Pest Management and Pesticide Terminology

Vocabulary flashcards based on definitions and terms related to pest control and entomology from the lecture transcript.

Acaricide

Material toxic to mites (Acarina).

Activator

Chemical added to a pesticide to increase its toxicity.

Active ingredient (a.i.)

Toxic component of a formulated pesticide.

Adherence

The ability of a material to stick to a particular surface.

Adhesive (= Sticker)

Material added to increase pesticide retention; different commercial preparations of methyl cellulose are available for this purpose.

Adjuvant

A spray additive to improve either physical or chemical properties (see also Supplement, Sticker, Adhesive, Spreader, Wetter and Emulsifier).

Antibiosis

The resistance of a plant to insect attack by having, for example, a thick cuticle, hairy leaves, toxic sap, etc.

Anti-feedant

A chemical possessing the property of inhibiting the feeding of certain insect pests.

Asymptote

The point in the growth of a population at which numerical stability is reached.

Bait

Foodstuff used for attracting pests; usually mixed with a poison to form a poison bait.

Band application

Treatment of a band of soil in row-crops, usually covering plant rows, with either sprays or granules.

Biocide

A general poison or toxicant.

Browsing

The eating of foliage of bushes and trees.

Carrier

Material serving as diluent and vehicle for the active ingredients; usually in dusts.

Chemosterilant

Chemical used to render an insect sterile without killing it.

Coarctate pupa

A pupa enclosed inside a hardened shell formed by the previous larval skin.

Cocoon

A silken case inside which a pupa is formed.

Compatibility

The ability to mix different pesticides without physical or chemical interactions which would lead to reduction in biological efficiency or increase in phyto-toxicity.

Concentrated solution (c.s.)

Commercial pesticide preparation before dilution for use.

Concentrate spraying

Direct application of the pesticide concentrates without dilution.

Concentration

Proportion of active ingredient in a pesticide preparation, before or after dilution.

Contact poison

Material killing pests by contact action, presumably by absorption through the cuticle.

Control (noun)

Untreated subjects used for comparison with those given a particular crop protection treatment.

Control (verb)

To reduce damage or pest density to a level below the economic threshold.

Legislative Control

The use of legislation to control the importation and to prevent any spread of a pest within a country.

Physical Control

The use of mechanical (hand picking, etc.) and physical methods (heat, cold, radiation, etc.) of controlling pests.

Cultural Control

Regular farm operations designed to destroy pests.

Chemical Control

The use of chemical pesticides as smokes, gas, dusts, and sprays to poison pests.

Biological Control

The use of natural predators, parasites and disease organisms to reduce pest populations.

Integrated Control

The very carefully reasoned use of several different methods of pest control in conjunction with each other to control pests with a minimum disturbance to the natural situation.

Cover

Proportion of the surface area of the target plant on which the pesticide has been deposited.

Crawlers

The active first instar of a scale insect.

Defoliant

Spray which induces premature leaf-fall.

Desiccant

Chemical which kills vegetation by inducing excessive water loss.

Diluent

Component of spray or dust that reduces the concentration of the active ingredient, and may aid in mechanical application but does not directly affect toxicity.

Disinfect

To free from infection by destruction of the pest or pathogen established in or on plants or plant parts, or to kill or inactivate pests on the surface or in the immediate vicinity (e.g. in soil).

Dispersal

Movement of individuals out of a population (emigration) or into a population (immigration).

Diurnal

Active during the daytime.

Dormant

Alive but not growing; buds with an unbroken cover of scales; quiescent; inactive; a resting stage.

Dose; dosage

Quantity of pesticide applied per individual, or per unit area, or per unit volume, or per unit weight.

Drift

Spray or dust carried by natural air currents beyond the target area.

Ecdysis

The molting (shedding of the skin) of larval arthropods from one stage of development to another – the final molt leading to the formation of the puparium or chrysalis.

Ecesis (= Oikesis)

The establishment of an organism in a new habitat; accidental dispersal and establishment in a new area.

Economic damage

The injury done to a crop which will justify the cost of artificial control measures.

Economic-injury level

The lowest population density that will cause economic damage.

Economic pest

A pest causing a crop loss of about $5–10\%$, according to definition.

Economic threshold

The pest population level at which control measures should be started to prevent the pest population from reaching the economic-injury level.

Efficiency of a pest control measure

The more or less fixed reduction of a pest population regardless of the number of pests involved.

Effectiveness of a pest control measure

This is shown by the number of pests remaining after control treatment.

