The definition of IPM
What is a decision-making process that uses biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools to manage pests economically and with minimal risk to humans and the environment?
This threshold represents the pest density where economic loss equals control cost.
What is the Economic Injury Level (EIL)?
Nutrition affects insect development, but this factor most commonly limits herbivore growth.
What is nitrogen (protein) availability in host plants?
This term refers to the maximum population size an environment can support.
What is carrying capacity (K)?
This distinction separates visible pest damage from evidence of pest presence.
What is a symptom (damage) vs. a sign (actual pest or evidence like frass or eggs)?
This beetle’s history shows how pest management strategies evolve over time.
What is the Colorado potato beetle?
This number of pests is used to trigger management action before economic loss occurs.
What is the Economic Threshold (ET)?
The breadth of plant species an insect can feed on is known as this.
What is host range?
Specialists feed on few hosts
Generalists feed on many hosts
These species have high reproductive rates and thrive in unstable environments.
What are r-selected species?
Give one example each of active and passive sampling.
Active: sweep netting, in situ counts, vacuum sampling, drag sampling, knockdown sampling
Passive:sticky traps, pheromone traps, pan traps, pitfall traps
This book helped shift public perception of pest management toward ecological thinking.
What are *Silent Spring* by Rachel Carson
Explain how damage type influences EIL and which feeding type is most damaging.
What is that direct damage to yield (e.g., fruit or grain feeders) typically lowers EILs more than cosmetic or defoliation damage?
What mathematical tool helps predict insect life stages using temperature?
What are degree days?
Name three types of population dispersion patterns.
What are clumped, uniform, and random dispersion?
Define sampling unit, sample, and sampling universe.
Sampling unit: area sampled or trap (gives you a number you would write down)
Sample: All of the sampling units measured, what you base decisions off of
Sampling universe: the habitat or population that you are monitoring
This pesticide was once widely used, later banned, and is known for bioaccumulation. Name it and one pro or con.
What is DDT?
Pro: Highly effective, long-lasting, reduced disease vectors
Con: Bioaccumulates, causes ecological harm, eggshell thinning in birds
What happens to the EIL when a new plant variety is more tolerant of pest damage?
The EIL will increase.
A specific event used as a starting point for degree-day accumulation.
What is a biofix?
Compare density-dependent and density-independent limiting factors.
Density-dependent: competition for food (starvation), disease, predation (sometimes)
Density-independent: weather, temperature extremes, natural disasters
These are the people or groups responsible for surveillance and monitoring in IPM programs.
Who are growers, crop consultants, extension agents, researchers, and regulatory agencies?
These scientists helped establish modern IPM concepts in a landmark 1959 paper
Who are Stern, Smith, van den Bosch, and Hagen?
Describe challenges and uncertainties in developing and using EILs.
* Variable pest damage
* Environmental conditions
* Market value fluctuations
* Control effectiveness
Explain how temperature is used in pest management decision-making.
What is using temperature-based degree-day models to predict pest development, emergence, and optimal timing for monitoring or control?
How does age distribution influence pest population growth and management?
What is that populations with many young/reproductive individuals grow faster, will do more damage, and may trigger earlier or more aggressive management?
I need to make a decision about when to treat my apple orchard for codling moth. What types of tools can I use to make this decision
EILs/ET to determine how many insects translate to damage
Monitoring using pheromone traps
Pheromone trapping for the adults to establish a biofix date
Degree day models to establish when to treat.