Economic Importance of Insects
Pest
• A pest is any animal or plant which has a harmful effect on humans, their food or their living
conditions. Pests include animals which:
• Carry disease-causing micro-organisms and parasites, for example, mosquitoes
• Attack and eat vegetable and cereal crops, for example, caterpillars and grasshoppers
• Damage stored food. For example, rats and mice
• Damage clothing. Silverfish, for example, eat holes in clothes.
• Damage buildings. For example, termites can cause considerable damage to timber in buildings.
• Bite people. For example, bed bugs
• There are thousands of different kinds of pests which are harmful to humans. The great majority
of these are types of insect
Economic importance of insects
• Total number of animal spp described in world are 1-2 million and of these more than 70% are
insects. In order coleoptera 3,00,000 spp are there.
• Insects are closely associated with daily life of man. Insects are a source of many valuable
services for man and they are also considered as humanity is greatest rival for worlds food
resources
Services randered by insects to us
➢ Pollination: More than two third of all flowering plants depends upon insects for pollination.
These include most of fruits, vegetables, oilseed crops and ornamentals.
• It has been estimated that roughly 1/3 of worlds agricultural production relies either directly or
indirectly on insects pollinators.
• Pollinating insects mainly belongs to Hymenoptera, diptera, lepidoptera and coleoptera.
➢ Trash burning: Organism involved in degradation and recycling of dead plants and animals are
called trash burner
• Detritus feeding insects feed directly on and burrow into both dead plants and animal cadavars.
• In tropical soils, termites consume large quantity of leaves, litter and woody materials and thus
major source in nutrient recycling
• Insects scavengers are thus essential for maintaining a balance in nature
➢ Maintenance of soil structure: Soil inhabiting insects improve physical properties of soil and
add to its organic content
➢ Food for other animals: Insects are major food web component. More than 75% of diet of toad
is insects
➢ Management of insect pest and weeds: Biological control is used for control of weeds in crop
fields, water reserviors and at other places
➢ Biodiversity indicators: Arthropods possess many of desirable indicator attributes and respond
to environmental changes more rapidly. E.g butterflies may be good indicators for climate
changes
➢ Crime Detection: A whole discipline of forensic entomology is coming up. Based on species and
stage of insects, entomologists are able to predict time and location of crime
➢ Sources of commercial production: Insects provides us honey, silk, bee wax, lac from lac
insects and several other useful products
➢ Human food: Over 500 sp. Of insects are used as food by humans. Usually crickets,
grasshoppers, beetle, moth, larvae and termites
➢ Medicine: Bee venom used in traditional medicines. Caterpillar fungus used as tonic by chinese
people (caterpillars of Hepialus oblifurcus infected by fungus)
➢ Scientific studies and Research: Relatively simple food requirements, shoot generation time and
high fecundity enable many insects to reared cheaply and easily under lab conditions and make
them available in teaching and research. E.g Fruitfly, Drosophila melanogester has played a key
role in as test insect in genetics studies
Harmful Effects
• Certain insects act as ecto and endo parasites of animals. E.g human louse
• Spread many diseases like cholera, malaria etc
• Tse-tse fly cause sleeping illness
• Rat flea spread plague
• Some insects especially bees, wasps may be bite or sting when disturbed accidently or
deliberately
• Some caterpillars secrete poisonous substances through hairs
Insects as pest
• A pest is an insect or any other organism that causes harm to humans, their livestock and crops
• Status of pest keeps on changing with its place
• e.g Painted lady butterfly in France is a pest whereas in neighbouring country U.K, it has no
importance neither harmful or useful.
• Adults are kept in drawing room as thing of beauty.
• In North America, it feeds on a weed as has useful aspect
Losses
• Fewer than 1% insects are regarded as pests
• Insects alone are capable of causing around 33% losses to human food resources
• American bollworm (H. armigera) alone caused complete failure of cotton crop in A.P during
1987-88
• Failure of cotton crop in Punjab in 1990
• In recent years (1998-2002), it caused 50% loss to crop
• Total yield losses from all causes to crops are estimated to be US$ 500 billion world wide
• Rice: Due to stem borer- 10-19% loss
• Rice has 24% cropped area- 16% pesticide use
• Brown plant hopper cause 71-74% loss
• Cotton: Losses upto 40-50% due to bollworms, jassids and whitefly
• Cotton occupy 5% total cropped area and consumption- 55% of pesticide use
Estimated crop losses caused by insect pests to major crops in India
Crop Approx losses ( %)
Rice 25
Wheat 5
Maize 25
Other cereals( sorgum, millets) 30
Chickpea 10
Other pulses 20
Groundnut 15
Rapseed and mustard 30
Other oilseeds 20
Sugarcane 20
Cotton( lint) 50
Vegetables
• Potato: 33% due to cutworm
• Brinjal: 15-20%, severe damage 50% by brinjal fruit and shoot borer
• Stored grains: 10% caused by insect pest and rodents (FAO)