ento 160 final
How were 'burlap bands' used to thwart gypsy moths?
- Strips of burlap were wrapped around trees (tightly at the top and loosely on the bottom) so that when the caterpillars tried to crawl up the tree they'd get stuck at the burlap and not be able to go any further
Lecture 38 From where are fire ants native? When and how did they travel to the US and where did they first colonize?
-Argentina. They traveled to the U.S. on boats and first colonized in Alabama in 1933.
Insect pests are starting to evolve resistance to particular Bt toxins. What are some other measures that can be used to make Bt crops more sustainable?
-Field-evolved resistance. The future- More transgenic crops for insect control
A man named Charles Fernald was the first person to identify the new gypsy moth species. How did he recommend dealing with the pest in 1890 at the beginning of the outbreak?
-He recommends poison and politics. Spray the area with Paris Green. Petition the legislature branch to order the extermination of the insect. spring of 1890, workers were sent to find egg masses, scrape them, douse them with kerosene, and burn them.
What are some advantages of genetically modified crops?
-efficient way to improve crops -protection against insects, better nutrition -reduce reliance on insecticides. -help to feed the world
Lecture 36 What are some common concerns about genetically modified crops?
-fear of the unknown -not natural -control of food supply by corporations -contamination -may harm people
Where did the gypsy moth come from and where in the US did it first become established?
-it came from the east Europe in 1860s, first in Massachusetts then exploded 20 years.
Lecture 37 What two types of insects tend to be problems for forest health, and why should we care?
-moths and beetles. Infestations often occur when trees are stressed by drought or heat. Outbreaks can destroy forests causing extensive economic damage and creating fire hazard
Where do Bt toxins come from and how do they harm insects?
-widespread bacterial pathogen of some insects -used in sprays to control disease, forest, and crop pests. They kill insects because it is in the food they eat. (not toxic to bees, aphids, thrips, mites)
What proportion of people surveyed have had a personal experience with bed bugs?
1 in 5 people have experienced bed bugs or have a close friend or family member who has
Where and when was wine production first developed? Who is Dionysus?
1st developed in Mediterranean cultures 2500 years ago •Dionysus is the Greek god of the vine, grape harvest, winemaking, wine, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, & theater.
What was the first generation of chemical pesticides like (e.g. Paris Green)?
According to Riley, new chemicals for control were only a small part of how to deal with pest insects. Chemical control must only be used when needed, and carefully evaluated for each situation, given how toxic and persistent the available chemical were at the time. For example, Paris Green was a powder made from toxic copper and arsenic compounds and is said "to have burned the trees and the grass around the trees". By 1900 it was the most commonly used chemical. Hydrogen cyanide gas was a respiratory poison used to fumigate crops to kill insects.
Who is meant to benefit from the UA agricultural experiment stations? How many agricultural experiment stations does UA run in Arizona? j5) What are the four main programs run by the cooperative extension service? What is the job of an entomologist 'extension agent'?
Agriculture & Natural Resources, Family, Consumer, & Health Sciences, 4-H Youth Development,Tribal Extension funds •extension agents: provide instruction and practical demonstrations in agriculture and home economics to the public
Who was Charles Valentine Riley and what were his favored methods of insect control?
Appointed by Congress in 1877 to head the 1st United States Entomological commission. His guiding principle of insect control was that effectiveness required a solid understanding of insect biology. His favored methods were cultural and biological control. Cultural control: planting/harvesting schedules, removing egg masses. Biological control: using other animals to help control insect population.
How did growth of the United States westward affect the ubiquity of subsistence farming?
As the 1800s progressed, there was a huge increase in land available for farming due to deforestation in the east & to plowing up of the prairie in the midwest. Because there was so much open acreage there was a shift from subsistence farming to larger cash-generating enterprises:commercial farming of "cash" crop
Wine grapes were brought to the Americas by European colonizers. How did they usually fare?
Attempts to establish European wine grapes in the east and midwest were unsuccessful, disaster prone
Lecture 32 What are some common ectoparasites of humans?
Bed bugs
How long have bed bugs been associated with humans? What historical cultures left evidence that they dealt with bed bugs?
