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Family Danaidae
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milkweed butterflies; orange and black markings. Use vision and short range pheromones for species recognition and courtship. Larvae are brightly marked and smooth. The larvae store the plant poisons in their body.
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Order Protura
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cone-heads, sensory legs, ametabolous, gain abdominal segments while molting, respiration can be cuticular or tracheal
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Social Bees
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Recall that the overall behavior of bees is similar to wasps except they provision their nests with nectar and pollen rather than prey. As with the wasps, the evolution of eusocialism has followed a sequence. The primitive eu social bees (ground nesting bees, Figure 142) will usually build nests in the ground. Each nest will have several cooperating females. One female becomes the major egg layer and will dominate the other females. The other females will guard the nest or forage. The caste system is maintained by domi nance behav ior. Subordinate females are fertile, but the dominant female will eat their eggs and lay her own egg in that cell. If the domi nant female dies, the next female in line (most dominant) becomes the reproduc tive queen. The intermediate eusocial bees (bum blebees) are the next most advanced type of bee. She will maintain domi nance over her daughters through the use of aggression and pheromones. The daughters are workers and are slightly smaller than their mother, the queen. Workers will care for the brood and will lay many eggs. These eggs are consumed by the queen however. The size of workers will determine their role in the colony. Small workers will nurse; large workers will forage. Worker size is determined by food allocation (trophylaxis).
Truly eusocial bees are best exemplified by honey bees (Family Apidae). In honey bees colony castes are present as a queen, drones, and workers (There are no soldiers). The queen is the egg-laying machine of the colony and she can produce 1500 eggs/day. The workers within a colony are all sisters and have a variety of tasks that will vary with the age of individual (temporal polyethism). Workers and queens are formed in the larval stage and are dependent upon the type of food received as a larva. Lots of food along with the substance royal jelly will make a queen.
Honeybees use a complex dance language to communicate and transfer information about pollen and nectar sources located outside of the hive. Workers that have encountered food sources located closer than about 25 m away will return to the hive and perform a round dance inside the hive on the comb. The round dance simply consists of a worker bee running around in a continuous circle. The frequency of direction changes while running in circles tells the other workers in the hive the quality of the food source; the greater the frequency of change the greater the quality. Depending on the quality of the food, workers will then fan out from the hive searching for the relatively close source of food. Workers that have located food sources greater than 25 m away from the hive will display a much more complex dance. Here the individual workers will run in a figure-eight pattern on the comb. During the straight-run of the eight (the part between the two circles where she changes directions) the worker bee will waggle her abdomen (This is known as the waggle dance).
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Order Diplura
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diplurans, 2 caudal tails, ametabolous, lack compound eyes, large cerci. under leaves, stones, and in moist soil.
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Family Cerambycidae
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longhorn beetles, roundheaded borers; adults are brightly colored and ahve very long antennae. the tunnels formed by larval feedings are round. larval feeding is very destructive to trees.
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Order Plecoptera
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folded wings, stone flies; front wings are elongated, hind wings have a well developed anal lobe. one pair of cerci in adults and nymphs. nymphs have fills on the thorax and thoracic legs. both aquatic and hemimetabolous. found in and near streams and rocky lake shores. plant feeders, dead bodies, predators, usually feed at night. good indicators of water quality, those that feed on algae. courtship - drumming behavior. female deposits eggs in water and they are surrounded by gelatin.
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Family Scolytidae
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Bark beetles; beetles feed on inner bark of trees. each species will excavate a characteristic and unique gallery such that individual species can be identified by their damage. they will kill trees by girdling and by transmission of a pathogenic fungi called blue stained fungus. beetles use chemical signals to attract large number of beetles to a susceptible tree ensuring that the tree is killed. this is called the aggregation pheromones.
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Family Sinullidae
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Black flies, buffalo gnats; larvae are aquatic and live a life similar to mosquitoes. disk like sucker at end of body. vicious biters equipped with mouthparts that have teeth. female adults are the only ones that bite. the bite produces an inflammation in some people. black flies may also transmit filariasis. one variety of which is called river blindness.
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Family Ichneumonidae
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ichneumons; feed on many types of larvae of holometabolous insects. they have a long fierce looking ovipositor by they do not sting
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Family Meloidae
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Blister beetles; flexible elytra. adults contain chemical cantharidin. they will reflexively bleed and leak that chemical. known as Spanish fly. can cause severe blistering and blindness in mammals. environmentally stable and can last a long time. one beetle can kill a horse. larvaes feed on insect eggs.
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Family Raphidiidae
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snake flies; long prothorax, resembles striking snake. larvae found under bark feeding on soft-bodied insects.
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Order Thysanoptera
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Thrips; piercing sucking mouthparts. two pairs of wings. metamorphosis - 2 stages are larvae, 3 is prepupa, 4 is pupa. cocoon is made of silk. fourth instar is adult. many transmit plant viral diseases. many important for pollination and as a food source for other insects. some are predators.
