Entomology Module 4
Lac Culture
- Study of lac insect – Lac culture.
- Lac insect – Kerria lacca.
- Host plants – kusum, palas, ber.
- Lac – resinous secretion used in varnish and bangles.
- Lac composition – resin (70%), wax (6–7%), dye (3%), others.
- Lac processing – stick lac → seed lac → shellac.
- Major lac producing state – Jharkhand (India = world’s top producer).
Important Pests and Host Crops
- Rice stem borer – Scirpophaga incertulas.
- Rice gall midge – Orseolia oryzae.
- Rice leaf folder – Cnaphalocrocis medinalis.
- Sugarcane top borer – Scirpophaga excerptalis.
- Sugarcane shoot borer – Chilo infuscatellus.
- Cotton bollworm – Helicoverpa armigera.
- Pink bollworm – Pectinophora gossypiella.
- American bollworm – Helicoverpa armigera.
- Jassid – Amrasca biguttula biguttula.
- Whitefly – Bemisia tabaci.
- Aphid – Aphis gossypii.
- Pigeonpea pod borer – Maruca vitrata.
- Gram pod borer – Helicoverpa armigera.
- Mustard aphid – Lipaphis erysimi.
- Groundnut leaf miner – Aproaerema modicella.
- Tomato fruit borer – Helicoverpa armigera.
- Brinjal shoot borer – Leucinodes orbonalis.
- Okra fruit borer – Earias vittella.
- Mango hopper – Idioscopus spp.
- Banana weevil – Cosmopolites sordidus.
- Coconut rhinoceros beetle – Oryctes rhinoceros.
- Red palm weevil – Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.
- Tea mosquito bug – Helopeltis theivora.
- Coffee borer – Hypothenemus hampei.
- Wheat aphid – Macrosiphum avenae.
- Stored grain pest – Sitophilus oryzae (rice weevil).
- Pulse beetle – Callosobruchus chinensis.
- Khapra beetle – Trogoderma granarium.
- Red flour beetle – Tribolium castaneum.
- Warehouse moth – Ephestia cautella.
Insect Classification (Taxonomy Overview)
- Taxonomy – science of naming and classifying insects.
- Systematics – study of relationships among insect species.
- Total insect orders – around 30, in class Insecta (Hexapoda).
- Linnaean classification – Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species.
- Scientific naming – binomial system (Genus + species).
- Authority name – person who first described the species.
- Type specimen – representative specimen of a species.
- Holotype – single specimen designated as type.
- Paratype – additional specimens cited in the description.
- Synonym – different names for same species.
- Homonym – same name used for different species.
- Family names end with “-idae” (e.g., Noctuidae, Apidae).
- Order names end with “-ptera” meaning wings.
- Coleoptera – beetles (chewing mouthparts, elytra).
- Lepidoptera – moths & butterflies (siphoning mouthparts).
- Diptera – true flies (1 pair wings, halteres for balance).
- Hemiptera – bugs, aphids, hoppers (piercing-sucking mouthparts).
- Orthoptera – grasshoppers, locusts (chewing mouthparts).
- Hymenoptera – bees, wasps, ants (chewing or chewing-lapping).
- Thysanoptera – thrips (rasping-sucking mouthparts).
- Isoptera – termites (social insects).
- Odonata – dragonflies (predators).
- Blattodea – cockroaches.
- Phasmida – stick insects (camouflage).
- Psocoptera – book lice.
- Siphonaptera – fleas (ectoparasitic, wingless).
- Phthiraptera – lice (sucking & chewing types).
- Neuroptera – lacewings (predators).
- Mantodea – praying mantis (raptorial legs).
- Ephemeroptera – mayflies (short-lived adults).