Been with us since prehistoric times, •Eastern Mediterranean countries and ancient Egypt •Egyptian tombs dating back 3500 years •Mentioned in medieval European texts (400-476 AD), and classical Greek writings back to the time of Aristotle (384 BCE- 322 BCE)
What are some benefits of Bt crops over other insect control measures, and what are potential problems associated with Bt crops?
Benefits: effective against target insect pests, kill boring pests, economic, environmental, and health benefits. Problems: $500 million, contamination of seed supply, harm to non-target organisms
What are three reasons that the number of bed bug cases has increased recently?
Changes in pest management strategies, Increase in travel, Resistance to insecticides
After failing at cultural and biological control, how did Leland Howard attempt to control the boll weevil, gypsy moth, and other problem insects during his tenure as head of the Entomological Commission?
Chemical control became the dominant way to control insect pests.
What factors led to the extinction of the Rocky Mountain locust?
Coincided with settlement of the west, when native grasses were replaced by crops •Farming practices (plowing, harrowing, irrigation) destroyed locust eggs and an entire ecosystem
What was the first pesticide that was very effective at eliminating bed bug infestations (until it was banned)?
DDT
The gypsy moth eradication effort was discontinued in 1900. What factors led to the failure of the program?
Didn't know the biology of the insect, didn't know how it spread, sensitivity to pesticides, overly committed to the goal of extermination even though it wasn't working.
What is a hopper band?
Different contraptions were invented over the years to catch and kill the locust.
Why were economic entomologists eager to take on the gypsy moth problem?
Eventually an explosion. Gypsy moth numbers became annoying in the mid 1880s, and then exploded in 1889, 20 years after Trouvelot's release. Local infestations were extreme. Great pulsating masses of larvae stripped any plant along their path in minutes. They poured through basement vents and down chimneys. The outside of some houses were covered up to the roof. They were eating the leaves of oaks, fruit trees, just about anything
Why are fire ants great colonizers? How do they harm humans?
Fire ants are great colonizers because they like wet disturbed areas (e.g. lawns), can have multi-queen colonies that allow colonies to spread widely, colonies can grow rapidly by raiding and assimilating the broods of other colonies. Don't cause human death, but common, live in our neighborhoods, nasty sting: the ants tend to swarm onto enemies and sting all at once (multiple stings), the ants bite to get a grip and then sting with a stinger on their abdomens, sting gives a burning sensation and causes blisters, mounds cause problems for farmers operating equipment in fields, crop losses, cattle problems, economic impact estimated to be several billion dollars per year
Lecture 34 What is a locust?
Grasshoppers but they form larger group that travel together. The greatest locust ever lived is the rocky mountain locust.
How did Albert Child estimate how many Rocky Mountain locusts made up the great swarm of 1875? What was the estimate?
He estimated how large the exceptional swarm was using a telegraph to determine the extent of the swarm, and using a telescope to estimate the height of the swarm •3.5 trillion locusts
What was the role of E. Leopold Trouvelot in the establishment of the gypsy moth in the US?
He worked with american silk moths, asked silk moths to be sent from europe but he got gypsy moths instead. They escaped the contained area in 1869 in Massachusetts.
Why did Rachel Carson win the presidential Medal of Freedom?
Her book Silent Spring, which refers to the lack of birds and insects singing around her local pond, brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Silent Spring inspired a grassroots environmental movement and was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies. Carson was awarded by Jimmy Carter.
Who conducted the first field survey of fire ant populations in the US?
In 1949 the Alabama Department of Conservation hired two college kids, Edward O. Wilson and J.H. Eads (who had the car), to drive around the state talking to locals and mapping the location of fire ant colonies
Describe two ways that fire ants were typically spread overland by humans?
In 1953 nursery stock was identified as the most common cause of patchy spreading. Later the turf industry was found to be even more efficient at spreading the ants
A second blight caused European grape vines to wither up and die, with swollen roots. When and where did this first occur? What ended up being the culprit?
In the Rhone Valley village of Pujaut •In 1863 •By August all leaves dropped off •Phylloxera
Historically, what part of the world were plague locusts found?
In the past locusts existed everywhere
How long are bed bugs thought to have been in the Americas?
Introduced by early European colonists •Colonial writings document infestations in English colonies, but not in Indian villages •Old sailing ships were notoriously infested
Who are Jules Planchon and Charles Riley, and what did they do to help solve the Pylloxera problem?
