Insects

Why We Need Control of Pest Insects

• Loss of Commodity
  Weight loss e.g. weovil infested grain
• Loss of Quality
  Damage through insects feeding
  Tainting - mites - cockroaches - excrement e.g. of flour beetles
  Sheer presence in foodstuffs
  Secondary effects - germ removed - hot spots in grain
• Loss of Goodwill
  Bad publicity
  Bad staff relations
• Prevention of Disease
  Cockroaches - ca carry Salmonella
  Mosquitoes - malaria, parasitic worms
• Prevention of Damage
  Cockroaches and and spiders beetles are omnivorous and can damage goods other than foods e.g. Books, Tapetries. Hide Beetle larvae damage leather goods. Clothes Moth larvae damage textiles.
• Legislation
  Prosecution by Environment Health under Public Health Act (Refer to Legislation). Food Safety Act 1990 and Food Hygiene (Amendment) Regulations 2005.

Insect Biology

The name insect is derived from the Latin "insectum" meaning cut into sections i.e. their bodies are segmented. The insects (class insecta) are the most numorous and diverse members of the phylum (group_ Arthropoda, comprising of one million known species and possibly millions more yet to be discovered. Other members of the Arthropoda are the Arachnida (spiders, scorpions and mites). Crustacea (crabs, lobster and woodlice), Chilopeda (centipeds) and Diplopoda (millipedes). All arthropods have an outer shell, call and exoskeleton made of chitin often toughened with a protein called sclerotin, and varying numbers of jointed legs.

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