Chapter one

introduction to arthropods

OUTLINE

Introduction
 History of arthropods

 Definition of terms

 Benefits of arthropods

 Harmful effects of arthropods

 . Biology of Arthropod

 way of disease transmission by arthropods

 Taxonomy of arthropods
 Learning objective

 Define terms relevant to the biology of vector

 Describe the benefits and harmful effects of
arthropods
 Discuss the biology of Arthropod and its
identification
 Describe the different ways of disease
transmission by arthropods
 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. History of arthropods
 Our human species is less than 2 million years old
 Birds and mammals 200 mill yrs
 Dinosaurs first appeared 230 mill yrs ago
 Land plants arose about 425 mill years ago
 Phylum Arthropoda 600 mill yrs ago
 Introduction ....
Dominance of insects:
 800,000 insect spp since Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)

 Represent about 53% of the 1.5 mill spp of life

 Millions of undiscovered insect species

 Two of every three living species may be insects.

1.2. Definition of terms
 Entomology study of insects
 Arthropods are invertebrate animals in the phylum
Arthropoda
 Arthropods have segmented body, jointed limbs and
hard outside covering called an exoskeleton.
 Definition......
 pesticide, any toxic substance used to kill an animal,
fungi plants that cause economic damage to crop or
ornamental plants or are hazardous to the health of
domestic animals or humans.
 All pesticides interfere with normal metabolic processes
in the organism and often are classified according to the
type of organism they are intended to control.
 Vector; transmit a pathogen from one organism to
another.
1.3. Benefits of arthropods
 Transfer of pollen in plants
 Useful products (honey, bees wax, silk)
 Major component of the food chain
 decomposition of organic matter
 Beauty - butterflies
 Medicine - some used for medicinal purposes
1.4. Harmful effects of arthropods
 Entomophobia –abnormal persistent fear of insects
(bees, spiders)
 Annoyance (biting flies, fleas, lice, ants,
cockroaches)
 Accidental injury to sense organs (insect in eye, ear,
 Envenomization (bees and wasps, spiders,
scorpions)
 Dermatosis (lice,)
 Myiasis (infestation of fly larvae)
 Allergy and related conditions (dust mites)
 Arthropods as vectors or intermediate hosts
 Mechanical carriers - serves to transport parasite
 Obligatory vectors: called as biological vector
 2.2. Morphology and Biology of arthropods
 Arthropoda = Jointed foot
 Comprises invertebrate animals with:
 Segmented body
 Several pairs of jointed appendages
 Bilateral symmetry
 Rigid, chitinous exoskeleton that is periodically molted as
the animal grows.

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 The primitive insect had the following
characteristics:
 Head consisted of 6 fused segments
Thorax consisted of 3 distinct segments these
are Prothorax, Mesothorax, Metathorax
Wings develop on thorax

Lengs develops on thorax

 The abdomen consisted of 12 distinct segments

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 The digestive system consisted of three parts:
 Foregut : starts with the mouth followed by the
pharynx, oesophagus, crop and proventriculus.
 Sacculate midgut or ’’Stomach’’
 Hindgut : ileum, colon and rectum & emptying
through anus

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 The respiratory system:
 Air enters the respiratory systems of insects through a
series of external openings called spiracles.
 In insects, the tracheal tubes primarily deliver oxygen directly
into the insects' tissues
 A branching system of tracheal tubes reaches all parts of the
body

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 Open circulatory system: In an open system, blood
(usually called hemolymph) spends much of its time
flowing freely within body cavities where it makes direct
contact with all internal tissues and organs. In closed
systems, blood remains in vessels throughout
the body.
 Open circulatory systems pump
blood into a hemocoel with the “blood”
diffusing back to the circulatory
system between cells. Hemolymph is pumped by a heart
into the body cavities, where tissues are surrounded by
the fluid.
 The excretory system:
 Tubes of varying number (Malpighian tubes)
 Waste products (urine) from the haemolymph and
excrete them into the gut to come out with faeces
from the anus
 The nervous system is composed of:
 Nerve ganglia in the head (brain)
 Ventral nerve cord
 Nerves extend from these ganglia to different parts of
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 The reproductive system (separate sexes):
 Male genital system: two testes, two vasefferentia, vas
deferens, a seminal vesicle, ejaculatory duct ,
aedeagus
 Female genital system : two ovaries, two oviducts,
vagina opening externally in the vulva.

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2.3. Ways of disease transmission
1. Mechanical transmission: no reproduction or

developmental changes of the pathogen.

E.g. House fly
2. Biological transmission

The pathogen either reproduces, develops or

both in the vector.

