1. Piercing and sucking insects are insects that have mouthparts designed to pierce into plants or animals to extract fluids. They use their sharp mouthparts to puncture the surface of the host and then suck out the juices. These insects can cause damage to plants by feeding on their sap or to animals by feeding on their blood.
Four examples of piercing and sucking insects are:
- Aphids: These small insects feed on plant sap and can cause damage to crops by transmitting diseases and weakening the plant.
- Mosquitoes: These blood-sucking insects can transmit diseases to humans and animals, such as malaria and dengue fever.
- Bed bugs: These insects feed on the blood of humans and animals, causing itchy bites and potential allergic reactions.
- Fleas: These parasites feed on the blood of their hosts, such as mammals and birds, and can transmit diseases such as bubonic plague.
3. Biting and chewing insects are insects that have mouthparts designed for chewing and biting into plant tissue or other materials. They bite off pieces of leaves, stems, or other parts of plants for feeding.
Four examples of biting and chewing insects are:
- Grasshoppers: These insects feed on grasses, leaves, and other plant material by chewing off pieces with their strong mandibles.
- Caterpillars: The larvae of butterflies and moths, these insects feed on leaves and other plant parts by chewing through them.
- Beetles: These insects have biting mouthparts and feed on a variety of plants, including leaves, flowers, and wood.
- Ants: While many ants are social insects that feed on other insects or scavenge for food, some species are known as herbivores and will feed on plant material.
Boring insects are insects that tunnel into the stems, branches, trunks, or roots of plants to feed. They can cause significant damage by weakening the plant's structure and potentially introducing pathogens into the plant.
Two examples of boring insects are:
- Emerald ash borer: This invasive beetle species feeds on ash trees by tunneling into the bark and cambium layer, eventually killing the tree.
- Wood-boring beetles: These beetles infest and bore into woody plants, such as trees and shrubs, causing structural damage and potentially leading to the plant's death.
1. Define and describe piercing and
sucking insects.
List four piercing and sucking insect
3. Define and describe biting and chewing
insects, give four examples.
Define and describe boring insect, give
two examples
1 answer