive.
They mix them with their own wax and saliva.
• The bees use it to fill undesired holes or cracks in the walls of the
hive and they polish their cells as protection for the future brood.
• Bees also use propolis to adjust the size of the opening into the
hive. In a severe winter they will make it smaller.
• They also smear it on the inside of their hive and use it to stick
loose parts of the hive together.
• The potent components of propolis are flavonoids, ferulic acid,
resins, aromatic oils and carotenoids.
• Other ingredients include botanical waxes and beeswax (about
30%) and various other crude particles.
• The gums, resins and botanical waxes collected by the bees are
always from a mixture of tree species, each of which has its own
type of flavonoids.
• If a germ of a bacteria, mould, virus or yeast is encapsulated by
propolis, it will no longer be able to breath or take up water.
• The germ therefore shrinks and dies. This is an antibiotic effect and
the reason propolis is often called a natural antibiotic.
• Human skin and bones can also be strengthened by propolis.
Propolis enters the tissues through the skin and thus enhances the
healing of broken bones and muscle ailments, such as a bursa
infection.
• It is soothing to the skin and has a healing effect. When taken
internally, propolis cleanses the blood, that is, it actively scavenges
free radicals. Propolis also relieves pain when applied externally.
Bee venom
• Female bees, namely the worker bees or the queen, have a stinger on the
end of their abdomen that they can extend.
• The queen usually only uses this to lay eggs, but she can also sting with it.

• Worker bees do not lay eggs usually, but only sting with it. A drop of fluid,
the bee venom, hangs on the extended stinger.
• The stinger is also covered in barbs.

• The bee venom is made in the venom gland and is stored in a venom sac at
the base of the stinger.
• Bee venom dissolves in water but not in oil. Alcohol is harmful to bee
venom.
• When a bee stings, it pumps liquid venom through its stinger and injects it into
its victim.
• If a bee stings another bee or wasp, a lizard or a snake, it can retract its stinger.
However, due to its barbs the stinger stays in the skin of a person or other
mammal.
• The stinger continues to pump venom for 10 to 20 minutes, whereby only one
third of the venom from the venom sac is released.
• Most of the venom is released from the venom sac in the first minute.

• A bee or other insect can die from one sting and a chicken, horse or donkey
from a few stings, but a person can tolerate many more.
• This differs of course per person and depends on how often a person has been
stung before.
• Components of bee venom include, among many other substances,
mellitin (40-60%), phospholipase A (10-12%), apamine
(C79H131N31O24S4) (2-3%), MCD-peptide (2%), histamine (C5H9N3)
(1%).
• The effectiveness of Apis cerana venom is twice as high as that of
Apis mellifera, and the venom of Apis dorsata is about the same
strength as that of Apis mellifera.
• The venom of Apis florea is less potent. Stingless bees neither have
a stinger nor venom, but some species can bite and release
irritating substances into the victim’s skin.
• In non-allergic people, bee venom stimulates the blood supply to
the tissues and the permeability of the cell membranes.
• Blood vessels are widened and the blood pressure drops. Bee
venom also relaxes muscles and can reduce muscle pain by
dissolving the lactic acid in the tissues.
• A small amount of bee venom is stimulating, but too much can
cause heart palpitations and sleeplessness, comparable to the effect
of too much coffee.
• The production of more or less urine can also result.
2.1.7 Causes and symptoms of bee poisoning
Causes of poisoning:
• When pesticides are applied to crop during bloom.
• By drift of toxic chemicals onto non-target areas or bees contacting
residues of pesticides on plants for pollen and nectar
• Bees drinking or contacting contaminated water in watercourses .
• If the chemical is highly poisonous, the bees may get killed in or near the
field.
• If the chemical has delayed action the bees may reach their hives but die near
the entrance.
• Some of the worker bees may even enter the hive and store nectar and pollen
inside and thus, result in exposure of the nurse bees to the contaminated
pollen, carried by the foragers and stored in the comb.
• The resultant cumulative effect of the contaminated pollen may lead to
depletion of brood, death of young ones, nurse bees and other workers.
• Hence, not only the population of colony decreases substantially but also
results in contamination of bee products.
Symptoms of bee poisoning
1. Dead or dying bees near the entrance of hives.
2. Dead bees on the top of frames or bottom board.
3. Lack of recognition of guard bees.
4. General aggressiveness.
5. Fighting among bees at the entrance or inside of colonies.
6. Paralysed or stupefied bees crawling on nearby objects of the colony
and also on blades of the grass.
7. Sudden cessation of food storage and brood rearing.
8. Dead and deserted brood in the hive.
9. Poor recognition of pollen and nectar.
2.2 Sericulture
• Sericulture means cultivation of silkworms which finally produces
silk. Silk is the queen of textile and the naturally produced animal
fiber.
• Sericulture provides substantial contributions to a number of
national economies while preserving the centuries-old history and
tradition of many countries.
• It is beneficial to the rural population in climatically suitable
agricultural sectors because it provides either a primary or
secondary source of income for many workers, regardless of age
and gender.
• Silk is produced only by arthropods, and specifically by members
of the classes Arachnida, Insecta and Myriapoda.
• It is produced by special glands (generally modified salivary
glands) in the larvae of some Lepidoptera, and by other structures
in some immature and adults of mites and spiders.
• Silk is a smooth, shining, fabulous and unique natural fiber
produced by several species of silkworms.
• It is an animal fiber produced by certain insects to build their
cocoons and webs.
• Although many insects produce silk, only the filament produced by
the mulberry silk moth, Bombyx mori, and a few others in the same
genus, is used by the commercial silk industry.
• Silk naturally produced to provide shelter (as in cocoons in
Lepidoptera insects or retreat silks in spiders), to provide structural
support (as in egg stalks in Neuroptera insects or egg sac suspension
threads in spiders), to aid in reproduction (as in restriction of female
movement during mating by Thysanoptera insects or production of
sperm webs by male spiders).
• Silk is used in foraging, as in underwater nets for prey capture by
Trichoptera (insects) or aerial nets (spiders).
• It is also used to aid dispersal of neonate larvae in Lepidoptera
(insects) or neonate spider lings (spiders).
• Silks are fibrous proteins that are stored as a liquid and formed into
fibers when “spun” at secretion.
• Insects produce many types of silk proteins, though each species
produces only one type.
• In contrast, spiders produce a number of types of silk, and each
individual is capable of producing several types.
(A) Larvae of Bombyx mori feeding on mulberry
B) Larva begin spinning cocoon