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Family Elateridae
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Click beetles and wire worms; eye spots on elytra for predator defense. adult beetle handled will make a characteristic click noise. adults are phytophagous and feed on flowers and vegetation. larvae are wirelike and slender known as wire worms. there are some new species that produce light from their thorax, a whitish green light.
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Family Calliphoridae
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blow flies; metallic blue or green. some have medical uses in that maggots are used to remove gangrenous tissue. they are very important in forensics because the age size and species of the maggots infesting a corpse can infer how long a person has been dead.
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Family Coccinellidae
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Ladybird beetles; larvae covered with minute spines. they and adults are predacious on aphids. they were dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called the Beetles of our Lady. can be bought as beneficial insects. few are serious plant pests including the Mexican Been Beetle.
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Social Wasps
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Like the solitary wasps, social wasps are all predators and will make nests of mud or paper (wood and wasp spit). They will feed prey whole or cut up to larvae. There are a few categories of wasp behaviors worth mentioning here. Communal nesting females are relatively pre-social or just bare ly eusocial. For these types of wasps, a single female (queen) will initiate a nest and begin building it. Their ovaries will not develop immediately due to lots of work and a rela tively poor diet. As they mature, the daughters ova ries develop and will become reproductively active. The daugh ters will begin to lay eggs within the com munal nest. Over time all females will become equals. The next group of wasps are the primitive eusocial wasps (some paper wasps). These will form single tiered wasp nests that are open and not enclosed by paper envelope. The nest is founded by a overwintered mated female or several females. Only one female, however, will dominate the nest. She does so by posturing and physical intimida tion (tail wag ging). Castes are present in this system but there are no polymorphisms. Larval wasps will regurgitate a sweet liquid to the adult in order to stimulate the adults to deliver the food. The adults will give the larvae food and in return will use the regurgitat ed liquid (it is like Gator-aid to power flight). Future workers are feed a poorer quality diet such that they are not repro ductive when they emerge. Late in the season new queens and males are produced. The new queens will overwinter.
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Order Orthoptera
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grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids; long, slender antennae, large compound eyes, saltatorial rear legs, ovipositor are often long and well developed. hemimetabolous. most are plant feeders. sound to communicate and attract females. grasshoppers rub femur and wing together. katydids and crickets rub their two wings together. each species has characteristic mating song. males often form turfs based on their songs. parasitic flies can deposit their eggs on grasshopper and develop on them.
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Order Psocoptera
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rub small wings, booklice; wings (if present) are membranous. no cerci. hemimetabolous. vulnerable to extreme dryness. live in bark and foliage. feed on microflora. most reproduce sexually but some are parthenogenetic. form egg masses covered with cement (silk and/or chewed up bark), preventing eggs from dessicating.
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Order Collembola
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springtails; furcula, retinaculum, collophore, mating system, sperm gardens, snow fleas, ametabolous
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Family Gyrinidae
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Whirligig beetles; one pair of compound divided but appear divided. metathoracic legs for swimming (natatorial). beetles for gregarious swarms on the water surface. larvae and adults are predacious. eggs are laid in unique clusters or rows on the underside of aquatic plants
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Order Phthiraptera
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chewing and sucking lice; parasites of birds and mammals. adapted for clinging to their host. modified claws for attaching. wingless and host specific. require optimum temperatures. transmission - body to body, material to body. eggs are known as nits. suborder MALLOPHAGA - chewing lice. Suborder ISHNOCERA - chewing lice. Suborder ANOPLURA - sucking lice.
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Family Noctuidae
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armyworms, bollyworms, loopers, cutworms; are night flyers using pheromone communication from a long range.
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Family Buprestidae
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metallic wood boring beetles, flat headed borers; adults are brightly colored. larvae feed on wood of trees. leave an oval tube in the wood. all are phytophagous and attack newly cut trees. larvae usually form long winding tunnels in the wood and pupate in the wood as well.
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Order Mantoidea
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praying mantids; raptorial legs. large compound eyes. front wings are leathery tegmina and rear wings can be used for a startle response. hemimetabolous. ambush predators who are camo and lay in wait. female decapitates male while mating, make male release sperm. female eats male for protein. eggs are laid in frothy egg case - an ootheca.
