Bugs 101: OSU Master Gardener Getting to Know Another Training World

Designed by Patricia Patterson Lane County Extension Service 996 Jefferson, Eugene, OR

Diversity by Insect Order Insect Population

1 An Introduction to Another Life What is our hope for you here? Form • You will learn to recognize • This is not a class in • Basic & insect structure the most common orders control • Using these orders will • We hope that you may • Insect development help you find the appreciate this alien • The most common insect orders arthropod empire for its own value • You will learn the value of and be led to want to • Insect reproduction & communication observe and learn much • Non-insect invertebrates often • You will learn how many more. odd things Arthropods encountered offer as life styles and behaviors • The uses of insects

Arthropod Structure Insect Structure

• Arthropoda means jointed legs and is the • Body form family which contains the classes: • Malacostraca (sowbugs & lobsters/crabs), • Breathing Arachnida ( & mites), Chilopoda (centipedes), Diplopoda (millipedes) Insecta (insects) and many more. • Mouthparts • We shall be concentrating on the Insecta, the largest group. • Wings

2 Insect Body Form Breathing through Spiracles

Mouthparts Wings

• Chewing • Piercing/stabbing • Sucking • Siphoning • Lapping/sponging • And combinations of the above Most insect orders are classified by wings

3 One of Nature’s Wonders- What, No Metamorphosis? Metamorphosis Ametabolous • Yes, there are a few primitive insects who do not undergo any metamorphosis. • Apterygota: springtails, proturans, diplurans, and bristletails. • Of these, we see silverfish, firebrats, springtails mostly. The proturans and diplurans mostly show up in soil.

Ametabolous Development

• Juveniles resemble adults, except that they are smaller • With each molt, abdominal segments are added

4 Gradual Metamorphosis (Parametabolous) • These insects hatch from an egg and look much like miniature adults. Nymphs. • Lack wings and sexual organs until the final molt. Eat the same food as adults • Examples are grasshoppers, thrips, termites, lice, true bugs and aphids. • Aphids usually skip the egg stage producing live young.

Incomplete Metamorphosis (Hemimetabolus) • This term refers to insects who spend part of their life cycle in water. Naiads. • Naiads eat a different food than the adults. • Mayflies, stoneflies, damselflies and dragonflies are good examples. • The final change to an adult occurs not in a pupa, but inside the last naiad stage.

5 Complete Metamorphosis Incomplete Metamorphosis (Holometabolous) • One of Nature’s best tricks. This growth form is representative of the majority of insects by numbers. Often young and adults feed on different hosts. • Ones we see most are the beetles, wasps, butterflies and moths, flies, and fleas. • The process involves 4 totally different life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Naiads are water dwelling

The Miracle of Metamorphosis Some Important Orders

• There are 31 insect orders, but we shall concentrate on just a few: Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera ( suborders: Homoptera, Heteroptera) Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Odonata, Isoptera, Mantodea & Blattodea. There are more in the MG manual and on your insect sheet. • “Ptera” means wing, so we define by the wings e for most insects. g g

6 Coleoptera Coleoptera: Beetles & Weevils

• 2 Underwings are soft and do the flying, 2 overwings are armored and meet in a straight line down the back. • Chewing mouthparts, both young & adult • Young are called larvae or grubs • Cucumber beetle, Black Vine Weevil, Ladybird (ladybug) • Over 400,000 species

“God must have loved beetles, he Diptera (2 wings) made so many of them” • The only insects with just 2 wings. The other pair are gone or, in flies halteres. • The eyes are very prominent and faceted. They may even nearly meet. • Young are larvae or maggots. • Flies, gnats, mosquitoes • Piercing/sucking, chewing or sponging mouthparts.