Cocoon of Bombyx mori

 Unit 3
Insects of medical and veterinary importance
• Insect vectors transmit pathogens from a diverse group of host
animals (mice, rats, monkeys, birds, prairie dogs, pigs, etc.) to
humans.
• Some harbor reservoirs of pathogens over periods less conducive
to transmission (winters, dry seasons).
• Vectors are facilitators of many dangerous disease-causing
organisms, the prevention and treatment of which cannot be
effective for long without addressing the vector directly.
• The biting Diptera are two-winged flying insects that suck blood
from humans and animals.
• In many parts of the world their biting is a considerable nuisance.
More importantly, they are carriers of a number of diseases, mostly
in the tropics, causing illness and death on a large scale.
• The most important group of biting Diptera is the mosquitoes, which
have a long, slender body and long, needle-shaped, piercing
mouthparts.
• Others include the black flies, phlebotomine sandflies, tsetse flies,
biting midges, horseflies (tabanids) and stable flies, which generally
have shorter biting mouthparts and more robust bodies.
 3.1 Culicidae (Mosquitoes)
• Mosquitoes are probably the most important insects. There are
more than 3,000 species of the family Culicidae.
• Mosquitoes live in humid tropics and subtropics, warm moist
climates, temperate and cool zones, everywhere except areas that
are permanently frozen.
• Both male and female accept nectar. Males and females are
distinguishable by the plumose antennae of the male and the circles
of short hairs (pilose antennae) on the female.
• The adults and immature stages are anatomically different, reside in
different habitats terrestrial and aquatic, respectively, and obtain
nutrients from entirely different sources of food.
• Temporary water, lacking predaceous insects and fish, is often a
prerequisite for mosquito abundance.
• Mosquitoes can cause injury by nuisance biting, by blood removal,
and by transmission of diseases, particularly viruses and protozoa.
• Female mosquitoes feed on animals and humans .
• Most species show a preference for certain animals or for humans.
• They are attracted by the body odours, carbon dioxide and heat
emitted from the animal or person.
• Some species prefer biting at certain hours, for example at dusk and
dawn or in the middle of the night.
• Feeding usually takes place during the night but daytime biting also
occurs.
Figure 11. Female mosquito engorged with blood meal
• Some species prefer to feed in forests, some outside of houses and
others indoors.
• Because digestion of the blood-meal and development of the eggs
takes several days, a blood-fed mosquito looks for a safe resting
place that is shaded and offers protection from desiccation.
• Some species prefer to rest in houses or cattle sheds, while others
prefer to rest outdoors, on vegetation or at other natural sites.
• Mosquitoes do not usually bite while eggs are developing.
Disease transmission
• Among the mosquitoes there are two groups that suck human blood
and may transmit disease.
• The anophelines; the genus Anopheles is best known for its role in
transmitting malaria, but in some areas it can also transmit filariasis
which can cause elephantiasis.
The culicines, which include the following genera:
Culex: vectors of filariasis and some viral diseases
Aedes: vectors of dengue, yellow fever and other viral diseases,
and sometimes of filariasis
• Anopheline and Culicine mosquitoes can be distinguished from
each other in that, in anopheline mosquitos:
• the length of the palps is equal to that of the proboscis while at rest
they usually keep their mouthparts and abdomen in a straight line
at an angle to the resting surface

Control methods
• Mosquito control is achieved within an Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) system by addressing each of the core
elements of mosquito management namely:
• Sanitation- removing food, water and shelter
• Habitat disruption- draining the water where mosquitoes breed
• Biological control- using mosquito fish, nematodes, and Bacillus
thuringiensis israeliensis toxin and Bacillus sphaericus
• Mechanical control- maintaining window screens and altering
building designs
• Personal protection- wearing protective, light colored, loose-fitting
clothing; using repellents;
• ITNs and avoiding activities in areas when mosquitoes are active
• Chemical suppression- using insecticides against adults and/or larvae
indoor and outdoor.
3.2 Psychodidae (Sand flies)
• Sand flies are found in various habitats, ranging from semi-desert to
rainforest.
• They deposit their eggs in humid places on damp soil rich in humus.
The larvae feed on decaying organic matter.
• Examples of suitable breeding sites are small cracks and holes in the
ground, the ventilation shafts of termite hills, animal burrows, cracks
in mud walls and masonry, and among tree roots.
• Large populations of sand flies can build up in family compounds
where cattle are kept at night.
• The cattle provide an abundant source of blood, while the stables
and houses provide suitable resting places.
• Sand flies have a hairy appearance, conspicuous black eyes and
long, stilt-like legs. They have a characteristic hopping flight with
many short flights and landings.
• The adult sand flies are weak fliers and usually stay within a few
hundred meters of their breeding places.
• As a result, biting is restricted to areas where suitable breeding sites
occur. In contrast to all other biting Diptera, the wings are held
erect over the body when at rest.