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Suborder Apocrita
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Parasitic wasps, stinging wasps, stinging bees; chewing mouthparts, labium is adapted for feeding on nectar, length of labium determines type of flower the bee can or can not pollinate, ovipositor modified for piercing, can be modified into venomous sting used for defense and prey capture, wings of the apocrita are held together by a series of hooks called hamuli
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Order Lepidoptera
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Butterflies and moths, scale wing; Nearly all lepidoptera are phytophagous, but few are parasitic or predaceous. Feeding is performed mostly by the larva, a "walking intestine" that feeds and grows while specializing on plant tissues. The role of adults is to reproduce and disperse. Adults feed only enough to fuel flight. Butterflies are active during the day and possess antennae that are knobbed at the tip. Moths tend to be active during the night and possess antennae that are slender or plunmose. Skippers are active during the day and possess antennae that are hooked at tip. The mouthparts are all non-piercing sucking type with well developed labial pulps. The mouthparts form a tubular proboscis or tongue from modified maxillae. No mandibles. The wings are covered with scales. Wing color is derived from pigment on the scale. The wings are hooked together to function as one unit. The adult body is covered with scales or hairs. Larvae are usually equipped with fleshy abdominal legs called prolegs. Prolegs have structure on the end called crochets which are a terminal sets of hooks. Larvae can form silk cocoons. Alternatively larvae may burrow into soil and construct a cell or chamber. The silk is not formed and the pupae is naked. Butterflies pupate in the open hanging from vegetation by a structure called the cremaster. larvae are chewers and feed directly on plants, while the adults are liquid feeders and feed on nectar. Someadults will feed on tears and blood. Plant nutritional quality and plant defense are important in determining what a caterpillar can and cannot eat and how it finds its host plant. The most generalized feeders are often the more serious agricultural pests. They have evolved numerous mechanisms to avoid predation as well. Lepidoptera may avoid predation by concealment within the plant tissue they are feeding upon. Concealment may also include behaviors such as construction of a case that the larvae carry around with them. Lepidotera may use cryptic coloration to avoid predation. Some uses chemical defenses. Irritating hairs are another successful defense mechanism. They form mutualistic relationship with ants. Day flying butterflies will use territories like sunspots, hilltops, or any prominent feature. Both males and females will actively search for mates. Both males and females will use pheromones for close range recognition. For night flying moths, female produce long distance sex pheromones and males will fly "up stream" following the pheromone. Migratiobn behavior is a response to a deterioration in the environment. Dispersal is a response to overcrowding or limited amounts of food or mates. Lepidoptera can be serious pests and cause severe crop and plant damage. Also contain several beneficial insects. Silk. Used as biological control organisms for weed control. They are also beneficial in that they are important for plant pollination. The yucca plant is entirely dependent on a moth for pollination.
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Family Chironomidae
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midges; they are very small flies similar to mosquitoes but much smaller. larvae are aquatic and use hemoglobin for oxygen acquisition.
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Family Agromisidae
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leaf miner flies; small distinct black or yellow fliers. larvae form leaf mines.
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Family Sarcophagidae
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flesh flies; black. adults feed on sweet stuff, larvae feed on animal materia. this is a very important group of recyclers.
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Army Ants
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The army ant colony will cycle through a stationary and reproductive phase. In the reproduc tive phase the queen will lay 100,00-300,000 eggs in 3 weeks. In the no madic phase the larvae will undergo synchronized development. New adults emerge and the process will repeat itself. While in the nomadic phases, the ants will "bivouac" in clusters of up to 700,000 individuals. They forage at night in raiding columns with workers walking within the columns and soldiers moving along the edges (Figure 145). These ants will lay trail pheromones to maintain the column integrity. Army ants forage for almost anything in their path (mostly arthropods). These type of ants are associated with bird and arthropod camp followers which feed on the ants or fleeing prey.
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Order Odonata
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dragonflies, damselflies; adults can't fold up wings well (dragonflies not at all), damselflies (external rectal gill pads), dragonflies (internal rectal gills with jet propulsion), large compound eyes, chewing mouthparts, nymphal labium modified for catching prey, adults -2 pairs of long membranous wings, male cerci claspers when mating, hemimetabolous, predators, nymphs are aquatic, mating behavior - males defend turf over streams or lakes, females choose based on turf. males deposit spermatophore in a pouch on his second abdominal section. mating wheel
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Family Pompillidae
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spider hawks, tarantula hawks; Adults of this wasp family are metallic blue or black. They often have amber wings. Adults will display typical nervous search behaviors on the ground with elaborate ritual behavior enabling adults to sting spiders.
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Family Tachinidae
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tachinids; largely parisitic on other insects because they help control other insects. they are a very beneficial family. the female lays her eggs on the body of the insect host. the emerging larvae will then burrow into the insect host. at pupation the larvae will burrow out of the host and pupate nearby.
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Family Cynipidae
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gall wasps; gall wasps form galls on plants, larvae feed on and are protected by the gall
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Order Blattaria
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cockroaches; well developed cerci, cursorrial legs, long antennae, chewing mouthparts, hemimetabolous. fast runners, lack tympanum. tropical orgin and omnivorous scavengers. body allows them to fit in tight places. mating is often mediated with pheromones. females release pheromones that attract males. eggs are laid in ootheca.
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Order Dermaptera
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earwigs; flattened elongated body. front wing is very short, leathery, and veinless. hindwing is often missing (membranous when present). large pair of cerci used for defense, courtship, and prey/catching. hemimetabolous. tropical and nocturnal. omnivorous scavengers. females show maternal care. use chemicals to deter predators.
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Family Tipulidae
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crane flies, mosquito eaters; they do not bite people or hunter mosquitoes, but yet they are called mosquito eaters. the larvae are aquatic or semi-aquatic.
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Family Sphingidae
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hawks, sphix moths; the front wings are narrow, and the hind wings are wide. The larvae have a conspicuous spine. The pupa have a distinctive "pitcher handle".
