Economic entomology

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Economic entomology, a subset of entomology, is the name given to the study of insects based on their relation to man, his domestic animals, and his crops and, in the case of those that are injurious, of the practical methods by which they can be prevented from doing harm, or be destroyed when present.

[edit] Early Literature

The most able exponent of this subject in Great Britain was John Curtis, whose treatise Farm Insects, published in 1860, was once the standard British work dealing with the insect foes of corn, roots, grass and stored corn. The most important works dealing with fruit and other pests came from the pens of Saunders, Lintner, Riley, Slingerland and others in America and Canada, from Taschenberg, Lampa, Reuter and Kollar in Etirope, and from French, Froggatt and Tryon in Australia. It was not until the last quarter of the I9th century that any real advance was made in the study of economic entomology. Among the early writings, besides the book of Curtis, there was also a publication by Pohl and Kollar, entitled Insects Injurious to Gardeners, Foresters and Farmers, published in 1837, and Taschenbergs Praklische Insecktenkunde. American literature began as far back as 1788, when a report on the Hessian fly was issued by Sir Joseph Banks; in 1817 Thomas Say began his writings; while in 1856 Asa Fitch started his report on Noxious Insects of New York. Among the most important reports early in the 20th century were those of C. V. Riley, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, extending from 1878 to his death, in which is embodied an enormous amount of valuable material. At his death the work fell to Professor L. 0. Howard, in the form of Bulletin of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The chief writings of J. A. Lintner extend from 1882 to 1898, in yearly parts, under the title of Reports on the Injurious Insects of the State of New York.

[edit] Harmful Insects

Insects considered "pests" of some sort occur among all major living orders with the exception of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Odonata, Plecoptera (stoneflies), Embioptera (webspinners), Trichoptera (caddisflies), Neuroptera (in the broad sense), and Mecoptera (also, the tiny groups Zoraptera, Grylloblattodea, and Mantophasmatodea). Conversely, of course, essentially all insect orders primarily have members which are beneficial, in some respects, with the exception of Phthiraptera (lice), Siphonaptera (fleas), and Strepsiptera, the three orders whose members are exclusively parasitic.