Insects pests

Effects on H umans T he human body provides food and shelter for the crab louse and 2 forms of human louse (head and pubic lice). Fleas and bedbugs obtain food from human bodies and inhabit human dwellings between blood meals. Out of doors, humans are attacked by blood-sucking flies (mosquitoes, black flies, horse and stable flies), which torment victims and may cause toxic or allergic reactions. In Canada, human dwellings, barns and other buildings are essential for the survival of insects from warmer climes (eg, cockroaches, clothes moths, carpet beetles, silverfish and some species of ants). (Borror, et al., 1981). Many blood-sucking insects are vectors of human diseases, picking up the disease organism while feeding on an infected host (human or animal) and infecting subsequent victims. Human lice are important vectors of trench fever, relapsing fever and epidemic typhus; fleas can transmit plague bacilli from rodents to humans; and different species of mosquitoes transmit malaria and encephalitis. In these diseases, the insect is an essential part of the chain of development of the disease organism, but other diseases are transmitted mechanically. T he house fly, which occurs almost worldwide, breeds on Qeios, CC-BY 4.0 · Definition, January 12, 2020


M osquito M osquito
Insects and humans cohabit the Earth and have developed complex relationships. Insect pests (less than 1% of all species) are those insects that feed on, compete for food with, or transmit diseases to humans and livestock. Ecosystems modified by human activities have provided opportunities for insects, and species that successfully adapt often become pests (Borror, et al., 1981) Ef f ects on H umans Ef f ects on H umans T he human body provides food and shelter for the crab louse and 2 forms of human louse (head and pubic lice). Fleas and bedbugs obtain food from human bodies and inhabit human dwellings between blood meals. Out of doors, humans are attacked by blood-sucking flies (mosquitoes, black flies, horse and stable flies), which torment victims and may cause toxic or allergic reactions. In Canada, human dwellings, barns and other buildings are essential for the survival of insects from warmer climes (eg, cockroaches, clothes moths, carpet beetles, silverfish and some species of ants). (Borror, et al., 1981).
Many blood-sucking insects are vectors of human diseases, picking up the disease organism while feeding on an infected host (human or animal) and infecting subsequent victims. Human lice are important vectors of trench fever, relapsing fever and epidemic typhus; fleas can transmit plague bacilli from rodents to humans; and different species of mosquitoes transmit malaria and encephalitis. In these diseases, the insect is an essential part of the chain of development of the disease organism, but other diseases are transmitted mechanically. T he house fly, which occurs almost worldwide, breeds on Qeios, CC-BY 4.0 · Definition, January 12, 2020 Qeios ID: VSFTGJ · https://doi.org/10.32388/VSFTGJ 1/4 organic wastes and can carry disease organisms to food (T urnock, 2012).

Attacks on Livestock Attacks on Livestock
Livestock are attacked by the same types of insects as humans. Each type of livestock is attacked by one or more species of lice, which causes lack of vigour and stunted growth.
Blood-sucking flies (eg, face, horn and the introduced stable fly) feed on and pester cattle, reducing growth and milk production. In some areas, mosquitoes or black flies may be so abundant that they reduce cattle feeding and may cause stampedes. Native black flies can cause severe anemia and even death. Cattle raised in black fly areas are somewhat resistant to attack, but animals brought in for herd improvement lack resistance and suffer severely or die (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/insect-pests).

Ef f ects on Plants Ef f ects on Plants
In Canada, short growing seasons and cold winters restrict most insects to one generation annually. T his reduces the number of pest species and the amount of damage they cause, in comparison with the impact of pest species in warmer parts of the world. Nevertheless, insects cause significant losses, and their control adds to the cost of many agricultural and forestry products (T urnock, 2012 Since 1950, pesticides have been used to prevent tree death and to maintain sustained tree-harvesting programs. Unfortunately, spraying has prolonged the outbreaks so that some parts of these forests must be sprayed yearly. Bark beetles occupy a similar position in western forests, normally attacking overaged or weakened trees. T hey not only compete with people for wood but also are pests in parks, where overaged stands are maintained for aesthetic reasonsm (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/insect-pests).
T he interior of lumber, poles and wooden portions of buildings may be hollowed out to form nests by black carpenter ants. In addition to serious structural damage, these large Qeios, CC-BY 4.0 · Definition, January 12, 2020 Qeios ID: VSFTGJ · https://doi.org/10.32388/VSFTGJ 3/4