Figure 12. Adult sand fly

• Most biting occurs outdoors but a few species also feed indoors.
• Most species are active at dawn and dusk and during the night, but
in forests and dark rooms they may also attack in the daytime,
especially if disturbed by human activities.
• They usually rest in the daytime in sheltered, dark and humid sites,
such as those used for breeding, but also in tree holes, caves, houses
and stables; other resting places near houses are crevices in walls,
stacks of firewood, bricks and rubbish.
• Because of their short mouthparts they cannot bite through clothing.
Their bodies are so small (3 mm) that they are hard to detect until
after they begin biting.
• Biting sand flies are responsible for acute discomfort, irritation and
severe local reactions.
• Itching may commence immediately after the bite, but often not for
some hours later, and most individuals are unaware of being bitten
at the time.
• The whole life cycle takes 3-10 weeks, dependent on species and
environmental conditions, particularly temperature.
• Only female sand flies feed on blood, but both the females and
males will feed on vegetable fluids and nectar.
• Female sand flies may attack humans in large numbers, biting on
any areas of exposed skin, and often on the face, scalp and hands.
Some species are blood feed on a wide range of animal hosts.
• Phlebotomine sand flies transmit leishmaniases, a vector borne
disease.
• The Leishmania parasites develop to an infective form inside the
gut of sand fly and are injected together with saliva in to a
mammalian host during blood feeding.
• In general, infections with these parasites can be divided into three
main forms of leishmaniasis; namely, cutaneous (CL),
mucocutaneous (MCL) and visceral (VL) (or kala azar)
leishmaniasis.
 Control of sand flies
• Personal protection will help in reducing exposure to their bites.
Avoid localities, especially at dawn and dusk, that are known to be
frequented by biting sand flies; wear protective clothing (long
sleeves/pants), and apply a repellent to exposed skin.
• In addition to these ITNs can be used during the night time to
protect their biting.
 3.3 Simulidae (Black flies)
• Black flies are small insects, best known for their economic impact as
biting and nuisance pests of humans and domestic animals.
• Black flies breed abundantly in flowing freshwater rivers and
streams throughout the world.
• Within this vast area, they are absent only from deserts and islands
without flowing water.
• The female black fly typically deposits its eggs either by dipping to
the water’s surface during flight to release a few eggs at a time, or by
crawling about on wetted vegetation and stones while releasing
masses or strings of eggs.
• The larval stage, including six or seven instars, lasts from about a
week to six months, depending on the species and water
temperature.
• Pupation occurs in flowing water, with a silken cocoon anchoring
the pupa to the substrate.
• The immature stages often attain large populations and play an
important role in the food web of streams and rivers.
• Adults are readily recognized by their arched thorax, cigar-shaped
antennae and strong venation at the anterior margin of each wing .
• Both male and female black flies feed on water and a source of
carbohydrate, such as floral nectar and honeydew that fuel their flight
activities.
• Only females feed on blood for egg development.