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Order Strepsiptera
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Twisted wings; very small, unusual order with hypermetamorphosis. male have elaborate antennae to detect female. adult females lack eyes, antennae, and legs. the space between adult body and old larval cuticle is the access path to the female genital pores and is called the brood canal. they are internal parasites of other insects. The males locate female inside parasites hosts from a distance. The male will hold the protrud ing part of the female with special tarsal pads, and will insert his very long adeagus into the brood canal to insem inate the female. Eggs will hatch with in the body of the female. The larva feed on the blood and far of host; it won't kill the host. Effects of parasite on the host insect include distorted abdomens, female sterility. The host insect may develop characteristics of the opposite sex.
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Order Ephemeroptera
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mayflies; adults have rudimentary chewing mouthparts, large triangular front wings, 2-3 caudal tails, subimago stage (winged immatures), mating swarms, short lived adults, nymphs have 27 instars (molting stage), nymphal gills on dorsal side of abdomen, pollution indicators, aquatic. hemimetabolous
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Order Mecoptera
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Long wings, scorpionflies; the name is derived from the bulbous terminal genitalia of males in the most common family. Adults have an elongated clypeus which gives the appearance of a beak. Have chewing mouth parts located at the end of the beak. adult captures small bodied insects or will feed on dead arthropods. The larvae feed on fungi and dead arthropods and often build a burrow in soil below their food source. They live in humid terrestrial habitats, around low growing plants at edges of the woods. Adults use pheromones to attract the females and induce mating via nuptial gift. Males will compete for the availability of dead insects and use these dead insects as nuptial gifts for the females. If males lack a gift, they will construct piles of saliva to be offered to potential female mates. They may also steal gifts from other males. Males without ant gifts will attempt forced copulation.
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Order Phasmida
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walking sticks and leaf insects; usually lack wings, stridulatory organs and tympanum. mimic leaves and stems. legs are very long. hemimetabolous. plant feeders and parthenogenetic. main defense is mimicry and leg loss. kick with spiny legs. or chemical defense.
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Family Myrmelontidae
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Antlions; adults long slender bodies with clubbed antennaw, weak fliers, hide in conical pits in the dirt. larvae known as doodlebugs. larvae will pupate in the soil or sand in cocoons.
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Family Chrysopidae
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Green lacewings; green w/ gold eyes. foul odor. eggs laid on stalks to protect from predators. larvae known as aphidlions. larvae pupate in silk cocoon. silk comes from malpighian tubules.
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Order Siphonaptera
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tube wingless, fleas; fleas are small, laterally flattened insects. All fleas are wingless, and have well developed jumping legs. They are equipped with sucking mouth parts. fleas are ectoparasites and are blood feeders as adults. The larval stages are spend off the host. The larvae will feed on adult feces and host debris. Adults use those large legs to jump back onto the host animal. Fleas rend to be host specific. the most important disease transmitted by fleas is plague. Plague is primarily a disease of rodents and is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. It is vectored by the common rat flea. Plague can also be transmitted by simply being bitten by contaminated flea mouth parts. The bacterial will usually kill the flea. People have known about the disease since around 1300 B.C. the first pandemic or the Plague of Justinian lasted form 542-590 A.D. it probably killed 100,000 million people. The second pandemic with included the Black Death and the Great Plague occurred form 1348-1700. From 1348-1350, it wiped out 1/3 the population of Europe and ½ of that in England. The disease probably originated in central Asia, moved to the Black Sea and from there into the Mediterranean area and Europe. The third pandemic began around 1880 and may still be continuing. After 1700 massive outbreaks of plague declined in frequency largely due to better sanitation and rat control. The origins of the third pandemic plague occurred in east Asia, and the disease was disseminated via the shipping routes of the Pacific Ocean. Fleas are also responsible for transmitting endemic typhus. This is a milder form of the typhus you are already familiar with from lice. It is spread the same way as epidemic typhus, by rubbing contaminated feces of the fleas into feeding wounds.
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Order Hemiptera
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True Bugs; piercing sucking mouthparts. mandibles and maxillae form stylets which form food and salivary canals. antennae are long. wings present (some lack). most have scent glands. glands give off foul order when disturbed. hemimetabolous. liquid diet. some are aquatic and others live on the ground. AQUATIC FAMILIES- WATER BOATMEN - natatorial. lack gills. capture bubble of air and take it with them. found in freshwater. most feed on algae. some are predaceous. GIANT WATER BUGS, TOE BITERS - largest. raptorial legs. hind legs natatorial. breathe through spiracles. feed on insects, small fish. wait by water surface and wait to attack. inject toxin. female lays eggs on back of male. TERRESTRIAL - PLANT OR LEAF BUGS - largest family. brightly colored. most plant feeders. some predaceous.LACERATE AND FLUSH. some are pests. ASSASSIN BUGS - predaceous, blood feeders. most have raptorial legs. saliva contains toxin. can catch chagas disease. after feeding, drops feces containing disease. BED BUGS - adults wingless. blood feeders (birds, mammals). active at night. bedding material. Traumatic insemination. STINK BUGS - brightly colored. Most phytophagous. few are predaceous. some are both. can produce noxious odors. use sound to locate mates and courtship. young nymphs from predators. SEED BUGS - feed on plants and seeds. piercing sucking mouthparts. WATER STRIDERS - aquatic. live on water surface. long raptorial front legs. walk on water surfaces.