Jules Planchon: French hero who focused on the insect, a botanist and physician, not an entomologist, brought in two entomologists, Planchon finds similar blisters in a new French vineyard, each contains an insect that seems the same as Phylloxera, but roots were clean Charles Valentine Riley: •1868: appointed State Entomologist of Missouri •Missouri produced wine from American grapes, so he knew American grape plants •read about English greenhouse insect •he independently thought it might be the grape louse (Phylloxera), which makes leaf galls (blisters) on grape vines in eastern North America
In what kinds of structures are bed bugs most common?
Library, theater, multi unit buildings
Why was there a change in focus from 'crop harvested' to 'crop lost' as farming became commercialized?
Maximizing yield = profit -In subsistence farming, you just need enough to live on. Some losses are expected and are acceptable if everyone's bellies are full. In cash farming, all losses are seen as important.
What are three examples of ways that Mirex was actually harmful? What federal agency eventually banned it?
Mirex is not specific to fire ants or even ants, Mirex is extraordinarily toxic to aquatic organisms, Mirex is bioconcentrated in the food web (like DDT), Mirex is extremely persistent (half life 12 yrs), Mirex is a moderate Carcinogen. In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency asked USDA for a full environmental impact statement of the spraying program. The request was ignored. In 1975, the EPA announced hearings on the program. Plaintiff: EPA, Respondents: USDA, Allied Chemical.
The use of heptachlor and Mirex actually increased how quickly the fire ants spread into new environments. Why?
Mirex kills other ants too, not just fire ants. Fire ants are a super colonizer of ant-free areas. Death of native ants by Mirex treatment accelerated the spread of fire ants by giving them open territory to colonize.
What makes locusts swarm?
Natural grasshopper swarming cycles are responses to variation in regional climate. Human-caused environmental changes, including the growth of agriculture, have made swarming cycles more extreme
Which president oversaw the birth of the EPA, and what was the first thing that the EPA did?
Nixon. The EPA banned DDT and other related insecticides in 1972
Describe three problems that soon arose with DDT after its widespread application around the world.
Not specific enough, Bioaccumulations, Resistance
What were the two major parts of the circa 1957 USDA plan to control and eradicate the fire ant?
Part 1: institute a quarantine on shipments containing soil: appearance of new fire ant populations decreased sharply, this does not slow natural spread of fire ant populations Part 2: spray insecticides by plane: A partnership between USDA and chemical companies, USDA: "Only the modern airplane dropping insecticides can hope to stop the menace," Mobile Press Register: "Uncle Sam is ready to use a fleet of 60 planes to go to war against the dreaded imported fire ant," Spray 25 million acres in 10 states from the air or ground with clay granules containing heptachlor
What is the best way to kill bed bugs?
Pesticides
Why weren't pesticides particular useful in battling Phylloxera?
Phylloxera and American vines have interacted for a long time, so American vines have evolved resistance to Phylloxera (all susceptible American vines died long ago)
What human attributes are most associated with having bed bugs in one's home?
Poverty, Renting, multiunit housing, subsidized, assisted living, High number of people per household, Disabilities
What is grafting and how did grafting help mitigate the Phylloxera problem in French wine grapes?
Since American vines are immune to the lethal effects, and the insect does not attack leaves of most European vines, Riley suggests grafting European vines to American roots.
Describe the four steps of the Rocky Mountain locus outbreak cycle
Step 1) •Swarms descend from Rocky Mountains in early June •Winds take them across the country Step 2) •Mate •Lay eggs leaving fields full of egg pods •These overwinter in the ground Step 3) •Hatch out the next spring and go through 5 molts •Juveniles form huge new aggregations of "hopper bands" Step 4) •After molting to adults, they can fly up and ride the wind to a new location •Cycle repeats over years with multiple waves flying across the plains •Eventually they reverse direction and head back towards their Rocky Mountain homeland
What are the health impacts of dealing with bed bugs in your home?
Swollen, itchy bumps, Sleep loss, Anxiety, stress, worry, desperation, and depression, Blood loss, anemia
What was the original (and still used to this day) solution to dealing with Phylloxera-infected vines?