7 Diptera

House flies

Mosquito Blow fly

Female Robber fly

Male

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Hemiptera (1/2 Wings) Heteroptera, Suborder Hemiptera, Suborder Heteroptera • 2 pair of wings, the hind pair like membrane, the front pair partly hardened. • All have a triangular shield on their back. X • Gradual metamorphosis from egg to nymph to adult. Nymphs may look totally different from adult. • Nymphs and adults usually feed on the same food. True bugs: stinkbug etc. • Piercing, sucking mouthparts. Beak comes from front of head. • Easily confused with beetles

Hemiptera, Suborder Homoptera Not All True Bugs Are Bad (Same Wings) Some are predators on other insects • 2 pair of equal membranous wings. Some are important pollinators • Wings held in tent over body when All are important food sources resting & may be missing (aphid, scale) • Nymphs and adults have the same diet and look the same. • Piercing, sucking mouthparts arise from back of the head • Aphid, whitefly, scale, mealybug, cicada

9 Homoptera: Those Little Suckers

Aphids rule

Parasitoid wasp laying eggs in aphid

Aphid mummies

spittlebug treehopper whitefly leafhopper

10 Hymenoptera (membrane wings) Hymenoptera • 2 pair of clear, thin, membranous wings • Smaller hindwings hook to forewings • Have a stinger and/or protruding ovipositor • Most are beneficial • Mostly chewing mouthparts • Young are larvae • Wasps, hornets, bees, ants, sawflies

Mostly the Gardener’s Friends

Carpenter Bees

11 Termites (Isoptera) versus Ants Sawfly or Caterpillar?

caterpillar

sawfly

Lepidoptera (Scaly Wings) Moths and Butterflies • 2 pair of often showy wings, covered with small scales that can easily be rubbed off. • Moths usually fly at night, butterflies by • Adult mouthparts coiled, sucking or day. missing. Many do not eat as adults. • Butterflies fold their wings at rest. • Young are larvae or caterpillar or worm • Moths rest with wings outstretched. & have chewing mouthparts. • 20,000 species. • Pupa stage is a cocoon (moth) or • Major pollinators chrysalis (butterfly)

12 Lepidoptera What About Butterfly Gardens?

Codling moth

Oregon Swallowtail Butterfly

Odonata Odonata

• Not defined by their wings. Odonata means toothed. It may refer to the formidable mandibles. • Incomplete metamorphosis with Naiads which are ferocious hunters. • Representatives are dragonflies and damselflies. • Chewing mouthparts

13 Acrobats of the Insect World Dragonfly nymph

Orthoptera Orthoptera • Straight wings is the meaning • The hindwings are folded like a fan and stored under the forewings. • Grasshoppers, crickets, katydids. • Chewing mouthparts. • Mantids and cockroaches used to be in this order, but now each have their own: Mantodea & Blattodea.

14 Mantodea

Field cricket Grasshopper

Locusts Katydid

Praying Mantis

Can you find the Mantis?

15 Blattodea Neuroptera

• The name means Nerve wings for the fine network of veins • Chewing mouthparts and well-developed eyes • Threadlike antennae • Complete metamorphosis • Lacewings, antlions, mantidflies, owlflies

Lacewing

Owlfly

Mantidfly

Antlion

16 Insect Reproduction Reproductive Techniques

• Insects have a wide range of reproductive behaviors from direct contact to drop & run. • Behaviors include gift-giving, displays, perfumes, and sacrifice. • Sperm storage is a common tactic.

Reproductive Tricks

• Parthenogenesis: no males needed, thank you. • Chastity belts • Guarding • Mimicry for nefarious reasons

17 Insect Communication Communication

• Insects communicate by chemical signals • They may also use light signals • Vibration and touch are important • Major organs of communication are antennae, setae and tympani. • Some insects have good sight and color perception & use that also.

Constant Chatter Insect Galls

 Bug friend to bug friend • Insect galls tend to be chambered, disease galls are solid.  Predator/prey • Well known galls are Oak apples, jumping oak gall, and petiole gall from aphids.  Plant and insect • Some galls are just deformed leaf parts and these are usually due to mites or Long range versus close aphids.