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Family Evaniidae
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ensign wasps; larvae of ensign wasps develop inside the ootheca of cockroaches, consuming eggs within
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Family Trigonalyidae
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Trigonalids; feed on the larvae of diptera or other hymenoptera
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Family Saturniidae
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giant silkworm moths; brightly colored with eyespots on the wings. The larvae of Pandora moth feed on pines and were an important food source for native americans.
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Family Mantispidae
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Mantidflies; elongated prothorax with raptorial legs. lay eggs on stalks. hypermetamorphosis. very fast first mobile instar, subsequent instars less mobile.
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Order Trichoptera
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Caddisflies, hairwings; these are medium sized insects and are the evolutionary ancestors to the moths and butterflies. Adults have chewing mouthparts and scaly membranous wings that are held rood-like over the body. Laarvae obtain oxygen through the use of abdominal gills. adults are entirely liquid feeders. They live in clean clear cold water. They are good pollution indicators. Net-spinners: netspinners will spin silk from their labial glands to construct nets that open into the current. The larvae will construct larval retreats out of stones and silk. Larvae will pupate in a case made of silk and stones. the pupae will swim to surface, crawl out of water and the adult emerges. this is unusual amount of activity for pupae.
Case-builders: larvae construct a case of debris (made from sticks, sand grains, etc)that is often characteristic of the genus/species. Larvae will feed on decaying matter or will graze on vegetation. Pupation occurs within the case after the larvae close up the entrance. Note the unusual amount of activity for a pupae. Free-licing species: the larvae of free-living species are predaceous and feed on other aquatic insects. Larvae construct a case only for pupation.
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Order Coleoptera
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Sheath wing, the beetles; mesothoracic wings. elytra and membranous wings allow good protection and ability to fly. body scleratized like a tank. either active with legs or inactive and legless. pupation occurs in an enclosed silken cell. silk created in malpighian tubes and secreted through anus. adults and larvae found in the same habitat feeding on same food.
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Fungus Gardeners
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collect fresh leaves as a substrate to grow massive fungal gardens in un derground nests. The ants will then use the fungus as food source.
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Family Carabidae
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ground beetles; elytra striated. adults nocturnal predators. larvae are predaceous as well and found in soil. mix chems. called hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide
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Family Muscidae
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stable fly, face fly, tsetse fly, house fly;
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Order Homoptera
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same wing, plant/leaf/treehopper, cicadas, aphids, scales, whiteflies, mealybugs; piercing sucking mouthparts. 2 pairs of wings (if present). hemimetabolous. phytophagous. most important to transmission plant disease. feed on plant phloem. diet high in carbs and proteins, low in protein. CICADAS make sound. nymphs use fossorial legs. SHARPSHOOTERS - use sound to communicate.
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Order Hymenoptera
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Bees; wasps, ants, sawflies; Larvae may be grub-like helpless wimps that are taken care of by their parents or they may be mobile with prolegs and fend for themselve, usually have two pairs of smooth membranous wings, often brightly colored, females have a highly developed ovipositor which is usually modified to form a sting, adults are responsible for pollinating most plants, others are extremely important predators and parasites on other insects, sex determination is somewhat unique, eggs that become fertilized become female and unfertilized become males, typically unfertilized eggs are laid first and adult males will emerge first, this ensures that most of the females will be mated, unmated females will only produce males until they mate with their sons and produce daughters, some never produce males and only produce females but are entirely parthenogenetic, most dangerous order, many hymenoptera (stinging bees, wasps, ants) possess a venomous sting use in prey capture, individual defense and colony defense, when aggravated social colonies will react with a mass attack inflicting thousands of stings on the organism perceived as a threat, these suborderes are based on how the abdomen appears to be joined to the thorax and whether or not the larvae have prolegs
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Family Chrysididae
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cuckoo wasps; Adults have beautiful metal lic blue or green sculptured bodies. They are parasitic on bees and wasps. The eggs are laid on the provis ioned nests of others.
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Family Tabanidae
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horse flies, deer flies; brightly colored or iridescent flies. females are blood sucking and can be serious pests. some species will vector tulamaremia anthrax, which is a bacteria disease similar to plague, and loaloa.
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Order Neuroptera
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Nerve wings, snakeflies, lacewings, antlions; 2 pairs of wings that are large and membranous, mouthparts are sickle shaped. holometabolous. produce silk from malpighian tubes.
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Family Papillionidae
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swallowtails; they are brightly colored butterflies, often yellow and black markings. Have distinctive tails.
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Family Dytiscidae
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predacious diving beetles; aquatic beetles. hard, smooth, oval body. long antennae. adults natatorial legs. hang downward from the water surface and wait for prey to swim by. they carry air bubble under the elytra which allows them to stay underwater for a long time. larvae are known as water tigers, with sickle like jaws.
