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The Insect-Human Connection: What's So Special About Arthropods?

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The Insect-Human Connection: What's So Special About Arthropods? The Insect-Human Connection: What’s so special about arthropods? • Characteristics of phylum Arthropoda • Five major classes: 1. Crustacea 2. Arachnida 3. Chilopoda 4. Diplopoda 5. Insecta • Anatomy and development • Arthropod diversity • Roles in ecosystems and benefits for humans • Bugs rule! (Threats to humans) 1 Characteristics of phylum Arthropoda • Exoskeleton • Jointed appendages • Segmented body parts not an arthropod arthropod Arthropod Anatomy • head . antennae . mouthparts . eyes: compound or simple • thorax or cephalothorax . legs and/or wings • abdomen . houses majority of reproductive, circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems . ovipositor . spinnerets 2 Five major classes: 1) Arachnida • four pairs of legs • one or two body regions (cephalothorax and abdomen) • no wings or antennae • most live on land; some in freshwater • 35,000+ species Examples: spiders, harvestmen, scorpions, mites, ticks Spiders of the Puget Sound Region The following are a few of the spiders that can be observed in the Puget Sound region. Some are yard and garden species, while others are “house” species. They have been selected because they are commonly noticed and included in the zoo’s collection, or because they are considered medically significant. • Flower (a.k.a. Goldenrod) Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) • Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus) • Longbodied Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) • False Black Widow (Steatoda grossa) • Hobo Spider (Tegenaria agrestis) • Domestic or Lesser House Spider (Tegenaria domestica) • Giant House Spider (Tegenaria gigantea) • Yellow Sac Spider (Cheiracanthium mildei) • Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) http://www.zoo.org/educate/fact_sheets/spiders/spiders.html 3 Five major classes: 2) Crustacea • five or more pairs of legs • two body regions • two pairs of antennae • lack wings • breathe with gills • most are marine; some in freshwater; a few terrestrial • 35,000+ species Examples: crabs, crayfish, barnacles, sowbugs, shrimp, lobsters Five major classes: 3) Diplopoda • multi-segmented bodies • two pairs of legs on most segments • one pair of antennae • lack wings • terrestrial • 8,000+ species Millipedes 4 Five major classes: 4) Chilopoda • flattened, multi-segmented bodies • one pair of legs on most segments • one pair of antennae • lack wings • terrestrial • 5,000+ species Centipedes Five major classes: 5) Insecta • three pairs of legs • three body regions • one pair of antennae • one or two pairs of wings (sometimes absent) • mostly terrestrial and freshwater, a few marine • 1 million+ species currently identified Examples: flies, beetles, walkingsticks, bees, ants, cockroaches, ladybugs, crickets, butterflies 5 Arthropod Taxonomy Honey bee Cyanide-producing millipede Kingdom: Animalia Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Class: Diplopoda Order: Hymenoptera Order: Polydesmida Family: Apidea Family: Vestodesmidae Genus: Apis Genus: Harpaphe Species: mellifera Species: haydeniana Arthropod Development • Complete • Incomplete metamorphosis: metamorphosis: 1. egg 1. egg 2. larva 2. nymph 3. pupa (instars) 4. adult 3. adult 6 Arthropod Diversity and Abundance • Over one million insect species identified to date. Estimated that 30 million insect species may exist. • Approximately three-fourths of all animal species that exist today are insects. Nearly 90% are arthropods. • An estimated 10% of the world’s biomass is ants and another 10% is termites 7 Arthropod diversity is a function of: • Small size = infinitely more niches available • Advantages of exoskeleton - prevents water loss, provides protection, allows for muscle attachment, and forms legs and wings for locomotion • Wings - disperse to new habitats, avoid unsuitable conditions or predators, forage over greater distance • Larval and adult stages occupy different niches • Mouthparts - different structures to feed on different resources Roles of Arthropods in Ecosystems: Benefits for Humans • decomposition • pollination and seed dispersal • abundant food resource for many other animals • prey on other arthropod species - control populations (biological control) • products - honey, cochineal (red dye), shellac, silk, arthropods as food 8 Facts on ecosystem roles • Dung beetles bury approximately 1/2 ton of dung per acre each year on the savannas of West Africa • A single honeybee may visit 1,000 blossoms each day. An estimated 250,000 wild flowering plant species depend on animal pollinators, most of which are insects. • An average hummingbird may eat 10-15 insects per day. • An adult dragonfly can eat up to 300 insects per day, mainly mosquitoes Bugs Rule! Threats to humans • Damage to agriculture, forest resources • Damage to structures, products • Disease vectors (humans, domestic animals) • Injury (painful or poisonous bites) • Only 1% of all known insect species have a negative effect on humans 9 Cultural Entomology: Insects in human culture • Scarab (dung) beetles in Egyptian culture: . scarab rolling a dung ball invokes the movement of sun across sky = “buried” at night and rises from the earth in the morning . scarabs bury dung balls (equated with eggs); larvae pupate and new adults emerge . pupa were inspiration for mummies - if the sun and beetles can be buried and then resurrected, why not people? Appreciation and Conservation “Conservation of wildlife, especially invertebrates, will necessitate a far greater understanding of why we react with hostile and negative feelings toward various creatures, particularly insects and spiders.” 10 Appreciation and Conservation “…more than 90% of the planet’s currently estimated 30 million animal species are invertebrates, mainly arthropods. Despite the possible catastrophic extinction of invertebrate species, the general public and most policymakers appear unaware of how such a loss may affect human well-being.” Dr. Steve Kellert, Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Photos All photos by K. Remine/M. White, Woodland Park Zoo Slide 2: banana slug and millipede (temperate forest, WA) Slide 3: honeybees (WPZ) and millipede (temperate forest, WA) Slide 4: (l to r) - emperor scorpion (WPZ), mite (WPZ), Chilean rose tarantula (WPZ), Christmas spider (temperate forest, Australia) Slide 5: sowbug (WPZ), barnacles (beach, southwest Australia), crab (beach, southwest Australia) Slide 6: giant millipede (WPZ), millipede (temperate forest, WA) Slide 7: desert scorpion (WPZ) Slide 8: syrphid fly (WPZ grounds), tiger beetle (Japan), crane fly (WPZ grounds), butterflies (WPZ), Peruvian firestick (WPZ) Slide 9: flower beetle (WPZ), New Guinea walking stick (WPZ) 11 Photos All photos by K. Remine/M. White, Woodland Park Zoo Slide 11: spider (beach, southwest Australia), carabid beetle (temperate forest, WA) goliath walking stick (Healesville Sanctuary, Australia), velvet mite (temperate forest, WA), ant and aphids (shrub-steppe, eastern WA) Slide 12: graphic from “Bug” World, WPZ Slide 13: flower beetle (WPZ), giant water bug (WPZ), tiger beetle (Japan), darkling beetle (shrub-steppe, eastern WA) Slide 14: millipede (temperate forest, WA), bumblebee (temperate forest, WA), leaf-rolling spider (temperate forest, southeastern Australia), ladybug (WPZ grounds) Photos All photos by K. Remine/M. White, Woodland Park Zoo Slide 15: beetle larvae tunnels (temperate forest, WA), desert centipede (WPZ), dampwood termite (WPZ) Slide 16: dung beetle (Melbourne Zoo grounds, Australia), mealworm pupa (WPZ) Slide 17: Bug Club members, WPZ Slide 18: dragonfly art by Alexander Barr, Bug Club member, WPZ Slides 19 - 21: butterfly (temperate forest, southwestern Australia) 12.
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