• Unlike mosquitoes, black flies feed by slashing through the skin, and they
never feed indoors.
• They can attack in such large numbers that their salivary fluids alone can
cause a person to become ill, causing a condition called “black fly fever.”
• They also vector a nematode that can live in the human body for up to
fifteen years destroying tissue in internal organs, most notably in the eye
thereby causing blindness.
Figure 12. Female adult black fly
• Onchocerciasis is a dangerous non-fatal filarial infection which
causes blindness, life- long human suffering and grave socio-
economic problems.
• The disease is an insect borne infection, caused by a parasite
called Onchocerca volvulus and transmitted by black flies of the
species Simulium damnosum complex.
• Onchocerciasis is commonly called river blindness, because the
black flies which transmit the disease abound in riverine areas.
Figure 13. Eye lesion from worm infection
• A well-tolerated drug, ivermectin, can kill the microfilaria and
temporarily inhibit the ability of the adult female worms to
reproduce.
• Apart from the disease transmission, the painful bites of the
insect in many riverine areas are intolerable nuisance and could
sometimes lead to blood loss and serve as portal for viruses,
bacteria, protozoa and nematodes which the flies may carry on
their bodies or exist in the environment.
 Control method
• Eliminating the immature vectors from the breeding sites in
rivers with insecticides is one of the methods used to control black
flies.
• Black flies bite only outdoors and during daylight hours, so bed
nets are not useful in preventing exposure. The repellents that
work on mosquitoes, however, are generally effective against
black flies.
 3.4 Ceratopogonidae (Biting Midges or Culicoides)
• They are easily distinguished by the female’s biting mouthparts,
their short forelegs and characteristic venation on their membranous
wings.
• larvae are aquatic or semi-aquatic. They are found in a variety of
environments, such as mud, salt-marsh, compost and leaf litter.
• Some of the most important veterinary species breed in damp ground
contaminated to a degree with animal excreta and other organic
matter.
• The slender larvae are primarily pale, sometimes with thoracic
markings.
Figure 14:Biting Midges
• Culicoides species biting midges are most important as vectors of
a number of serious livestock pathogens, including African horse
sickness virus and bluetongue virus.
• In addition, they transmit a variety of filarial worms, infecting a
range of animals, including birds, cattle and horses.
• Overall, pathogen transmission to man by biting midges appears
to be minimal, although they do transmit several species of filarial
worms in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
• The annoyance and discomfort they cause can influence outdoor
activities significantly and directly affect the local economies,
particularly when they rely heavily on tourism.
• When bitten, the skin reaction of humans is usually mild,
including temporary burning and slight swelling.
• More sensitive individuals, however, can develop blisters and
extreme inflammation of the skin.
• In a very few cases, extreme allergies can lead to hospitalization.
Scarring and secondary infection may occur if bites are scratched.
 Control methods
- Application of chemical to larval and adult stages.
- Environmental manipulation like shade removal and draining or
land-filling breeding sites in salt marshes.
- The use of personal repellents can give a degree of protection
against biting midges and indeed, this is generally assumed to be the
best line of defense.
- Traps are used mainly as population monitoring devices for
Culicoides species, although over limited areas, they can offer a
degree of control.
 3.5 Tabanidae (Horse flies and deer flies)
• Members of this family have large eyes; the females are dioptic
(eyes widely separated) and the males are holoptic (eyes
contiguous).
• Only females feed on blood to mature their eggs, while both sexes
feed on nectar sources that provide carbohydrates.
• Males cannot bite because they lack mandibles.

• Blood-seeking adults can be severe pests of humans as well as

animals.
• Generally, the eggs are deposited in layers on vegetation or other
objects hanging over the water.
• Newly hatched larvae will drop immediately into the water and
burrow into the mud to feed upon organic matter.
• Developmental habitats for most horse flies and deer flies are
primarily aquatic to semi-aquatic.
• However, some species of horse fly larvae can develop in open
pastures or rotted logs.
Figure 15. Adult Tabanidae, horse fly (left) and deer fly with vertical
dark bands on the wing (right)
• Horse flies and deer flies have been incriminated in the transmission of
a number of protozoan, helminthic, bacterial and viral organisms
that cause human and/or animal disease.
• Most disease causing organisms are transmitted by the contaminated
mouthparts of the fly.
• Several species of horse flies (Tabanus sp.) have been incriminated in
the transmission of Trypanosoma evansi in Africa, southern Asia and
Central and South America. This protozoan is frequently fatal to
horses, camels and dogs, although it appears to be non-pathogenic to
cattle and buffaloes.
• Certain species of deerflies from the genus Chrysops can transmit the
African eye worm, Loa loa, to humans.
 Control methods
• Currently, there are no effective long-term methods to control horse fly and deer
fly populations.
• Because tabanids are attracted to movement, it is possible to lure and trap them
with suspended dark spherical objects such as black beach balls coated with an
adhesive.
 3.6 Glossinidae (Tsetse flies)
• Tsetse flies are bloodsucking flies of the genus Glossina.

• They are found only in Africa where they range discontinuously from
coast to coast, limited primarily by environmental and ecological
factors.
• They infest 37 countries and about 10 million km2 of sub- Saharan
Africa.
• Their negative impact on the potential for economic development is
immense.
• They are important as vectors of African trypanosomiasis in both
humans and animals.
• Adult female tsetse fly depositing fully developed larva.
• All species of tsetse flies are larviparous, not laying eggs but
producing living young that have been nurtured in the uterus of the
female fly for several days.
• They deposit only one offspring at a time and, even though the adults
occasionally survive for as long as 90–100 days in nature, their biotic
potential is quite low compared to that of other dipteran species.
• The larvae usually burrow into the soil or other suitable substrate,
where they pupate and develop for 3–4 weeks or more before
emerging as adults
 Adult female tsetse fly

Figure 16. Adult female tsetse fly

• Tsetse flies are robust, 6–15 mm in length, and can be distinguished
from other biting flies by their forward-pointing mouthparts
(proboscis) and characteristic wing venation.
• Common risk areas where people are likely to be bitten by tsetse
flies are: on forest trails, near water collection points in forests, in
vegetation close to bathing and water collection sites along the
banks of rivers, in vegetation surrounding villages, sacred forests or
forests on cemeteries, forest edges surrounding plantations (e.g. of
coffee or cacao) and savanna habitats (morsitans group).
• Tsetse flies have a significant impact on human activities because
they are obligatory blood feeders (both male and female) and
they transmit blood parasites of the genus Trypanosoma, which
cause African sleeping sickness.
• When untreated or treated too late, sleeping sickness is a fatal
disease.
• Because many tsetse species feed on humans and domestic
animals, as well as on the wild animals that serve as reservoirs of
the parasites, the potential for transmission can be very high.
• Two different types of human sleeping sickness are caused by different
subspecies of trypanosome parasites: gambiense sleeping sickness (caused by
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense) is generally considered to be a chronic
disease.