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Order Embiidina/ Embioptera
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Webspinners; small slender insects. ocelli are absent. front tarsi and modified and will spin silk. wings are present or absent in females. hemimetabolous. live in sheltered spots. females - maternal care. feed on plants, decaying material, dead insects. not social. first instar nymphs will immediately spin silk.
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Family Sphecidae
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Mud Daubers and sand wasps; Adults will often hunt specific prey (e.g. cicada killers, Horse guards - horse flies). Are common solitary wasps that show a wide variety of the solitary wasp provisioning behaviors.
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Suborder Parasitic Wasps
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parasitoid is an organism that develops on a single host organism such that almost always death of the host results, these wasps often require a single host insect on which to develop to the adult stage, most stinging wasps are predators. parasitic wasps have chewing mouthparts, very small bodied. tend to attack relatively small hosts. avoid large hosts to minimize the danger. larger multiple hosts are not required. only the ovipositor is used. this minimizes the danger to the adult parasitoid. ovipositor may be used for egg placement and a weak sting. external parasitoid will lay their eggs externally on the host. internal parasitoids will lay their eggs inside the host. primary parasitoids (may be internal or external) are the normal parasitoid attack a host insect. secondary or hyper parasitoids are parasitoids of other parasitoids. one may find multiparisitism of a single host. paraistoids of the same species can occur as well. kleptoparasitism occurs when the parasitoids develops in the nest of another wasp. parisitic wasps can attack eggs, larvae, pupae and adult stages. depending on the stage attacked, they can emerge from the larval pupal or adult stages of the host. the developing insect parasitoid uses host insect hormones to pace its own development. polyembryoni is a process in which a female will lay a single egg that divides a multiple number of times. host feeding occurs when an adult female wasp will feed on the host insect before ovipositing any eggs. some are phytophagous. the saliva of the larvae causes unusual growth in the plants and galls are formed. the gall not only provides food but protection as well. the parasitic hymenoptera will use a variety of mechanisms to find their hosts including, what the entire plant community looks and smells like, what an individual plant looks and smells like, a leaf and stem shape of a plant, and finally what their host insect looks smells and tastes like
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Suborder common house fly
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widely distributed. go from egg to adult in 3 weeks. ideal vector of diseases that they carry on their feet such as: salmonella, shigella, bacterial forms of food poisoning, colear (large problem in western south america), streptococcus (causes strep throat) typhoid, dysentery, yaws.
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Family Tephritidae
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fruit flies; small to medium sized flies. they typically have attracted spots or bands on their wings. they feed on flowers and vegetation. females will lay eggs in developing fruits. the larvae will feed on it when they hatch. they can be serious pests and include the mediterranean fruit fly, oriental fruit fly and apple maggot.
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Family Formicidae
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Ants; evolved from the wasps. They are always social and the colony will function as a super organism. A caste systme is always present and is composed of the following: winged reproductive adults, and sterile wingless workers. The winged reproductives consist of the male and female ant (queen) responsible for starting the colony. The male ant dies soon after mating; the female will lose her wings after mating. There usually are no winged morphs in the colony. Sterile wingless workers of various sizes perform ing various func tions are present in the colony as well. Note that all of the workers are all sterile females. Small sized workers function to nurse the brood and provide some colo ny maintenance. Intermediate sized workers pro vide some brood nursing, but they mostly are responsible for colony mainte nance and foraging. Large workers with big heads and mandi bles are the soldiers. Caste determination in ants is a func tion of larval nutrition (trophylaxis) and season (temperature). Ants have a wide range of foods and often may specialize on fungi, insect eggs, collembola, seeds, honey dew, and other ants. Their nests are often elaborate and formed in the ground (up to 6 m down) or in trees. Ants use a very highly developed pheromone communication system for colony mainte nance, defense, and trail recruit ment.
Specific examples of Ant life:
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Family scarabaedae
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scarab beetles; some are scavengers and feed on decomposing material while others are plant feeders. dung rollers. roll shit, cover it in soil, bury it underground. lay eggs in shit. larvae will eat the shit. Hercules fight each other for female. June bug feeds only on plants. Japanese beetle feed on plants and are pests.
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Order Isoptera
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equal wings, termites; social behavior. chewing mouthparts. adults only have compound eyes. adults have 2 pair of wings. lost after mating. hemimetabolous. terrestrial and most are tropical. all form social colonies. feed upon feces, dead termites, fungi, wood and wood products, and plants. Trophalaxis - mouth to mouth, or mouth to anus transfer. King, queen, workers and soldiers. king and queen are only winged adults. communication is vitually by all chemical means except soldier drumming. all are blind except king and queen.
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Family Megachillidae
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leaf-cutter bees; These animals construct a tube-like nest and line the tube with cut leaves.
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Family Drosophilidae
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Pomace, Small fruit flies; often yellow in color, feed on decaying vegetation and fruit.
