Thursday, December 26, 2019

Scale Insects and Mealybugs, Superfamily Coccoidea

Scale insects and mealybugs are significant pests of many ornamental plants and orchard trees, and cost these industries millions of dollars each year. Many other insects and larger predators eat these tiny insects, so they do serve a purpose. Some scale insects cause the formation of galls. Learn the habits and traits of these interesting true bugs, which belong to the superfamily Coccoidea. What Do Scale Insects Look Like? Scale insects often go unnoticed, although they live on many common landscape and garden plants. Theyre small insects, usually just a few millimeters long. They tend to position themselves on the undersides of leaves or other plant parts, where they arent exposed to the elements. Scale insects are sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females  look entirely different from one another.   Adult females are usually somewhat round in shape, lack wings, and often lack legs as well. Males are winged, and look somewhat like winged aphids or small gnats. To identify scale insects, its often necessary to identify the host plant. Although largely considered pests, scale insects have been used in some surprisingly beneficial ways throughout history. The red pigment found in cactus-feeding cochineal scales is used to make a natural red dye for food, cosmetics, and textiles. Shellac is made from the secretions from coccids called lac scales. Scale insects and their waxy secretions have also been used in various cultures for making candles, for jewelry, and even for chewing gum. How Are Scale Insects Classified? Kingdom - AnimaliaPhylum - ArthropodaClass - InsectaOrder - HemipteraSuperfamily – Coccoidea There is still some disagreement on how scale insects should be classified and how the group should be organized.   Some authors rank the scale insects as a suborder rather than a superfamily. Family level classification is still very much in flux. Some taxonomists subdivide the scale insects into just 22 families, while others use as many as 45. Scale Insect Families of Interest: Margarodidae - giant coccids, ground pearlsOrtheziidae - ensign coccidsPseudococcidae - mealybugsEriococcidae - felt scalesDactylopiidae - cochineal insectsKermesidae - gall-like coccidsAclerdidae - grass scalesAsterolecaniidae - pit scalesLecanodiaspididae - false pit scalesCoccidae - soft scales, wax scales, and tortoise scalesKerriidae - lac scalesDiaspididae - armored scales What Do Scale Insects Eat? Scale insects feed on plants, using piercing mouthparts to suck the juices from their host plant. Most scale insect species are specialist feeders, requiring a particular plant or group of plants to meet their nutritional needs. The Life Cycle of Scale Insects Its difficult to generalize a description of the scale insect life cycle. Development varies greatly between scale insect families and species, and is even different for males and females of the same species. Within the Coccoidea, there are species that reproduce sexually, species that are parthenogenetic, and even some that are hermaphroditic. Most scale insects produce eggs, and the female often guards them while they develop. Scale insect nymphs, particular in the first instar, are typically mobile and are referred to as crawlers. The nymphs disperse, and eventually settle on the host plant to begin feeding. Adult females are usually immobile and remain in one location for their entire lifespan. How Scale Insects Defend Themselves Scale insects produce a waxy secretion that forms a cover (called a test) over their bodies. This coating can vary greatly from species to species. In some scale insects, the test looks like a powdery substance, while others produce long strands of wax. The test is often cryptic, helping the scale insect blend in with the host plant. This waxy coat performs several functions for the scale insect. It helps insulate it from temperature fluctuations, and also maintains the proper humidity around the insects body. The test also camouflages the scale insect from potential predators and parasitoids. Scale insects and mealybugs also excrete honeydew, a sugary liquid waste that is a by-product of eating plant sap. This sweet substance attracts ants. Honeydew-loving ants will sometimes protect the scale insects from predators to ensure their supply of sugar remains intact. Where Do Scale Insects Live? The superfamily Coccoidea is quite large, with more than 7,500 species known throughout the world. Roughly 1,100 species inhabit the U.S. and Canada. Sources: Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson.Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd edition, edited by John L. Capinera.Superfamily Coccoidea – Scales and Mealybugs, Bugguide.net. Accessed online February 9, 2016.Systematic Studies of Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea), by Nathaniel B. Hardy, University of California Davis, 2008.Scale Management Guidelines – UC IPM, University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. Accessed online February 9, 2016.ScaleNet: Scale Insects (Coccoidea) Database, USDA Agricultural Research Service. Accessed online February 9, 2016.Coccoidea, Tree of Life Web. Accessed online February 9, 2016.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Essay On The Movie The Chrysalids - 961 Words