• Two different types of human sleeping sickness are caused by different

subspecies of trypanosome parasites: gambiense sleeping sickness
(caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense) is generally considered to
be a chronic disease and is found mostly in West and Central Africa;
rhodesiense sleeping sickness (caused by Trypanosoma brucei
rhodesiense) is an acute disease that occurs mainly in East Africa.
 Control methods
• Vector control is complicated by such a wide distribution of the
flies, which usually are found in broad belts that are more or less
continuous and often cross international boundaries.
• They can be difficult to detect in areas where the fly populations
are advancing or at low density.
• Furthermore, there are over 20 distinct vector species, although
not all are important vectors and often several species co-exist in
the same areas.
• Glossina species are extremely susceptible to insecticides.

• Aerial applications of insecticides with very low rates may affect them.
• But the broad spread application of pesticides has given way to the use
of attractants and trapping to expose the flies to spot treatments of
pesticides.
• Both visual and olfactory components are involved in tsetse host-
seeking behavior.
• Animal emanations attractive to tsetse flies were found to be highly
effective for trapping several species of tsetse, especially when
combined with suitable visual attractants.
• By utilizing a persistent insecticide in conjunction with attractant
devices (traps and screens), significant population reductions can
be achieved in a matter of months.
• SIT was used to eliminate Glossina austeni from the main island
in Zanzibar, the inhibition of natural reproduction after reducing
fly density by trapping is an environmentally friendly method of
control that has potential application for most of Africa.
 3.7 Muscidae and Fanniidae

3.7.1 Muscidae (House flies and stable flies)

• Female house flies (Musca domestica) are attracted to a variety
of decomposing materials for egg laying, such as horse manure,
poultry dung, urine contaminated bedding, decomposing organic
materials found in rubbish dumps, house hold garbage and waste
foods from kitchens and hotels. The eggs hatch after only 6-12
hours, but can be extended in cool weather.
Figure 16. Musca domestica adult(left) stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans )
• The cylindrical-oval eggs are white, and 1.0–1.2 mm long. Eggs
typically are laid in clusters, often numbering 75–150 eggs per cluster.
• A female normally deposits 2–6 clusters of eggs during her life span.
Maximum egg production occurs at intermediate temperatures, 25–
30°C. Often, several flies will deposit their eggs in close proximity,
leading to large masses of larvae and pupae.
• Eggs must remain moist or they will not hatch. Egg hatch usually
occurs within 8-20hr.
• Due to its rapid development time and high reproductive capacity, the
house fly has the capacity to increase in abundance rapidly.
• The larvae are creamy white, cylindrical, legless, and taper to a point
at the head.
• The head of larval house flies, like most maggots, have dark mouth
hooks.
• There are three larval instars. The optimal temperature for larval
development is 35–38°C, though larval survival is greatest at 17–32°C.
• Larvae complete their development in 4–13 days at optimal
temperatures, but require 14–30 days at temperatures of 12–17°C.
• The house flies can be vectors of helminthes, faecal bacteria,
protozoans and viruses, results in the spread of such enteric
diseases as dysenteries and typhoids, where as the stable flies can
cause a biting nuisance.
• House flies transmit disease to human through three routes: By
flies contaminated feet, body hairs and mouthparts, by flies
vomiting on food during feeding, which they do frequently and by
defecation, which often occur on food.
• The stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans ), sometimes referred to as the
dog fly or the biting house fly, is primarily a pest of cattle.
• This species closely resembles a house fly, but possesses
piercing-sucking instead of sponging mouthparts.
• The eggs are laid on decayed vegetation, or vegetation mixed
with cattle feces and/or urine. Improperly composted vegetative
materials or decomposing grass clippings that remain wet can
provide adequate developmental medium for stable flies in
residential areas.
• Both sexes of the stable fly feed on blood 2–3 times per day from
a variety of warm-blooded animals including humans.
• Because stable flies feed on blood, they are capable of transmitting
pathogenic organisms that cause anthrax, brucellosis, and equine
infectious anemia to a variety of their animal hosts.

Figure 17. Adult stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans)

