Master Gardener^sm Column for the Week of November 1, 2004
Shirley Waggoner-Eisenman
Brunswick County Extension Master Gardenersm Volunteer

Among the oldest, most numerous, and most successful animals on earth of insects and mites. In North America it is estimated that there are over 100,000 different species. In your backyard there are probably 1,000 insects at any one time.

A vast majority of these insects are either beneficial or harmless. Insects provide food for the birds, pollinate fruits and vegetables, and produce products such as honey, wax, shellac, and silk. Some beneficial insects feed on other insects that you and I consider pests.

Insects are less than three percent of what we consider to be pests in our yard or garden; however, annually they destroy millions of dollars worth of crops, fruit, shade trees, and ornamental plants. They transmit diseases and attach to humans and domestic animals. They cause irritation, blood loss, and in some instances, death.

Some of the basic classifications are:

• Arthropoda—insects, spiders, crayfish, millipedes
• Aschelminthes—roundworms, trichina
• Platyhelminths—flatworms, flukes, tapeworms
• Mollusca—snails, slugs, clams

Identification is necessary to determine the action to be taken. Is it just a minor pest or is it of major concern? Look for the following characteristics in adults: three body regions, three pairs of legs, one pair of antennae, and zero to two pairs of wings. Legs and other appendages are often greatly modified to suit the insect’s environment; the form of its appendages is often used to classify an insect.

The most important part of development occurs after birth or after the egg hatches. The immature period of an insect is primarily one of growth, feeding, and storing up food for the pupal and adult stages which follow. Most insects feed very little during the adult life.

One of the distinctive features of insects is metamorphosis; this commonly marks a change in form or structure, but can refer to all stages of development. Insects can undergo as many as four types of metamorphosis. These changes can be abrupt or gradual depending on the insect.

An immature insect sheds its outer skeleton at various stages of growth usually more than once in its lifetime. Most insects grow in stages -- when the skeleton gets too tight, it splits open and the insect crawls out, protected by a new and larger skeleton than the old one. The new skeleton has form prior to the old one being discarded. Following its shedding of the old skeleton it now increases feeding for the next stage in its life. The number of times a skeleton is shed varies with species, food supply, temperature, and moisture.

The pupal stage is a period of transformation from larva to adult. The adult period is usually one of reproduction and in some species a very short life span. The food of the adult is entirely different from that of the larval stage.

Send your gardening questions or comments to: Brunswick County Master Gardener Column, P.O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422, or call (910) 253-2610. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting information or a reply. Answers may be printed in this column.

For further information or assistance, please e-mail:
Charlie Spencer, Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^smVolunteer

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Date Created 10/29/2004