Insect-Plant Interaction

Many plants rely heavily on bees as their main pollinator to reproduce. The main fear is that even though many flowers also rely on mammals and other insects to assist in the pollination process, bees are the biggest and most vital source of this life cycle. As the bees disappear the reproduction process of many plants does not happen as efficiently thus less plants are produced, this

In this experiment, we tested three different environments, soil, sand, and a leafy mixture to see which one a pill bug would prefer the most. Originally, we believed that the pill bug would find the leafy substance to be most favorable. Five pill bugs and then a single pill bug was placed in the center so that it could select one of the substrates. The data collected at the end of the experiment opposed our original hypothesis as we discovered that the most favored environment was the soil. This finding could correlate with the dark color of the soil closely matching the color of the pill bug or the moisture in the soil.

In this chapter the author stresses the importance of creatures that pollinate such as insects, birds,

Evolution has increased the chances of continuity because they have learned to adapt to the changing environment and have learnt what is best for the survival of their species. They have also learnt what will help them with their reproduction, e.g. bright coloured petals and sweet scent to attract the bees etc. to help with pollination.

In this lab, the class discovered the effects of different substrates and stimuli on red flour beetles. Red flour beetles eat flour and other grains and the female beetle deposits her eggs on flour, cereal, dry pet food, or other similar products. The larvae hatch and then begin to eat the material around them. In the article “Patch exploitation by Tribolium castaneum: Movement patterns, distribution, and oviposition”, it says that most of the activity from red flour beetles is spent in food sources (Campbell and Hagstrum). There are many factors that affect the red flour beetles ability to survive or reproduce, like temperature, food source, stress, and genetics (Biology 159). In “Humidity Reactions of Tribolium Castaneum (Herbst)”, it states that red flour beetles are attracted to different substrates due to their nutritional levels and moisture level of the substrate (Willis and Roth).

Honey bees may account for more than half of insects using the flowers of many plant species, meaning honey bees could remove a large share of the floral resources from Australian plants (and so compete with native flower-visiting fauna). European honey bees remove up to 80% of floral resources produced from Australian native plants.

Heavy feeding by the whitefly causes the death of numerous plants, or degradation in growth of older plants, because of the loss of sap. “When adult and immature whiteflies feed, they excrete honeydew, a sticky excretory waste that is composed largely of plant sugars. The honeydew can stick cotton lint together, making it more difficult to gin and therefore reducing its value. Sooty mold grows on honeydew-covered substrates, obscuring the leaf and reducing photosynthesis, and reducing fruit quality grade” (USDA 2016). By noticing the harmful effects that the whitefly has on the environment, many actions are being made to prevent the spread of further

Every year farmers’ crops are subject to droughts, floods, storms, and so much more. But one of the biggest problems that seem to be plaguing the agricultural industry, specifically the cabbage and lettuce industry, is pests. One pest in particular is the diamondback moth, and it has been wreaking havoc all over New York. However, all is not lost; there still will be cabbage and lettuce in the grocery store. The reason for this? Scientists have come up with an effective new way to manage the diamondback moth, and it isn’t reliant on pesticides. It uses genes. But, best of all, it won’t be one farmer paying for one treatment. It will be a universal movement, and this movement has the possibility to revolutionize the crucifer, or, in more simple terms, the cabbage and lettuce market.

These species include bees, such as the western honey bee, along with flies, beetles, moths, and butterflies. Pollination, as far as honey bees are concerned, is a process where honey bees legs get coated in pollen which they transfer from flower to flower to fertilize the plant. Plants rely on pollinators to grow and produce offspring. Without pollination, many plants would die off and would not be around the next growing season. Pollination is the sole reason the U.S. has as many fruits, vegetables, and nuts that it does. The western honey bee is one of the many important pollinators that have become a huge part of North American agriculture, but they might not be necessary.

Larvae defoliate and reduce the yield, quality and stand health, young larvae feed on terminal buds while larger larval feed on the leaflets of plants.

Genetically modified crops are being developed to produce their own pesticide. This will bring the rapid appearance of resistant insects. Even worse, these pesticide producing plants have killed some beneficial insects and pests that many farmers use in their crops. For example, inserting a gene from a snowdrop, a perennial herb found in Europe and Asia into a potato, made the potato resistant to the green fly, but killed lady bugs that feed on green flies.

Note: This Cornerstone supports cross-disciplinary study with the Grade 2 Science Cornerstone, The Best of Bugs: Designing Hand Pollinators. This ELA Cornerstone builds plant-related vocabulary and helps students understand the life cycle of plants. The Best of Bugs expands on the part of the life cycle related to seed dispersal and pollination and develops concepts of interdependence on plants and animals.

Other services nature provides are more easily taken for granted. We depend on plant life to replenish the oxygen in the atmosphere, and on insects to replace nutrients in the soil. (31) These insects are especially vital, as they are part of the foundation of nearly all ecosystems. Without insects, plant species that rely on them for pollination would quickly become extinct, including many of the species we rely on for food. Following them would be species that feed on insects, as well as species which rely on vegetation as part of their habitats. Finally, as insects make the prime contribution to soil renewal, even non-insect pollinated plant life would begin to decline. (34) The result, according to Wilson, would

There are several different species of insect pollinators, but the bees in general make up sixty-two percent of them. Honeybees make up thirty-nine percent of that number, and the other twenty-three is composed of several different species of bees. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one-third of the homo-sapiens diet is insect pollinated and honeybees are accountable for eighty percent of the pollination of that one-third. The population of the honeybees in the United States has been noticeably declining from the late 1990 's, so the threat to the majority of the world food supply is slowly increasing as our pollinators population decreases.

All over the world the demand for food is increasing. The human population is anticipated to grow from six billion in 2000 to nine billion in 2050. Meat production is predicted to double within the same amount, as demand grows from rising wealth. Pastures and fodder already deplete seventy percent of all agricultural land, therefore increasing livestock production would need increasing agricultural land area at the expense of rain forests and different natural lands. Officers at the United Nations Food associated Agriculture Organization recently predicted that beef might become an extreme luxury item by 2050, like caviar, as a result of rising production prices. Edible insects have long been used by ethnic groups in Asia, Africa, Mexico and South America as cheap and sustainable sources of protein, and the major role of entomophagy in human food security is well-documented. Up to 2,086 species are consumed by 3,071 ethnic groups in 130 countries. While more attention is needed to fully assess the potential of edible insects, they provide a natural source of essential carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins and offer an opportunity to bridge the gap in protein consumption between poor and wealthy nations but also to lessen the Ecological footprint. Some argue that the combination of increasing land use pressure, climate change, and food grain shortages due to the use of corn as a biofuel feedstock will cause serious challenges for attempts to meet future