 3.7.2 Fanniidae (lesser house flies and latrine flies)
• Flies of the genus Fannia resemble house flies but are rather
smaller and readily distinguished from house flies and other similar
flies by their wing venation and antennae.
• The lesser house flies deposit their eggs on people’s food, urine
soaked bedding of humans and animals, compost heaps, decaying
piles of grass, human and animal excreta and in poultry litter.
 3.8 Hippoboscidae and Calliphoridae
• The Hippoboscidae (louse flies or keds) resemble tsetse flies in
several ways and the two probably are sister groups. However, in
contrast to tsetse flies, which are strong fliers, hippoboscids rarely
fly (indeed, some shed their wings after settling on a host).
• They mainly parasitize birds but include some ungulates
(Melophagus ovinus, the sheep ked is a major pest) and other
mammals among their hosts.
• Calliphoridae of medical or veterinary importance include the
sheep blow flies (Lucilia species), the screwworms (Cochliomyia
species), and bluebottles (Calliphora species), which are vectors
of human diseases.
• Closely related to the Calliphorids are the Sarcophagidae (flesh
flies), whose larvae feed on decaying animal tissue or are true
parasites of arthropods, mollusks, or annelids.
 3.9 Myiasis
• Feed on the host’s dead or living tissue, liquid body substances, or
ingested food. Myiasis begins when gravid female flies are
attracted by the odors of infested wounds, decaying organic matter,
feces, urine, and human food, where they deposit larvae or eggs.
Dermal or subdermal myiasis
In this condition, larvae are found between the epidermis and dermis.
• Invasion of animal or human skin tissues by the larvae causes
tunnels or boils in the dermal layers, and the flies may invade and
enlarge existing wounds, or even form wounds themselves.
• This condition has also been called foruncular, traumatic or
cutaneous myiasis.
• Flies in the families of Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae produce
dermal and subdermal myiasis.
 Creeping Myiasis
Larvae of Oestridae also can create a condition called creeping
myiasis. These are able to move long distances within the host’s
body, and typically are found in different positions.
The following arrangement has the fly species sorted by site of larval
development:
Ocular Myiasis
The eye is invaded by Oestrus ovis, Rhinoestrus purpureus,
Megaselia scalaria, Wolfahrtia magnifica and Sarcophaga carnaria.
Urogenital, Anal and Vaginal Myiasis
• Flies associated with these tissues are W. magnifica, S. carnaria and
Sarcophaga haemorrhoidalis.
Intestinal Myiasis
• This is caused by Gasterophilus species developing in the digestive
tract of horses.
Nasal Fossae (nostrils), Mouth, Frontal Sinuses Myiasis and Surface
of Brain.
Flies associated with these tissues are W. magnifica, S. carnaria,
Calliphora vomitoria, O. ovis and R. purpureus, Cephalopina
titillator.
 Unit 4
Insect pests- categories and causes for outbreak
categories of pests

A. Based on occurrence (season and locality)

Regular pest: - Frequently occurs on crop
- Close association with a particular crop
- e.g., fruit borer , Rice stem borer
Rice stem borer
 Seasonal pest: Occurs during a particular season

every year

- e.g. Red hairy caterpillar on groundnut, Mango

hoppers
Persistent pests: Occurs on the crop throughout the year
- difficult to control.
- e.g. Chilli thrips, mealy bug on guava

Sporadic pests: Pest occurs in isolated localities during

some period.
- e.g. Coconut slug caterpillar
B. Based on level of infestation

Epidemic Pest : Sudden outbreak of a pest in a

severe form in a region at a particular time

Endemic pest: Occurrence of the pest in a low

level in few pockets, regularly and confined to
particular area.
Parameters of insect population levels :
(i) Key pest
• Most severe and damaging pests !!
• Persistent pests!!
• GEP always lies above EIL
• Spray temporarily bring population
below EIL
• The environment must be changed to
bring GEP below EIL
e.g. Cotton bollworm, Diamond backmoth
(ii) Major pest
the population frequently crosses
EIL, GEP lies very close to EIL or
coincides with EIL
Human intervention may bring
the population temporarily below
EIL
necessitate repeated control
measures to minimize damage
Economic damage can be
prevented by timely and repeated
sprays e.g. Cotton jassid, Rice stem
(iii) Minor pests
Usually GEP is below the EIL
Rarely cross EIL and fluctuates
around ETL.
They are easily amenable to
available control measures
Can be controlled by spraying
e.g. Cotton stainers, Rice hispa, Ash
weevils
(iv) Sporadic pests

GEP generally below EIL

Sometimes it crosses EIL

and cause severe loss in
some places/periods

e.g. Sugarcane pyrilla,

White grub, Hairy
caterpillar.
(v) Potential pests
Under normal condition do not
cause any economic damage.
But, opportunistically use any
change occur in the ecosystem to
cause economic damage ( GEP
always less than EIL)
If environment changed may
cause economic loss
 CAUSES OF PEST OUTBREAK

• Activity of human beings (human interventions) upsets the biotic balance of

ecosystem is the prime cause for pest outbreak.

Reason for outbreak:

i. Deforestation or bringing forest area under cultivation

• Pest feeding on forest trees are forced to feed on crops

• Biomass/unit area more in forests than agricultural land

• Weather factors also altered - affects insect development

ii. Destruction of natural enemies

• Due to excess use of insecticides, natural enemies are killed

• This affects the natural control mechanism and pest outbreak occurs,

e.g. Synthetic pyrethroid insecticides kill natural enemies.

192
iii. Intensive and Extensive cultivation
• Monoculture (Intensive) leads to multiplication of pests.

• Extensive cultivation of susceptible variety in large area:

- No competition for food - multiplication increases

e.g. Stem borers in rice and sugarcane

iv. Introduction of new varieties and crops.

• Varieties with favorable physiological and morphological factors cause
multiplication of insects.

e.g. Succulent, dwarf rice varieties favour leaf folder

• Combodia cotton favours stem weevil and spotted bollworm
• Hybrid sorghum, cumbu favour shoot flies and gall midges

193
v. Improved agronomic practices
• Increased N fertilizer - High leaf folder incidence on rice
• Closer planting - leaf folder increases

vi. Introduction of new pest in new environment

• Pest multiplies due to absence of natural enemies in new area
• Apple wooly aphid Eriosoma lanigerum multiplied fast due to absence of Aphelinus
mali (Parasite)
vii. Accidental introduction of pests from foreign countries
(through air/sea ports) e.g.
a. Diamond back moth on cauliflower (Plutella xylostella)
b. Potato tuber moth Phthorimaea operculella
 c. Cottony cushion scale Icerya purchasi on wattle tree

d. Wooly aphid - Eriosoma lanigerum on apple

e. Psyllid - Heteropsylla cubana on subabul

f. Spiralling whitefly - Adeyrodichus dispersus on most of

horticultural crops

viii. Large scale storage of food grains

• Serve as reservoir for stored grain pests

• Urbanisation - changes ecological balance

195
ix. Resurgence of sucking pests
• Insecticides applied for the control of one pest may tend to offer
physiological conditions favorable for rapid multiplication of some
sucking insects
x. Climatic factors of a particular locality
• The environmental factors, when they are favorable, cause pest
out break.

