Transcript How do we classify?

The Importance of Insects
What is an insect?
• Definition
an air-breathing invertebrate animal with a body
that has segments, including a head, thorax,
abdomen, two antennae, three pairs of legs, and
usually two sets of wings.
How do we classify?
• Animals and plants are grouped into several categories which
indicate their degree of relationship to one another.
• King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
How do we classify?
• Insects are classified as:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
• Any animal that falls under the class Insecta is considered an insect. Their
family, genus and species names are what identify them all as being
unique.
• The genus and species names together are what make up the scientific
name.
• This is referred to as binomial nomenclature.
– The prefix “bi-” meaning two and “-nomial” meaning name = two names
How do we classify?
Example:
Two species of beetles
– Cylindera celeripes = swift tiger beetle
– Cylindera lemniscata = white striped tiger beetle
Both have same genus names showing that they are
related.
Their varying species name is what identifies them as
being unique from each other.
Funny Insect Names
• Eubetia bigaulae Brown (tortricid moth)
• Heerz lukenatcha Marsh (braconid wasp)
• Pieza rhea Evenhuis (mythicomyiid fly)
• Verae peculya Marsh (braconid wasp)
What do they look like?
What do insects look like?
- Name some characteristics
• Body plan:
– Adult insects are known for having three major body
regions, six legs, one pair of antennae and usually two pair
of wings as adults .
Which of these is NOT an insect?
Butterfly
Locust
Centipede
Horsefly
Spider
Caterpillar
Beetle
Are spiders insects? … NO
• Spiders are within the Class: Arachnida. Not Class Insecta
• We said earlier that insects are defined as having 3 pair of legs…
Spiders have 8 legs!
• Spiders do not have antennas like insects.
• Spiders do not have wings at all. This is also true for some insects, but
there are plenty of insects out there with either two or four wings.
• Unlike the abdomen of insects, the abdomen of spiders isn't
segmented.
Where did they come from?
• Some of the earliest arthropods to walk on
land and breathe air were the scorpions,
centipedes, and millipedes.
• These found themselves on land as much as
400 million years ago.
Where did they come from?
• It has been theorized
that over hundreds of
millions of years, insects
have evolved from
worm-like creatures.
• They developed legs,
wings and antennae.
How many are there?
• More than one million different species of
insects have been identified.
• Some experts believe that there may be as
many as 30 million insect species in the world
that have yet to be discovered and identified.
Why should I care about bugs?!
Pollinators
Why should I care about bugs?!
Pollinators
• There are many important pollinating insect species in the orders:
Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants)
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)
Diptera (flies)
Coleoptera (beetles)
• As adults these insects feed on pollen and/or nectar from flowers.
They forage from plant to plant and may initiate pollination by
transferring pollen from plant to plant
• Pollinators aid in the reproduction and maintenance of genetic
diversity of the plant community.
Why should I care about bugs?!
Indicator species
• An indicator species is any biological species that defines a
trait or characteristic of the environment.
• For example, a species may indicate an environmental
condition such as a disease outbreak, pollution, species
competition or climate change.
– GLOBAL WARMING ?
• Indicator species can be among the most sensitive species in a
region, and sometimes act as an early warning to monitoring
biologists.
Why should I care about bugs?!
Indicator species
EXAMPLE:
• Some beetle species feed on only one type of
plant. If that plant disappears so do those
beetles. This can give us a good idea of what is
happening in a particular ecosystem.
Why should I care about bugs?!
Indicator species
EXAMPLE:
• Many insects are sensitive to extreme weather
events (droughts, heat waves, cold spells).
• As a result of climate change and deforestation,
tropical environments that contain the bulk of
Earth’s biodiversity could become too hot or dry
for many insect species to survive.
Why should I care about bugs?!
Medicine
• Larvae of the blow fly:
– Military surgeons noticed in World War II that
wounds, untreated for several days and infested with
maggots, healed better than wounds not infested with
the blow fly larvae.
– Later they discovered that the larvae (maggots)
secreted an excretion called "allontoin," which had a
curative effect. Allontoin now is used to treat
osteomyelitis, an infectious inflammatory disease.
• In other examples, bee venom has been used to
treat arthritis.
Why should I care about bugs?!
Pest control
• Some species of insects, such as ladybugs, are beneficial to
gardeners and farmers.
• They are used as a form of pest control because they eat
insects that damage crops.
It’s a bug eat bug
world out there!
Uh oh!!!
I’m in trouble..
Your Project
You will be creating your own Insect Collection.
You will be taking pictures of insects that you find outside
and around your home.
You will identify these insects and describe where you
found them and what habitats they live in.
Using the internet, you will create a photo book. You can
then have it printed and it will be mailed to you. 
Information to Help You Get Started:
Insects Native to Pennsylvania
• INDIAN MEAL MOTH
• SAW-TOOTHED GRAIN
BEETLE
• LARDER BEETLE
• AMERICAN COCKROACH
• GERMAN COCKROACH
• BROWN-BANDED
COCKROACH
• ORIENTAL COCKROACH
• BLACK CARPET BEETLE
• MOSQUITO
• HOUSE FLY
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PAPER WASP
ASIAN LADY BEETLE
WESTERN ONIFER SEEDBUG
VINEGAR FLY
EUROPEAN EARWIG
HOUSE CENTIPEDE
SILVERFISH
BROWN MARMORATED
STINK BUGS
• CARPENTER ANT
• TERMITE
• CARPENTER BEE
Information to Help You Get Started:
Websites You May Want to Use
www.science-store.com/life/animalinfo/insects/insect_identification.htm
http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uf021.p
df
http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740
www.pawild.net
go to the main gallery/scroll down to insects
Where to Create Your Photo Book
www.snapfish.com
www.kodakgallery.com
www.shutterfly.com
For Mac users: iBook
Ticket Out the Door!
Before the bell rings, on a piece of paper, you are to
create a simple concept map explaining why insects are
important.
Think about things you already know and what we
discussed today. Be creative!
You will hand it in before you leave .
This will be your ticket out the door.
Do not copy this example
Create Your Own
Bees are Insects
Bees make honey
People eat honey
Insects are
Important because
people need them
in order to survive
People need to eat
to survive