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Family Curculiondae
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Weevils, snout beetles; adults have a characteristic snout often with club like antennae arising at right angles off of the snout. adults when disturbed will draw in legs and antennae and fall to the ground and fake death.
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Suborder Tsese Fly
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both sexes of adults are blood feeders. adult flies pick up trypanosomes, a protozoan disease trypanosomiasis. blood of infected host vector it to people and animals. adult flies are attracted to dark moving shapes, oxen breath and urine. trypanosomiasis is known as negina or sleeping sickness. the larvae require a blood meal which require from feeding parents. the female is vivaporous. larvaes will pupate within the hour.
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Family Corydalidae
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dobsonflies, hellgrammites; nymphs 8 pairs of gills. adults near aquatic habitat. lay eggs in clusters in objects hanging over water. larvae (2-3 years) are aquatic. live under stones in running streams or dry stream bed
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Family Dermistidae
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skin or carpet beetles; larvae are completely covered with long hair. larval beetles can be quite damaging, they feed on plant and animal products. they are quite valuable as carrion and detritus feeders.
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Family Ceratopogonidae
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biting midges, punkies; adults are small vicious blood suckers. feeding of adults can cause myiasis, a disease of flies feeding on tissue.
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Family Charysomelidae
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Leaf beetles; many are brightly metallic colored. adults feed on flowers and foliage. larvae somewhat spiny. many larvae skeletonize foliage.
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Parasitic Ants
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Slave raiding ants (Dulosis is the biological term used for this behavior.) are usual ly seen as columns of aggressive red ants. These red ants will approach and surround the more docile black ant nests (Both species are in the genus Formica). The attack of the red ants will cause an alarm response in the black ant nest. A battle will break out. If the black ant nest loses, the red ants go into the black ant nest and seize larvae and pupae and return them to their own nest (red). The black nest's larvae and pupae are then raised as red ants and supplement the red ant worker population.
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Suborder Stable fly
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look like house flies by attack and bite people and cattle and livestock
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Order Diptera
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flies; flies possess only one pair of wings. Hind wings have been modified to formed halteres. Larvae are often referred to as maggots and are often wormlike and lack appendages. Usually adapted to live in their food. one or two spiracles at the end of the abdomen to be used as a snorkel. Holometabolous. flies are critical in the breakdown of biological material. They are also extremely important in the transmission of diseases.
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Family Steaphylindae
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rove beetles; adults have reduced short stubby elytra and well developed hind wings. long sharp mandibles crossing in front of the head. associated with ant nests. they trick ants into thinking theyre ants by their secretion so that the ants take them in and feed them. very fast and agile runners.
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Family Tenebrionidae
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Darkling beetles; elytra are fused, they are wingless and can't fly. they have taken over the role of the caribidae and tend to be nocturnal.
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Superfamily Chalcidoidea
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Chalcid wasps; some parasitized aquatic insect eggs, others are important parasitoids upon stale insects. wasps known as eucharitid wasps are parasitic on ants. upon hatching the larvae lay in weight to jump onto the back of a passing ant. fig wasps are also in the chalcid group of wasps. male wasps are blind and flightless. as females emerge from the gall, they collect pollen. as the enter the new fig and begin to lay eggs in the female flowers they will pollenate most of the flowers in the process.
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Advanced Eusocial Wasps
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Yellowjack ets, hornets, paper wasps, Family Vespidae. They are similar to the above primitive eusocial wasps but have polymorphic differences in the castes. In these wasps the nest is multi-tiered and is completely enclosed in a paper envelop. The nest may be underground or aerial. Their overall biology is similar to the more primitive paper wasps (above). Castes, however, are caused by differential larval nutrition. Queens receive a large cell and good food. Workers receive smaller cells and poor food (more decaying prey items).
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Family Anthophoridae
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cuckoo, digger, or carpenter bees; Cuckoo bees look like wasps and will parasitize other bees' provisions. Digger bees are large and hairy. They nest in tunnels dug into banks. They will line the tunnels with a varnish like substance. Carpenter bees are often large and black. They will nest in tunnels cut into soft wood. They can be pests in cedar or redwood shingles and fences.
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Family Cicindelidae
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Tiger Beetles; brightly colors, very active, fast. usually run. larvae construct tubes in soil and wait to attack unsuspecting prey. use mandibles to drag them down and eat them
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Family Asilidae
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Robber Flies; recognized by a depression on the top of their head between their eyes. adults are excellent predators on other insects.
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Suborder Symphyta
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sawflies; adults have chewing mouthparts and are mostly phytophagous, females have well-developed ovipositors that is usually needled or saw-like for inserting eggs into foliage, abdomen is characteristically joined broadly to the thorax, larvae possess chewing mouthparts and are phytophagous, often feed in gregarious, larvae are caterpillar-like with five pairs of prolegs, prolegs do not possess crochets, display little complex social behavior, diprionidae (saw flies) are a good representative family.
