Biology 251: Lecture 13Fall 1996

Insect/Plant Interactions I: Plant Eaters

  1. I. Phytophagy = herbivory
    1. Impact of phytophagous insects
      1. Almost every plant part
      2. Almost every plant species
    2. Monophagous vs. polyphagous vs. oligophagous

  2. Types of plant feeding
    1. Chewing insects
      1. Characteristics
      2. Leaf skeletonizers
      3. Leaf miners
      4. Leaf tiers/rollers/folders
      5. Borers
    2. Sucking insects
      1. Characteristics
      2. Honeydew
    3. Gall insects

  3. Host plant searching and acceptance
    1. Search for a suitable habitat
      1. Cues
      2. Strategies
    2. Settling
    3. Acceptance

  4. Insect production and transmission of plant diseases
    1. Toxemias
    2. Virus diseases
      1. Mechanical vs. circulatory transmission
      2. Inoculaton vs. surface deposit
      3. Types
        1. Bacterial
        2. Fungal
        3. Viral


"A tree will not only lie as it falls, but it will fall as it leans." Wings of Silver