Pmw150a Assignment

COVER PAGE
NAME: SINOYOLO BUHLE

SURNAME: CHARLES
STUDENT NUMBER: 240259343
MODULE: INSECT STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTION ASSIGNMENT
CODE: PM15W0A
LECTURER: MS PHOKWE
DUE DATE: 11 MARCH 2024
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS AND PAGES
TOPIC: WHY ARE INSECTS SUCCESSFUL?
1. PLANNING [PAGE 3]
2. INTRODUCTION: A LOOK DEEP INTO THE LIFE OF

INSECTS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE CYCLE
OF LIFE [PAGE 4-5]
3. BODY: INSECT ANATOMY

: INSECT REPRODUCTION
: INSECT GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT(METAMORPHOSIS)
: INSECT CLARIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION
: INSECT ECOLOGY [PAGE 5-8]
4. CONCLUSION [PAGE 8-9]
5. REFERENCING [PAGE 9]
2
PLANNING: MIND MAP
1. INTRODUCTION
A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE LIVE OF

INSECTS AND HOW THEY MAKE A
LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT
2. BODY
WHY ARE INSECTS INSECT ANATOMY,
SUCCESSFUL? REPRODUCTION,
METAMORPHOSIS, INSECT
CLASSIFICATION AND
IDENTIFICATION AND ECOLOGY.
3. CONCLUSION
THE BENEFITS AND IMPACTS OF

INSECTS TO THE ENVIRONMENT
3
WHY ARE INSECTS SUCCESSFUL?
INTRODUCTION
Insects are the dominant life-form on earth. Millions may exist in a
single acre of land. About one million species have been described,
and there may be as many as ten times that many yet to be identified.
Of all creatures on earth, insects are the main consumers of plants.
They also play a major role in the breakdown of plant and animal
material and constitute a major food source for many other animals.
Insects are extraordinary adaptable creatures, having evolved to live
successfully in most environments on earth, including deserts and the
Antarctic and they are not commonly found in oceans. Insects
possess an amazing diversity in size, form, and behavior.
It is believed that insects are so successful because they have a
protective shell or exoskeleton, they are small, and they can fly. Their
small size and ability to fly permits escape from enemies and
dispersal to new environments, because they are small they require
only less amounts of food and can exist in very small spaces.
They can produce large numbers of offspring relatively quickly.
Insect populations also possess considerable genetic diversity and a
great potential for adaptation to different or change in environments.
This makes them an especially formidable pest of crops, able to adapt
to new plant varieties as they are developed or rapidly becoming
resistant to insecticides.
4
BODY
INSECT ANATOMY:
Insects and closely related organisms have a lightweight, but strong
exoskeleton. Their muscles and organs are on the inside the
exoskeleton protects the insect from environment and natural
enemies. The exoskeleton has sense organs for detecting light,
pressure, sound, temperature, wind and odor. Sense organs may be
located anywhere just not in the brain of the insect.
.Diagram showing the anatomy of an insect
The head of an insect functions only for food and sensory intake and
information processing. The mouthparts have evolved for chewing,
sponging, cutting-sponging and etc. The thorax provides structural
support the three pairs of legs and one or two pairs of wings, the legs
may be adapted for running, grasping, digging or swimming and the
abdomen functions in digestion and reproduction. The anatomy is
5
characterized by an open circulatory system, multitude of breathing
tubes, three-chambered digestive system. The brain located in the
head processes the information but some information is also
processed at nerve centers elsewhere in the body.
INSECT REPRODUCTION
Most species of insects have males and females that mate and
reproduce sexually. In some cases, males are rare or present only at
certain times of the year. In the absence of males, females of some
species may still reproduce. This is common, particularly among
aphids. In many species of wasps, unfertilized eggs become males
while fertilized eggs become females. In a few species, females
produce only females.
A single embryo typically develops within each egg, except in the
case of polyembryony, where hundreds of embryos may develop per
egg. Insects may reproduce by laying eggs or in some species, the
eggs may hatch within the female which shortly thereafter deposits
young. In another strategy common to aphids, the eggs hatch within
the female and the immatures remain within the female for some time
before birth.
INSECT METAMORPHOSIS
Insects typically pass through four distinct life stages: egg, larva or
nymph, pupa and adult. Eggs are laid singly or in masses, in or on
plant tissue or another insect. The embryo within the egg develops,
and eventually a larva or nymph emerges from the egg. There are
generally several larval or nymphal stages, each progressively larger
and requiring and requiring a molt or shed of the other outer skin,
between each stage.
6
Insects are cold-blooded, so that the rate at which they develop is
mostly dependent on the temperature of the environment.
INSECT CLARIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION
It is necessary to classify insects so that we can organize what we

know about them and determine their relationships with other insects.
The hierarchy used to classify the diamondback moth is as follows:
 Phylum – Arthropoda
 Class – Insecta
 Order – Lepidoptera
 Family – Plutellidae
7
 Genus – Plutella
 Species – Plutella xylostella
This universal method is used to prevent confusion among geographic
regions of the world.
INSECT ECOLOGY
Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between organisms and
their environment. An insect’s may be described by physical factors
such as temperature, wind, humidity, light, and biological factors such
as other members of the species, food sources, natural enemies, and
competitors. An understanding or at least an appreciation of these
physical and biological factors and how they relate to insect diversity,
activity and abundance is critical for successful pest management.
CONCLUSION
Insects are directly beneficial to humans by producing honey, silk,
wax, and other products. Indirectly, they are important as pollinators
of crops, natural enemies of pests, scavengers, and food for other
creatures. At the same time, insects are major pests of humans and
domesticated vector diseases. In reality, less than one percent of insect
species are pests, and only a few hundred of these are consistently a
problem. In the context of agriculture, an insect is a pest if its
presence or damage results in an economically important loss.
The adage “know your enemy” is especially appropriate when it
comes to insect pests. The more we know about their biology and
behavior, including their biology and behavior, including their natural
enemies, the more likely we will be able to manage them effectively.
REFERENCING
Taken from:
Hoffman, M.P and Froshman, A.C (1993)
8
Natural enemies of Vegetable Insect Pests.
Cooperative Extension, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.63 pp.
Google:
entomolgy.cornell.edu
entomology.unl.edu

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COVER PAGE

NAME: SINOYOLO BUHLE

TOPIC: WHY ARE INSECTS SUCCESSFUL?

2. INTRODUCTION: A LOOK DEEP INTO THE LIFE OF

3. BODY: INSECT ANATOMY

4. CONCLUSION [PAGE 8-9]

A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE LIVE OF

THE BENEFITS AND IMPACTS OF

.Diagram showing the anatomy of an insect

It is necessary to classify insects so that we can organize what we

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