196
 Losses caused by pests
• Loss is a measurable decrease of the crop which may be quantitative or
qualitative.
• Quantitative loss - is a physical loss of substance as shown by a
reduction in weight or volume.
- It is the form of loss that can most readily be
measured and valued.
• Qualitative loss - is more difficult to assess and is perhaps best identified
through comparison with well defined standards.
E.g. Nutritional loss and loss of seed are both aspects of quality losses.
• Losses can also be categorized on the basis of cause into three classes:
Mechanical damage, physiological damage (storage disorders), and
biological damage (insect and pathogen diseases) 197
Type of losses caused by pests
• Pests can cause several losses that can be expressed in terms of the
following parameters;
• Attainable yield: Maximum yield that can be obtained with best
production techniques.
• Actual yield: Specific yield obtained with current cultivation
and plant protection practices at the farm level
• Crop loss: crop loss is measured as the difference between actual
yield and attainable yield due to the effects of one or
more pests
• Direct loss: it refers to the decrease in productivity
(quantitative) or value or acceptability of the
product (quantitative)
198
• Indirect loss: Decreased in purchasing power of farmers due to
reduced production
Yield loss assessment
• The primary aim of a yield loss assessment is
– to determine the type of relationship that may exist between pest
infestation and yield.

• The amount of yield loss due to pest depends on the pest intensity and
types of pest damage.
• The intensity of pest attack can be described as the product of three
effects. 1. The numbers of the pest present,
2. their developmental stage and
3. the duration of pest attack
199
4.6 Pest Surveillance
I. Pest Forecasting
Forecasting of pest incidence or outbreak based on information
obtained from pest surveillance.
Uses
 Predicting pest outbreak which needs control measure.
 Suitable stage at which control measure gives maximum
protection.

200
Two types of pest forecasting
a. Short term forecasting - Based on 1 or 2 seasons
b. Long term forecasting - Based on effect of weather parameters on
pest.
Pest surveillance
• Pest surveillance refers to the constant watch on the population
dynamics of pests, its incidence and damage on each crop at fixed
intervals to forewarn the farmers to take up timely crop protection
measures.

201
There are three basic components of pest surveillance. These are:
• Determination of the level of incidence of the pest species
• Determination of the loss caused by the incidence
• Determination of the economic benefits, the control will provide

Objectives of Pest Surveillance

• to know existing and new pest species
• to assess pest population and damage at different growth stage of crop
• to study the influence of weather parameters on pests
• to study changing pest status (minor to major)
• to assess natural enemies and their influence on pests.

202
 Uses of pest surveillance
• Surveillance is important for predicting pest outbreaks.
• The degree of success of the plant protection measures will largely
depend upon effective pest surveillance and monitoring programs.
• By sampling immature stages of insect/pests, it is possible to
forecast the numbers of pests expected in the later stages and spray
dates are determined so that the first larvae are destroyed.

203
 Sampling Techniques
• Absolute sampling - To count all the pests occurring in a plot
• Relative sampling - Measure pest in terms of some values which can
be compared over time and space. E.g. Light trap catch, Pheromone
trap.

204
 Unit 6
Pesticide and the Environment
• Pesticides, chemical substances used to kill pests, may be more
specifically categorized by the group of organisms they are
designed to control.
• For example, herbicides are used to kill plants, rodenticides are
used to kill rodents, and insecticides are used to kill insects.
• Herbicides are the leading type of pesticide, in terms of both user
expenditures and volumes used.

205
• Insecticides can be classified or grouped by their chemical
structure, mode of entry into the insect, toxicity, or mode of action.
• The most common method of classification employed by
insecticide toxicologists is chemical structure. By this method,
insecticides with a similar chemical framework or design are
grouped together.

206
• Pesticides are important to control pests.
• Even if they are useful to reduce the pest population, if they are not
handled properly they may leads to severe damage on the
environment.
• Now a days one of the problem for application of pesticide is the
development of resistance to pesticides by the pest population.
• With this regard, introduction of new pesticides and their
application need great care.

207
 Categories of insecticides
a) Organochlorines
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Group
b) Organophosphates
Derived from phosphoric acid, this is the most toxic group of
insecticides. These large groups of insecticides replaced the
organochlorines and include Malathion, Parathion, Dimethoate
C) Carbamates

Carbamates are derivatives of carbamic acid (CO 2NH3). As with the

organophosphates, these insecticides are also anticholinesterases.
208
 D) Pyrethroids
Pyrethroids are synthetic chemicals modeled after the botanical
insecticide pyrethrum, an organic extract of Chrysanthemum
cinerariaefolium (Compositae) flower heads.
E) Insect Growth Regulators
• This group is comprised of a diverse group of chemical compounds
with varying molecular structures.
• However, they are grouped together here because they all affect
insect growth in some manner.