Emulsifiable concentrate (e.c.)

Liquid formulation that when added to water will spontaneously disperse as fine droplets to form an emulsion (= Miscible oil).

Emulsifier

Spray additive which permits formation of a stable suspension of oil droplets in aqueous solution, or of aqueous solution in oil.

Emulsion

A stable dispersion of oil droplets in aqueous solution, or vice versa.

Entomophagous

An animal (or plant) which feeds upon insects.

Fecundity

Capacity to produce offspring (reproduce); power of a species to multiply rapidly.

Formulation

Statement of nature and amount of all constituents of a pesticide concentrate, or the method of preparation of a pesticide concentrate.

Fossorial legs

Modified for digging; in the habit of digging or burrowing.

Frass

Wood fragments made by a wood-boring insect, usually mixed with the feces.

Fumigant

Pesticide exhibiting toxicity in the vapour phase.

Furrow application

Placement of pesticides with seed in the furrow at the time of sowing.

Generation

The period from any given stage in the life cycle (usually adult) to the same stage in the offspring.

Grub (White)

A scarabaeiform larva; thick-bodied, with a well-developed head and thoracic legs, without abdominal prolegs, usually sluggish in behaviour; general term for larvae of Coleoptera.

Hemimetabolous

Insects having a simple metamorphosis, like that in the Orthoptera, Heteroptera, and Homoptera.

Herbivorous

Feeding on plants (phytophagous).

Holometabolous

Insects having a complete metamorphosis, as in the Diptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera.

Host

The organism in or on which a parasite lives; and the plant on which an insect feeds.

Hypermetamorphosis

A type of complete metamorphosis in which the different larval instars represent two or more different types of larvae.

Imago

The adult, or reproductive stage of an insect.

Inert

A material having no biological action.

Infect

To enter and establish a pathogenic relationship with a plant (host); to enter and persist in a carrier.

Infest

To occupy and cause injury to either a plant, soil or stored products.

Insecticide

A toxin effective against insects.

Instar

The form of an insect between successive molts; the first instar being the stage between hatching and the first molt.

Larva

The immature stages of an insect, between the egg and pupa having a complete metamorphosis; the six-legged first instar of the Acarina.

Larvicide

Toxicant (poison) effective against insect larvae.

Life table

The separation of a pest population into its different age components (e.g. eggs, larvae, pupae, adults).

Miticide

Preferably called Acaricide.

Molluscicide

Toxicant effective against slugs and snails.

Monophagous

An insect restricted to a single host plant species.

Mortality

Population decrease factor; death rate.

Natality

Population ‘increase’ factor; birth rate.

Nematicide

Toxicant effective against nematodes (= eelworms).

Nocturnal

Active at night.

Nymph

The immature stage of an insect that does not have a distinct pupal stage; also the immature stages of Acarina that have eight legs.

Oligophagous (= Stenophagous)

An animal feeding upon only a few, closely related, host plants; or it may be an animal parasite.

Ovicide

Toxicant effective against insect or mite eggs.

Oviparous

Reproduction by laying eggs.

Parasite

An organism living in intimate association with a living organism (plant or animal) from which it derives material essential for its existence while conferring no benefit in return.

Parasitoid

An organism alternately parasitic and free-living; most parasitic Hymenoptera and Diptera fall into this category as usually only the larvae are parasitic.

Parthenogenesis

Reproduction without fertilization; usually through eggs but sometimes through viviparity.

Persistence

The term applied to chemicals that remain active for a long period of time after application.

Pest

An animal or plant causing damage to man’s crops, animals or possessions.

Pest density

The population level at which a pest species causes economic damage.

Pest management

The careful manipulation of a pest situation, after extensive consideration of all aspects of the life system as well as ecological and economic factors.

Pest spectrum

The complete range of pests attacking a particular crop.

Pesticide

A chemical which by virtue of its toxicity (poisonous properties) is used to kill pest organisms. Includes insecticide, acaricide, bactericide, fungicide, herbicide, molluscicide, nematicide, rodenticide, etc.

Pheromone (= Ectohormone)

A substance secreted by an insect to the exterior causing a specific reaction in the receiving insects.

Phytophagous

Herbivorous; plant eating.

Phytosanitation

Measures requiring the removal or destruction of infected or infested plant material likely to form a source of reinfection or reinfestation.

Poison bait

An attractant foodstuff for insects, molluscs, or rodents, mixed with an appropriate toxicant.

Polyphagous

An animal feeding upon a range of hosts.