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 Types of Biological transmission:
1. Propagative: multiplication of the
pathogen without

developmental change.

E.g plague (flea), yellow fever (Aedes

aegypti)
2. Cyclopropagative: multiplication and
developmental change

of the pathogen.
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E.g malaria (Anopheles), trypanosomiasis
 E.g. Organisms transported by vectors

 Protozoa- Malaria, Sleeping sickness

 Arbovirus-Equine encephalitis,Yellow fever

 Rickettsia- Endemic typhus,Murine typhus

 Nematodes, Elephantiasis, River blindness etc…

 Insects play a leading role in transmission

many of the world worst diseases:

 It is estimated that 10% of global disease is
transmitted by arthropod vectors.
Factors affecting vector borne disease
transmission

– Vector distribution
– Vector abundance (affected, weather, food etc.)
– Life expectancy of vector
– Preference of vectors as proposed to alternative hosts
– Feeding rate of vector
– Vector competence( efficiency of transmission)
– Population density of the host
 [Link] of Development
 Development of arthropods:
 Arthropods develop from eggs to adult (known as
metamorphosis)
1. Incomplete metamorphosis: the intermediate
stages (Nymph) resemble the adult stage.
Egg  Nymph  Adult

2. Complete metamorphosis : the intermediate stages

(Larva & Pupa) differ from the adult stage.
Egg  Larva  Pupa  Adult
Nearly 88% of insects grow and develop in this
manner
Fig. Incomplete metamorphosis (Life cycle of
triatomine bug)
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2.5. Classification

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Structure Class Insecta (Hexapoda) Class Arachnida Class Crustacea
(Octapoda)

Body Head Cephalothorax Cephalothorax

Thorax Abdomen Abdomen
Abdomen

Antennae One pair Absent Two pairs

Legs 3 pairs 4 pairs 4 pairs

Wings 1 – 2 pairs Absent Absent

Some times absent

Examples Mosquitoes Ticks Cyclops

Flies Mites
Bugs Scorpion
Lice
Fleas

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 2.6. Some medically important vectors
Family Order Species Common name
Cimicidae Hemiptera Cimex lectularius Bed bug
Simulidae Diptera Simulium species Black flies
Trombiculidae Acari Trombiculid species Chiggers
Reduviidae Hemiptera Triatomin species Conenose bug
Pulicidae Siphonoptera Pulex & Xenopsylla Fleas
species
Tabanidae Diptera Tabanid species Horse and Deer flies
Muscidae Diptera Musca domestica House fly
Pediculidae Anoplura Pediculus humanus Body louse
Anoplura Pediculus capitis Head louse

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Some medically....

Pthiridae Anoplu Pthirus pubis Crab (pubic louse)

ra
Sarcoptidae Acari Sarcoptes scabies Itch mite
Culicidae Dipter Anopheles species Anopheles
a mosquito
Dipter Aedes species Aedes mosquito
a
Dipter Culex species Culex mosquito
a
Glossinidae Dipter Glossina species Tse tse fly
a
Phlebotomid Dipter Phlebotomine species Sand fly
ae a
Ceratopogo Dipter Culicoides Midges
nidae a
Argasidae Acari Ornithodorus Soft tick
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Ixodidae Acari Amblyoma, Rhipicephalus, Hard tick
 Class insecta
Characteristics:
 Body divided in to head, thorax, abdomen
 Head carries one pair of antennae
 Thorax carries 3 pairs of legs
 Wings may be present (one or two pairs) or absent

4 orders of class insecta:

1. Siphonoptera
2. Hemiptera
3. Anoplura
4. Diptera
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4.6 Class Insecta…

 Insects differ from other arthropods in having

 Three pairs of legs.

 In size

 Insects range from < 1 mm to 20 cm in length,

 The majority being less than 2.5 cm long.

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 Summary
 The number of legs, presence or absence of legs,
antennae and moving jaw or mouth parts are keys for
identification of insects
 Arthropods comprise invertebrate animals with
segmented body, jointed appendages and bilateral
symmetry
 Head, thorax and abdomen are the three body divisions of
insects
 The digestive system of insects consist of foregut, mid gut
and hind gut

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 Summary
 Arthropods develop from egg to adult by metamorphosis
 Incomplete metamorphosis is when young stage
resembles the adult stage
 Complete metamorphosis is when the young stage (s)
differ from the adult.
 Transmission of disease by vectors could be by
mechanical or biological means
 Propogative, cyclopropogative, transovarian,
cyclodevelopmental changes are the types of biological
transmission
 Subkingdom arthropoda is classified in to five classes:
chilopoda, diplopoda, crustacea, arachnida and insecta

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