209
 F) Juvenoids
• Compounds that mimic the juvenile hormone of insects include
Methoprene and Hydroprene.
• These juvenoids keep the insect in its immature form which
prevents the production of future generations and often results in
death from conflicting hormonal messages during ecdysis to the
adult stage.

210
G) Ecdysone Agonists
These chemicals mimic the action of the insect hormone ecdysone and
thus induce premature molting.
D) Chitin Synthesis Inhibitors (CSI)
The chitin synthesis inhibitors include Benzoylphenyl ureas
(Diflubenzuron, Chlorflurazuron, Teflubenzuron, Hexaflumuron, and
Novaluron) and buprofezin.

211
 Impact of pesticides
• Uncontrolled pesticide use can lead to several unintended and
harmful environmental effects.
• These include contamination of soil and water, pesticide drift,
effects on non-target organisms, disruption of natural pest controls
leading to pest resurgence and resistance.

212
 Soil contamination
• The use of pesticides and their accumulation in the soil can kill
and severely reduce the essential soil macro- and microorganisms,
including earthworms, insects, spiders, mites, fungi, essential
mycorrhizae, and bacteria, thus reducing or stopping important
nutrient cycling.
• Accidental spills on soil, which are usually associated with
pesticide mixing and loading operations can result in localized but
severe soil contamination if not contained and dealt with rapidly
and adequately.

213
 Effects on surface and ground water
• The intense use of pesticides in agriculture or disease vector
management can lead to the contamination of surface and ground
water.
• Water runoff resulting from heavy rainfall can transport pesticides
and their toxic metabolites to distant places located downstream,
contaminating lakes, reservoirs, ponds and estuaries, and
adversely affecting aquatic organisms.

214
• Discarding pesticides, washing spray equipment, or rinsing empty
pesticide containers in or near streams and rivers can cause similar
damage.
Pesticide drifts
When pesticide is being sprayed, poor aim or a light breeze can cause
it to drift away from its intended target. Insecticide drift can be deadly
to non-target organisms, including beneficial insects, spiders and
mites. Pesticide drift can also expose people to risks associated with
such chemicals. Spraying against the wind can poison the person
applying the pesticide. Similarly, drifting herbicide can damage non-
target crops and native vegetation within reach. 215
iv) Effects on non-target organisms
Broad-spectrum insecticides not only destroy target insect pests but
also destroy the predators and parasitoids that feed naturally on them.
Pollinators and insect pests’ natural enemies (parasitoids and
predators) are especially vulnerable to pesticides—often more so
than the pests. Most pesticides are also highly toxic to birds, fish,
lizards, snakes, frogs, toads and other arthropods.

216
Pesticide resistance is a genetically based phenomenon. Resistance
occurs when a pest population like insects, for instance is exposed to
a pesticide. When this happens, not all insects are killed. Those
individuals that survive frequently have done so because they are
genetically predisposed to be resistant to the pesticide. Repeated
applications and higher rates of the insecticide will kill increasing
numbers of individuals, but some resistant insects will survive. The
offspring of these survivors will carry the genetic makeup of their
parents. These offspring,
217
many of which will inherit the ability to survive the exposure to the
insecticide, will become a greater proportion with each succeeding
generation of the population.
Pesticide handling and usage
Poor handling can result in exposure to the applicator, bystanders,
food crops, non-target plants and the environment. Pesticide exposure
can be dermal, oral, through inhalation, or through the eyes.

218
Careful handling reduces risk. Always follow label directions and
wear proper personal protective equipment. Pesticide applicators
should know the toxicity of the chemical families of the pesticides
they use. Anyone planning to use pesticides should have a full
medical examination. Explaining the nature and type of work to your
physician will enable him/her to assess your "fitness" to work with
pesticides.

219
Individuals with certain medical conditions may not be able to work
safely with pesticides: These include:
􀂃 Respiratory or heart disease that may preclude the use of respiratory
protection
􀂃 Low levels of cholinesterase may preclude use of organophosphate
or carbamate pesticides
• Anyone using pesticides as part of their job should also have a
regular medical examination.

220
 Pesticides can be grouped according to:
–Narrow-spectrum vs. broad-spectrum
•Targeted organisms –no harm to non-target
•Kills a variety of organisms in addition to pest
–Pesticide generation
•1st generation
•2nd generation
•3rd generation

221
First generation pesticides
•Historically-used pesticides
–Inorganic compounds (minerals)
–Lead, Mercury and Arsenic
•Accumulation potential
–Botanicals – Nicotene, Pyrethrum and Rotenone

222
Second generation pesticides
–Synthetic
Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT)
–Synthesized in 1873
-WWII used to control body lice
–Widespread use 1940-1960; banned in US in 1972
Currently there are thousands of synthetic pesticide products
–Made up of more than 1,000 different chemicals and combinations
–Not as environmentally persistent as DDT

223
Third generation pesticides
–Insect pheromones
–Insect growth regulators
•Disrupt the normal activity of the endocrine or hormone system of insects,
affecting the development, reproduction, or metamorphosis of the target insect
–Chitin synthesis inhibitors
•Target exoskeleton
–Juvenile hormones
•Mimic hormones / insect remains in juvenile stage
–Bacillus thuringiensis
•Toxins produced following ingestion

224