Discrimination is one of the world’s biggest problems right now. In the Movie The X-Men and the book The Chrysalids they show a wide variety of different types of discrimination. Discrimination comes in different ways from verbally to physically. The theme of discrimination against mutants shows throughout the Book and Movie as Humans Vs Mutants. If you take a glance at The Chrysalids book and then take a glance at The X-Men movie they seem that they don’t have anything a like, but if you look in deeper into the story they have a lot of similarities. Both the X-Men Last Stand directed by Brett Ratner and the book â€Å"The Chrysalids† written by John Wyndham Have many similarities. The characters, Themes, and actions the society takes upon†¦show more content†¦David strorm and Professor X has a Different view of mutants then other people they look at mutants as Normal people. Therefore the characters from both X-Men Last Stand and The Chrysalids both ha ve similarities. The X-Men and The Chrysalids show a relating theme of isolation and change. In the movie X-Men the people in the city are isolating the mutants because everyone wants mutants gone and they do not want mutants in their life. The mutants live a separate life than the normal people in the city mutants hang out with mutants and humans hangout with humans, the mutants have their own school and the humans also have their own school two separate breeds living in one city. The telepathic people are isolated because of their special ability. The waknukians see the telepaths special abilities as a danger and a threat to the humans in Waknuk. When the people in Waknuk find out about them having telepathic ability or being a mutant they have to flee the country. When Sophie’s mom said â€Å"We would have to go if anybody ever found out†.(Pg.46) When Alan found out about the six toes Sophie and he family had to flee. Both people in Waknuk and the people in the cit y of X-Men do not want change they want to live in the old days where no one was accepted but the norm was accepted. People like Xavier and the Sealander woman both accept change. At last the theme ofShow MoreRelated Consider Why Visions of the Future are Common in Literature. Make1565 Words   |  7 PagesFuture are Common in Literature. Make Specific Reference to The Chrysalids and at Least One Other Text. In this essay I will try to explain why visions of the future are so common in literature. To do this I will make reference to The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, Brother In the Land by Robert Swindell, Z for Zachariah by Robert C. OBrien and also a television series called Futurama, created by Matt Groening. This essay consists of three main parts: an introduction, an explanation on

Monday, December 9, 2019

Innovation Contemporary It and E Issues

Question: Discuss about the Innovation Contemporary It and E Issues. Answer: Introduction: The organization that is taken into consideration for this essay is IKEA Australia, which is intended to provide an innovative idea and equipment for making home a better place. The Facebook fan page contains the company's overview and their mission and has some photos and videos about their working procedure. Moreover, the user can also utilize the facility of posting their experience with IKEA and share the view about their products and services. The most attractive thing about the IKEAs fan page is that they have information regarding their recent and upcoming events so that the customers can get aware of their business proceedings and from the client's view; it is beneficial for the new customer to know whether the organization provide premium services to the buyers (Sabate et al. 2014). Moreover, in the context of a negative overview, the fan page does not contain the detailed description of their services they provide like their kitchen planning services and fusion style interior decoration for designing the home space with a better facility. The difference between the business website and Facebook fan page is that the latter one is more user-friendly, but the website presents every small detail about the organization. For instance, the services IKEA provide like kitchen designing, cooking-wares, designer kitchen furniture, lounging furniture and other facility are described in details that are not available on the Facebook fan page (Ikea.com 2016). However, Ruiz-Mafe et al. (2014) portrays that the Facebook fan page helps in the betterment of the organization as it increases the exposure about their business to potential customers and helps in reducing the marketing expenses. Thus, Facebook page is a mode of promotion that reaches their target audience and contributes to building brand loyalty. Reference List Facebook.com., 2016.IKEA Australia - About | Facebook. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/ikea.au/about/?entry_point=page_nav_about_itemtab=page_info [Accessed 14 Sep. 2016]. Ikea.com., 2016.Outdoor furniture - IKEA. [online] Available at: https://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/categories/departments/outdoor/ [Accessed 14 Sep. 2016]. Ruiz-Mafe, C., Marti-Parreno, J. and Sanz-Blas, S., 2014. Key drivers of consumer loyalty to Facebook fan pages.Online Information Review,38(3), pp.362-380. Sabate, F., Berbegal-Mirabent, J., Canabate, A. and Lebherz, P.R., 2014. Factors influencing popularity of branded content in Facebook fan pages.European Management Journal,32(6), pp.1001-1011.

Monday, December 2, 2019

wal mart Essays (331 words) - Walmart, Walmart Watch,

Wal-Mart: Staying on Top of the Fortune 500 A Case Study on Wal-Mart Stores Inc. This case study was produced for the Corporate Strategy and Public Affairs Lecture, The Graduate School of Political Management, George Washington University. April 2002, Washington DC Contributors to this Report: Patrick Hayden, Seung Lee, Kate McMahon, Mike Pereira The case study is an examination of how Wal-Mart's Corporate Strategy affects its Public Affairs and Government Relations Strategy http://mike-pereira.com Executive Summary Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the largest retail company in the United States and has been ranked number one on the Fortune 500 Index by Fortune Magazine. Wal-Mart has four parts to their corporate strategy. 1. Dominance in the Retail Market 2. Expansion in the U.S. and International Markets 3. Creation of Positive Brand and Company Recognition 4. Branch Out into New Sectors of Retail Wal-Mart?s public affairs strategy must work to make implementation of these policy goals happen. Its public affairs strategy enables the company to move into other sectors of the marketplace and expand into foreign countries. The public affairs strategy also involves gaining access to politicians who can help Wal-Mart achieve its goals. Wal-Mart has a very active Political Action Committee that gives almost a quarter million dollars annually. While Wal-Mart?s public affairs strategy works well with its corporate strategy. W e feel that there are a few recommendations which could make the company work better. Recently, Wal-Mart has been criticized for their opposition to allowing their employees to be unionized. Wal-Mart needs to clarify their reasons for their opposition to unionization. The public affairs strategy must also address the negative feelings harbored by some groups who feel that Wal-Mart is encroaching into far too many other sectors retail than it should. These concerns must be addressed if Wal-Mart is to enjoy continued success in creating positive name recognition.