Taking out the vines, burning them, and replacing them
Why did Lincoln refer to the Department of Agriculture as the 'people's Department'?
The Department works to to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities, and end hunger in the U.S. and internationally.
Define monoculture. Why are insect pests such a problem for monoculture farming?
The agricultural practice of producing or growing a single crop, plant, or livestock species, variety, or breed in a field or farming system at a time. Farming for business means maximizing yield by focusing on a single crop. This creates bigger pest problems. Specialist insect pests can grow to great numbers.
Why has the role of university entomology departments diminished in recent times?
The demonization of insects by chemical companies and increasing urbanization of the population caused humans to be afraid of and sickened by insects.
What factors contributed to the success of the program to exterminate the Asian gypsy moth in Vancouver?
The government hired an experienced media consultant. Focused on effective communication of science to the public. Dealt with emotions in addition to facts and logic. Developed policy of complete openness and availability to media. Distributed 3 bulletins to every household and business in the spray zone. Set up gypsy moth hot-line staffed with people trained in personal crisis management. Held countless public meetings with focused interest groups.
What was the purpose of the Morrill Land Grant Act that created land grant universities? How many land grant universities are there in Arizona?
The purpose was to "teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the agricultural and the mechanic arts ... in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life." •U of A is the only land grant college in Arizona
What was the economic reason behind the Canadian government's drive to exterminate the Asian gypsy moth outbreak in Vancouver in 1991?
Two thousand egg masses found on a ship from the Soviet Union and thousands of larvae were seen ballooning ashore. established a local population. Reason not to let the Asian gypsy moth become established = trade with US. US quarantine regulations require lumber and other goods be certified gypsy moth free. Loss of trade with US is a bigger threat than forest damage.
The first pesticide used against the fire ant was heptachlor. Why was it taken off the market?
What they didn't know was the effectiveness of heptachlor treatment, what strength to use, its impact on non-target organisms including humans. The effects and response resulted in widespread death of wildlife, domestic livestock, pets. Wildlife officials, entomologists, regular people were upset. Heptachlor is more toxic than DDT and breaks down into an even more toxic compound, meant that none could be allowed to drift onto harvested crops
American grapes were brought back to Europe as curiosities, and sometimes planted alongside wine grapes in vineyards. How did they usually fare?
When French vineyards were struck by a lethal fungus (powdery mildew), American grape species in France did not suffer the same symptoms
Lecture 35 What is the difference between wine grapes and table grapes?
Wine grapes from the Mediterranean (Vitis vinifera) Table grapes from North America (Vitis labrusca)
In what kinds of places do bed bugs like to hide (i.e. where do you find eggs, poop, and the actual bugs)?
a.) box springs b.) couches / chairs c.) mattresses d.) night stand / dresser e.) baseboards and moldings f.) head boards and bed frames g.) walls / ceilings h.) TV remotes i.) curtains / drapes j.) toilets
The second generation of pesticides included the popular DDT. What were some of the benefits of DDT over previous insecticides? How widespread was its use?
affected a wide range of insects (broad spectrum), not obviously toxic to vertebrates, persisted in the environment, very easy to apply, cheap. Widely used in WW2 to eliminate typhus carried by body lice: thus, WWII was the first big war where combat deaths outnumbered disease death
What is integrated pest management (IPM)?
an ecological approach to insect control that integrates a range of control practices: cultural controls, biocontrol, pesticides if necessary, in a reasoned management strategy
What are two major reasons that we, through the USDA, went to war (unsuccessfully) on the fire ants?
financial incentive for chemical companies, prestige for USDA (oops!), jobs creation by Congress
What two parts of the grape vine do Phylloxera infect, and which was the more common problem in French wine grapes?
lives on leaves in U.S. form •in England, both leaf and root feeders •almost always lived on roots of French vines
Lecture 31 What were some of the strategies farmers used pre-1900 to control insects in their gardens/farms?
natural insecticides like pyrethrum (from chrysanthemums) and tobacco, natural repellents like sulphur, planting and harvesting schedules optimized to minimize insect damage, natural habitat that encourages biological control by birds, insect predators, etc, family farms with small, varied crops (no specialization by pests)
Describe the new biocontrol method of containing fire ant populations.