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Family Ciulicidae
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mosquitos; transmits several diseases of man and animals. only females have piercing mouthparts and they feed on blood. males are nectar feeders and don't bite. a male recognizes a female of his species with antennae. male antennae are covered with long hairs which will vibrate. the larvae use a snorkel-like adaption at the tip of a tube or spiracle on the rear end of their abdomen to breathe on the water surface. larvae are known as wrigglers, pupae are called tumblers. they carry these diseases:
1. malaria - protozoan parasite. kills more than 1 million people per year.
2. yellow fever - walter reid, an army surgeon, discovered the relationship between the mosquito and the virus. it is a problem in areas close to jungles where monkeys harbor the disease given by mosquitoes.
3. filariasis - disease caused by nematode worms. elephantiasis is the tremendous swelling of limbs.
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Order Thysanura
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bristletails, silverfish, firebrats; 1 caudal filament, 2 cerci, ametabolous, molt after adulthood, wallpaper, bookbindings, live in warm places, spermatophore under silk, female makes contact and sperm enter her body, ametabolous
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Protector Ants
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Other types of protector ants include Acacia Ants. These ants live in hollow thorns on the acacia plant and pro tect the plant from all types of herbivores and nearby com peting plants. In return the acacia plant secretes a protein rich solution from special glands that the ants feed from. This is a mutualistic relationship-the ants cannot sur vive without the tree and the tree cannot survive without the ants.
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Family Mutillidae
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Velvet Ants, cow killers; Adults can be winged but usually are not. They look like large colorful fuzzy ants. Velvet ants are parasitic on bees and wasps. Their eggs are laid on provisioned nests of other species. They have a VERY powerful sting; never pick them up.
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Ectoparasitic Ants
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The ectopar asitic ant queen will ride around on the back of a host queen ant. The ectopara sitic queen will feed on food intended for host queen.
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Suborder Solitary Stinging Wasps
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usually build some type of nest or hive. females will capture prey insects, bring them back to the nest, and then lay eggs directly on the prey. the developing larvae will consume the prey externally. female wasps have an ovipositor modified to form a sting capable of injecting very powerful venom. as a result, these wasps have lost the ability to transport an egg via the ovipositor. female oviposits using an opening at the base of the sting. stinging wasps can and do attack relatively large prey. the venom is used to subdue and paralyze but not kill. this insures that the prey will remain fresh (alive) and stay still. other wasps will prey on specific host species. for example, the tarantula hawk wasp performs an elaborate hunting behavior (a ballet) so it can sting the underside of the spider's abdomen. female wasps will learn and remember their nest location using landmarks. they will often camoflague the nest site and dig false burrows to fool and divert other parasitoids. aerial nests, mud nests, and paper nests are hivelike structures made from mud, or chewed up wood mixed with saliva. primitive wasps will sting their prey and leave it at the site. the next stage of advancements involve the host insect being stung and move to a preexisting hole. the female wasp will dig a nest first, she then will locate suitable prey, sting it, carry it back to the nest, and lay an egg on it. the female will then close the hole up into a cell. there also may be multiple prey provision for each cell, yet a more advanced situation exists when a nest is dug by the female, prey is located, stung, returned to the nest, for oviposition. additional prey items are added to cells during repeated inspections by the female (this is progressive provisioning). next in the sequence are species where the female digs a nest, locates, stings, and returns prey to the nest where more than one cell may be open. the prey are then cut up into pieces and distributed to the developing larvae as needed. very potent are used since prey need to be killed and divided up.
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Family Lampyridae
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fireflies, lightning bugs; elytra are soft and flexible. they have a luminescent organ that produces light. males winged. females wingless. signal each other with light flashes in a specific pattern
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Social Hymenoptera
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(Social stinging wasps, Social stinging bees, Ants): Pre-Social behavior is just the beginnings of sociality. Pre-Social behavior may have one or a few of the following characters: 1) gregariousness, e.g. in Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Blatarria; 2) brood care, e.g. in cockroaches, stink bugs, Belostomatidae, ear wigs; 3) communal nesting, e.g. ear wigs, web spinners, solitary wasps; and 4) nest provisioning, e.g. in many orders, including solitary bees and wasps. Eusocial or Truly Social Behavior must have all of the following: 1) cooperative brood care, 2)a caste system with a division of labor, and 3) overlapping generations. Note that Social behavior depends on a very effective communication system which is typically based on tactile (touch) and chemical signals (phero mones). Vision is not so important since most insect social colonies are located in dark areas (underground or in a hive, and social control must be maintained over long distances by many individuals (Chemical control of social behavior is most important). The evolution of sociality closely follows the same pattern as the primi tive advanced food provisioning behaviors exhibited by the solitary wasps and bees. Most Hyme noptera are solitary and parasitoids. These are the most primitive. From these evolved the venomous sting. They will sting their prey and leave it in relatively hidden areas. The next step involves the ability to sting and drag the prey to a pre-existing hole where it is then covered up. The fourth step involves stinging and dragging the prey to a single hole built by the female. The use of a multicellular nest is the next step in the evolution of sociality. Communal nesting with female cooperation develops next. Finally we see the evolution of truly eusocial insects such as bees, vespid wasps, and ants. These latter groups strongly exhibit all 3 characteristics of social behavior.
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