Insect Toxicology and Specialized Fields in Entomology Quiz

Insect Toxicology

• Deals with the study of how chemical drugs in agriculture and medical practices affect the life of insects

Specialized Fields in Entomology

• Forest Entomology: studies insect communities in the forest ecosystem
• Medical Entomology: studies insects that parasitize humans and domesticated animals, and serve as vectors of human and animal diseases
• Economic Entomology: deals with species that are actually or potentially important in beneficial or injurious manner
• Insect Morphology: studies comparative anatomy and the development of an insect's form and structure
• Insect Physiology: studies physical and chemical changes in the insect body or the functions of forms and structures
• Insect Ecology: studies the interrelationship between insects and their environment

Common Terminologies in Entomology

• Abdomen: the body of the insect, toward the posterior of the thorax
• Aedeagus: the sclerotized terminal portion of the male genital tract that is inserted into the female during insemination
• Antennae: long feelers situated on the head and close to the eyes, used for detecting airborne scents and currents
• Anterior: in front of or after the aforementioned structure
• Anus: the posterior opening of the digestive tract
• Base: region close to the point of attachment to the thorax
• Cervix: the structure defining the neck of the insect
• Clasper: a structure in male insects that is used to hold the female during copulation

Phylum Arthropoda

• Characteristics: jointed legs or appendages, segmented body, bilateral symmetry, sclerotized exoskeleton containing chitin
• 2 subphyla: Chelicerata and Mandibulata

Phylum Arthropoda Subphyla

• Chelicerata: characterized by a pair of appendages near the oral opening, predatory with fang-like mouthparts (spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions, horseshoe crabs)
• Mandibulata: characterized by a pair of grinding structures (mandibles and maxillae) associated with mouthparts (insects, centipedes, millipedes)

Class Insecta

• Characteristics: 3 well-defined body regions or tagmata: head, thorax, and abdomen
• Insect examples: silkworm (Bombyx mori), cochineal bug (cochineal), Laccifer lacca (Scale insect)

Other Insects

• Bee: produces honey wine, bee bread (made of pollen, honey, bee wax, and bees' digestive enzymes)
• Cochineal bug: source of carmine dye, used in products like nail polish, hair spray, eyeliner, mascara, fragrance, moisturizer, hair color, and bleaching

Test your knowledge on the study of how chemical drugs in agriculture and medical practices affect insects, as well as specialized fields in entomology like forest entomology, medical entomology, and economic entomology.