parasitoid fly lays eggs on ant, egg hatches and then parasitoid larva crawls inside the ant's head, ant's head falls off as parasitoid grows, around 20 parasitoid species specifically infect fire ant populations in their native range, causing about 3% mortality, flies attack ants in day, discouraging foraging
What was the first American grape disease that infected European wine grapes, and how was this problem solved?
powdery mildew •Under control after 5 years •Source eventually traced to one of the American species, which itself wasn't affected •Discovered that American species can transmit native diseases to European species if make it across the ocean quickly
Fire ant colonies in the US spread more rapidly than would be predicted by the short flights of new queens. How did they naturally spread greater distances?
rafting during floods to new sites downstream, People also move fire ants. In 1953 nursery stock was identified as the most common cause of patchy spreading. Later the turf industry was found to be even more efficient at spreading the ants
Fire ant populations are still spreading across the US. How far does their expected final range span
six of these parasitoid flies have now been purposefully reared and released in the United States, the parasitoids have permanently established themselves in the southeastern US
What is a "grasshopper glacier" and what does it tell us about Rocky Mountain locust history?
swarms of Rocky Mountain locusts entombed in several glaciers •Record shows swarming every ~6 years over 300 years
Why is Amdro, our current fire ant poison bait, better than previous poisons used on fire ants?
the current fire ant poison bait is Amdro, provisionally approved by the EPA in 1980, Amdro is applied locally and is very short lived, no more large-scale spraying
Gypsy moth caterpillars seem to spread quickly from tree to tree. How do they do this?
they could kind of 'balloon' themselves around with silk that they created
When are bed bugs most likely to bite you?
when you are sleeping
What is 4-H and how could it be expanded to urban areas?
•4-H is a global network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development" •4-H today focuses on citizenship, healthy living, science, engineering, and technology programs.
Why do we know so much about the historical locust outbreaks in China?
•Chinese Emperors kept records on the abundance of locusts for the last 1000 years •Combined with weather data from temperature and rainfall reconstructions, scientists find that outbreaks occur in concert with extreme weather conditions: drought or floods
What are some examples where locust swarms were used in literature and movies?
•Literature: Little House on the Prairie, Lonesome Dove •Movies: Days of Heaven African Locusts in literature: A Mild Attack of Locus •Chinese locusts in literature/movies: The Good Earth
What are the four main steps in the control of locust outbreaks in Africa?
•Satellite imagery •Ground based stations reporting local conditions •Make predictions to prepare countries for outbreaks and invasions •Concentrate control methods (pesticides) on regions where outbreaks originate
Despite lack of progress at eradication of the gypsy moth, a growing array of special interest groups didn't want to see federal funding for the program diminished. Who were some of these special interests?
•Timber: Speculators would convince forest owners that to get value from their land they should harvest the forest before it was hit by the gypsy moth •Spraying equipment: all parts needed improvement: nozzles, hoses, pumps, tanks •Chemicals: development of new more effective insecticides needed •New Jobs: Legislators saw the gypsy moth work as a jobs program for their districts •Prestige: The economic entomologists still wanted gypsy moth control to be a showcase for their practices
Describe the benefits of the fourth generation of pesticides.
•a growing role of 'biotechnology' and GMOs •can engineer the genomes of crop plants to contain a gene that makes a toxin •thus, the toxin is confined to the plant and doesn't have to be openly sprayed across an environment - only insects that eat the plant are harmed •BT gene/toxin is widely used in crops that have caterpillar pests - corn, potato, tobacco, cotton •GMO cotton with BT toxin saved the cotton industry in AZ and the rest of the US
Describe the benefits of the third generation of pesticides.
•developed based on increased understanding of insect physiology •ex) insect physiologists discovered an insect hormone central to metamorphosis and egg development - 'juvenile hormone' •hormone mimics were more stable than original hormone •could block insect development •safe for people (supposedly) •termed 'growth regulators'
Lecture 33 What was the point of the Homestead Acts? How could one acquire a homestead?
•laws by which a citizen could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain (called a homestead) •Homestead: An area of public land in the West (usually 160 acres) •granted to any US citizen willing to settle on and farm the land •required a 3-step procedure: file an application, improve the land, and file for the deed