18 Insect Galls Non-Insects

• These we learn by their Class • : spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks • Malacostraca: sow bugs, pill bugs • Diplopoda: millipedes • Chilopoda: Centipedes • Mollusca: Slugs and snails Among others

Chelicerata Order: Acari • Mites are another varied group. In the • This class breaks down into the true spiders garden we note mostly the plant feeding and the mites for our usage. There are mites, such as mites & gall mites, others. then the predacious mites, then the soil • Araneida is the order of true spiders mites. Clover mites may invade our homes, • Acari is the mites but cause no damage. Dust mites are difficult to manage. • 2 body parts, 8 legs, no wings or antennae – Appears to be one body part as head minuscule

19 Acari

• Spruce spider mite Spider Man, John Parrott

What more could I tell you about spiders?? You love them by now.

Mollusca Nudibranch

• Mollusca: slugs, snails, clams are not Hard to believe these are Arthropods slugs, marine ones! • We are interested in the class Gastropoda--terrestrial slugs and snails. • Gastropoda means belly foot.

20 Gastropoda Slugs & Snails

• Limax maximus--Spotted Garden Slug

Slug-a-Bilia Slug Rapture

• Slug factoids about slime and extraordinary abilities.

21 The Many Values of Insects Beneficials • Beneficials: pollinate plants, feed on Beneficials may be predators things we consider pests. (ground beetle), parasites, or • Aesthetics: beauty, jewelry, art parasitoids (wasps & flies • Soil builders, decomposers and farmers mostly) • Food: for arthropods, other & They will be normally present in humans a well-diversified yard and • Weapons garden which is not sprayed a • Forensic entomology lot.

Aesthetics Soil Helpers

• Art • Jewelry • Intrinsic beauty

22 Food Source

Insects are a crucial part of the world food chain for man & beast. Many cultures use insects as a food and medicine source Insects are an outstanding source of protein and fats

Weapons

Humans have used arthropods as effective weapons. •Stinging insects •Disease carrying insects

23 Forensic Entomology

This is a field which is understaffed By the progression of insect types and life stages, cause of death, time of death, manner of death may be discovered. If there is no other witness, a fly is the first arrival at the death scene.

Marketing In case you had not noticed, insects are in! Movies such as Microcosmos. TV specials. Books, coloring books, jewelry, cards, lollipops, mugs, T- shirts: you name it, someone has put insects in or on it.

24 Learn to Be Humble

Insects outweigh us, outnumber us, outperform us in most natural fields. If insects should all disappear, life would become impossible for us. Should we disappear, they would scarcely notice.

Ladybird Beetle Boxelder bug

25 Big-eyed Bug Carpenter ant

26 Dragonfly True Bugs & nymphs

27 Scale Honey Bee

Asian Ladybird Beetle

White fly

28 Ground beetle Pill bug Sow Bug

Golden Buprestid Beetle Termites

29 Millipedes Male earwig Female earwig

Lacewing

Bordered Plant Bug

30 Sources for More Info

• CD of bug pix • Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of NA, National Wildlife Fed. • Bugs of Washington and Oregon • Garden Insects • Many reference books in MG library

Female Hobo

31 Jumping Spider & Trapdoor Spider

Black Widow Den-note egg sack.

Black widow & male

Chelicidera Class Chelichera: Order Araneida

• Commonest spiders here are the Golden • All have venom glands and spinnerets Argiope, Wolf Spiders, Funnel Web spiders, Flower spiders, Cellar spiders and Trapdoor spiders. • The pedipalps in males are enlarged (boxing • Our only spider here dangerous to humans gloves) and modified for sperm transfer is the the Black Widow. The jury is still out on the Hobo Spider. Serious bites are rare. • Most spiders put sperm on a piece of • 2 body parts, 8 legs, no wings or antennae webbing and soak it up onto the pedipalps.

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Golden Argiope Orb Weaver

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