Tennessee Naturalist Program The World of Invertebrates Pollinators, Predators, Pests, and Parasitoids Enhanced Study Guide 2/2019 Tennessee Naturalist Program www.tnnaturalist.org Inspiring the desire to learn and share Tennessee’s nature These study guides are designed to reflect and reinforce the Tennessee Naturalist Program’s course curriculum outline, developed and approved by the TNP Board of Directors, for use by TNP instructors to plan and organize classroom discussion and fieldwork components and by students as a meaningful resource to review and enhance class instrucMon. This guide was compiled by Steve Murphree, entomologist and professor of biology at Belmont University, specifically for the Tennessee Naturalist Program. It may contain copyrighted work from other authors and publishers, used here by permission. No part of this document may be reproduced or shared without consent of the Tennessee Naturalist Program and appropriate copyright holders. !2 The World of Invertebrates Pollinators, Predators, Pests, and Parasitoids Objecves Introduce the Phylum Arthropoda, parMcularly the hexapods, arachnids, and myriapods to help students learn the basic morphological differences among these taxonomic groups, how to collect/observe arthropods, and how to use dichotomous and others keys to idenMfy them. Explore the ecological roles of arthropods including interacMons with plants, community interacMons vertebrate animals, and other invertebrates. Time 4 hours – 2 in class, 2 in field Suggested Materials ( * recommended but not required, ** TNP flash drive) • Insects, America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guides) Borror and White* • Arthropoda (Tree of Life Project) ** • Dichotomous Key for Adult Insects (SC LIFE) ** • Key to Orders of Hexapods (Borror et al., Introducon to the Study of Insects, 1989 ** • Key to the Orders of Insects and Noninsectan Hexapods (Adults), Kritsky 2011 ** • Checklist of Odonata of Tennessee by Common and ScienMfic Name ** • Buaerflies of Tennessee by Type and Common Name ** • The World of Invertebrates Enhanced Study Guide, TNP ** • CollecMng nets, containers, hand lenses, forceps Expected Outcomes Students will gain a basic understanding of: 1. the diversity of macroscopic terrestrial arthropods and other invertebrates in Tennessee 2. primary differences among the subphyla, classes and orders common in the state 3. arthropod morphology and idenMficaMon 4. basic life histories (e.g., type of metamorphosis, etc.) 5. ecological roles and community interacMons (e.g., pollinaMon, herbivory, carnivory, commensalism, detriMvory, parasiMsm) 6. chemical communicaMon/defense, mimicry, camouflage, and warning coloraMon 7. methods of collecMon and display 8. methods of observing insect behavior 9. state insects of Tennessee and the state’s threatened and endangered insects !3 I. Tremendous Diversity of Arthropods A. 80% of all animals known to science are arthropods B. Arthropoda classificaMon (5 subphyla) 1. Subphylum Trilobitomorpha - exMnct 345 million years ago; great marine diversity 2. Subphylum Chelicerata – (e.g., spiders, scorpions, mites, daddy longlegs) 3. Subphylum Crustacea – (e.g., crayfish, crabs, pillbugs, barnacles) 4. Subphylum Hexapoda – (e.g., insects, springtails, proturans, diplurans) 5. Subphylum Myriapoda – (e.g., millipedes, cenMpedes) C. CharacterisMcs of arthropods 1. segmented body divided into funcMonal units called tagmata (e.g., thorax) 2. body covered in a non-living cuMcle hardened in areas to form an exoskeleton composed of chiMn, a complex carbohydrate 3. paired, jointed appendages for movement, mouthparts, antennae 4. have a complete digesMve tract (gut tube has mouth at one end & anus at the other) 5. all are poikilotherms (animals whose body temperature varies according to the temperature of their surroundings) 6. not all arthropods are insects a. An insect (LaMn for notched or divided body) is an arthropod whose adults have three body tagmata: the head, the thorax and the abdomen. Aaached to the head is a single pair of antennae and one pair of compound eyes. Aaached to the thorax are three pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings. b. A spider is an arachnid arthropod whose body is composed of two tagmata: the cephalothorax and the abdomen. The cephalothorax bears four pairs of legs, usually 8 simple eyes, a pair of chelicerae, and a pair of pedipalps. c. Millipedes and cenMpedes are myriapod arthropods whose bodies are composed of a head and a trunk of repeaMng segments. The head of myriapods has one pair of antennae, and the trunk segments bear one pair of legs (cenMpedes) or two pairs of legs (millipedes). d. Most arthropods are called “bugs” by the general public, but this term is not preferred by entomologists. “True bugs” are insects in the order Hemiptera which bear piercing/sucking mouthparts. e. To space or not to space? -- Since pillbugs are not true bugs but rather are crustacean arthropods, no space is included between ‘pill’ and ‘bugs.’ The same rule applies to ladybugs and fireflies (both are beetles, not true bugs or true flies). The space is used correctly in house flies and honey bees. !4 II. Other Terrestrial Invertebrates and How They Differ from Arthropods A. Phylum Platyhelminthes -- flatworms, planaria, flukes, tapeworms 1. body dorso-ventrally flaaened, incomplete digesMve tract (mouth/anus opening); planarians in streams, endoparasites of vertebrates B. Phylum Nematoda -- nematodes, roundworms 1. non-segmented worms with a complete digesMve tract; important role as detriMvores and predators in soil; some species are endoparasites C. Phylum Annelida -- earthworms, clamworms, leeches 1. segmented worms (internal and external segmentaMon); thought to share a common ancestor with the arthropods because of segmentaMon and the fact that both have a ventral nerve cord; annelids have no segmented appendages, however D. Phylum Mollusca -- snails, slugs, mussels, clams, squid, octopods 1. non-segmented bodies with diverse forms; nearly all species have a muscular foot, a visceral mass and a shell-secreMng mantle; second largest in species diversity aoer the Arthropoda; aquaMc and some terrestrial snails can serve as intermediate hosts for fluke parasites III. Chelicerate Class Arachnida -- Arachnids (Spiders, Mites, etc) 11 Orders recognized A. Chelicerate CharacterisMcs 1. front segments fused into a cephalothorax, rear segments form an abdomen 2. first pair of mouthparts is the chelicerae (fangs) 3. second pair of mouthparts is the pedipalps (palps) B. Order Araneae – true spiders; (44,000 species); all predators; males have “boxing glove” palps for courtship and sperm transfer; produce silk from abdominal spinnerets C. Order Acarina – mites, Mcks, chiggers; (45,000 species); scavengers, predators, parasites, symbionts; oldest terrestrial animals D. Order Opiliones – daddy longlegs, harvestmen; (6500 species); cephalothorax and abdomen fused; scent glands for chemical defense; two simple eyes on an ocularium (elevated turret on top of the cephalothorax) E. Order Scorpionida – scorpions; (1100 species); well-developed, chelate palps; narrow, tail-like postabdomen w/sMng; [“Scorpions in Tennessee,” September/October, 2012 issue (Vol. LXXVIII, No. 5) The Tennessee Conserva@onist.] F. Order Pseudoscorpionida – pseudoscorpions; (3300 species); chelate pedipalps; spin silk from chelicerae, phoreMc (method of dispersal in which small animals cling to a much larger animal’s body and are carried some distance before releasing their grip) !5 IV. Crustacean Arthropods -- Crayfish, etc. A. Crustacean characterisMcs 1. front segments fused into a cephalothorax (carapace), rear segments not fused but form an abdomen 2. at least some appendages are biramous (two-branched) 3. many have two pairs of antennae B. Most are aquaMc, rarely semi-aquaMc in freshwater and marine environments 1. Class Malacostraca – crayfish, lobsters, crabs (decapods), shrimp, pillbugs; largest class (75% of all crustacean species) 2. Class Copepoda – copepods; antennae long, modified for swimming; most are planktonic filter-feeders 3. Class Branchiopoda – water fleas, fairy shrimp; tadpole shrimp; gills on appendages; carapace V. Myriapodan Arthropods -- Cen8pedes, Millipedes A. Myriapodan characterisMcs 1. front segments fused into a head, rear segments not fused but form a trunk 2. one pair of antennae B. Class Chilopoda -- cenMpedes, “hundred legs”; 1 pair of legs per trunk segment; fast runners; predators; maxilliped mouthparts have poison glands and can bite; long antennae C. Class Diplopoda -- millipedes, “thousand legs”; 2 pairs of legs per trunk segment; slow walkers; feed on decaying plants, do not bite; short antennae; roll up and produce repugnant hydrogen cyanide when disturbed (can someMmes have a sweet almond smell) VI. Hexapodan Arthropods -- Insects, etc. A. Hexapodan characterisMcs 1. front segments fused into a head, middle segments fused into a thorax, rear segments form an abdomen 2. paired mouthparts either retracted in head or extended 3. one pair of antennae B. Class Entognatha -- mouthparts in head capsule; Mny soil/leaf liaer arthropods 1. Order Collembola -- springtails 2. Order Protura -- proturans 3. Order Diplura -- diplurans !6 C. Class Insecta -- mouthparts outside of head capsule; 30 total orders recognized; 12 twelve most diverse orders 1. Coleoptera (beetles) – 350,000 species a. elytra – hardened forewings; membranous hindwings 2. Lepidoptera (buaerflies & moths) – 180,000 species a. flaaened, striate scales on forewings and hindwings 3. Diptera (true flies) – 150,000 species