What is an ? How do and mites harm plants? History of the Entomology Section

Most insects have formidable jaws to chew plant To help combat the multitude of insect pests in tissues, but some insects, and all mites and true bugs Florida, the Florida State Plant Board (now the Florida have sucking mouthparts to ingest plant juices. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Some insects and mites form galls, some are Division of Plant Industry) was established in 1915 vectors of plant diseases, and others attack seeds, with Dr. E.W. Berger as the first entomologist. roots, flowers, buds or fruits. Insects are our main Early projects included the biological control competitors for food and other plant products. of whiteflies and cottony-cushion scale. Other notable achievements include eradications of the The immature stages of insects are often very Mediterranean fruit (numerous times since 1929 different from the adult stage (example: and recently in 2011) and the giant African land caterpillar ), and frequently have different snail (1969). The division’s insect collection habits. Very often it is the immature stage that is the was started in 1915, and it more comprise a phylum, or group, of most damaging. than doubled by 1953 with the with jointed legs and their skeleton on the addition of three taxonomic outside covering the soft internal organs. Insects entomologists to the staff. are arthropods with well-defined head, thorax and Cooperative agreements with the abdomen, three pairs of legs, antennae, and one state’s universities in 1959 have or two pairs of wings. Mites and spiders are very helped make the current Florida common arthropods sometimes confused with State Collection of Arthropods insects, but they have only two body regions, eight (FSCA) museum a world center legs, and no antennae. for insect taxonomy. Insects appeared on earth over 400 million years ago and have been evolving ever since into the largest and most diverse group of organisms. More Goals of the Entomology Section than a million of insects are known, but many l remain to be discovered. Estimates of how many Provide accurate identifications of arthropods to insect species remain to be discovered vary widely definitions the division’s plant protection specialists and other from three million to 30 million. Insects and mites customers. include many species that are major plant feeders. ar•thro•pod: any invertebrate of the phylum l Build the Florida State Collection of Arthropods into Some also carry important diseases of man, animals Arthropoda, having a segmented body, jointed limbs, a world class museum. The FSCA now or plants. and usually a chitinous shell that undergoes contains more than 10 million prepared specimens. moltings, including the insects, spiders and l Provide rapid identification to assist in the Where are insects found? other , , and myriapods. prevention of colonization or the regulation of foreign arthropods. Insects are found in almost all terrestrial habitats of in•sect: any of the class Insecta, comprising l Provide training and information to plant protection the planet including polar areas small, air-breathing arthropods having the body specialists and others to help control, eradicate and where a few species are divided into three parts (head, thorax, and prevent the spread of pests. found on birds or lichens. abdomen), and having three pairs of legs l Make scientific investigations of the , Many insects are especially and usually two pairs of wings. biological control and taxonomy of arthropods. adapted to fresh water and a few can be mite: along with the tick, belongs to the found in the oceans. class Arachnida. Mites are among the Every plant has most diverse and successful of all the its own array of invertebrate groups. insects and mites, chewing or sucking true bug: a wingless or four- its leaves, or visiting winged insect of the order l Survey and identify Florida fauna. flowers to take pollen , especially of the l Build the biosystematic library and publish or nectar in exchange suborder Heteroptera, taxonomic literature. for . Many including the bedbug, l Provide regulatory oversight for the introduction and other insects and louse and chinch bug, movement of arthropods in the biological control of mites are predators having mouthparts plant pests. or parasites of the adapted for piercing and sucking. plant feeders. Florida Biological Control Laboratory The laboratory is a cooperative facility of Helpline Insect the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the U.S. 1-888-397-1517 Department of Agriculture and the Encounters . Two quarantine units are available www.FreshFromFlorida.com to receive and process exotic beneficial arthropods and nematodes that prey upon or parasitize pest arthropods or noxious plants. Laboratory and field research is conducted to better determine the utility impact and appropriateness of the exotic organisms before they are released into Florida’s environment. Available Publications l Entomology Circulars - presently issued several times a year (over 400 available) l Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas - 15 volumes of faunistic studies l Occasional Papers of the Florida State Collection of Arthropods - eight volumes of taxonomic or bibliographic monographs l Reprints of journal publications by staff www. .com Services l Tours of the Florida State Collection of Arthropods Museum can be arranged for schools and other educational programs. Contact: (352) 395-4700 l Arthropod identifications for the public can be obtained by submitting specimens. For sample- submission information, call 1-888-397-1517 or visit www.FreshFromFlorida.com l Insect taxonomy projects benefit from the wealth of biological materials maintained at the Florida Entomology State Collection of Arthropods Museum. at the Florida Department of Agriculture Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry Post Office Box 147100 Florida Department of Agriculture Gainesville, Florida 32614-7100 and Consumer Services Phone (352) 372-3505 Adam H. Putnam, Commissioner DACS-P-01601