Forest Insect Ecology But first: the insectan mode of life. (woodborers, ambrosia beetles etc) (defoliators) (defoliators) (barkbeetles) The carrion feeding beetles, Trogidae, and Dr. Chuck Baker. Classes: I, II, III, and IV Remember: Insect parasitoids always kill their prey. It’s not that entomologists who established the word “parasitoid” were from Brooklyn… Toity poiple boids a-sittin' on de koib a-choiping and a-boiping and eating doity woims and their parasitoids. A bit about reproduction in insects Reproduction can be: • Oviparous • Viviparous • Viviparous • By paedogenisis • By parthenogenisis - sporadic - constant - cyclic What factors determine how fast insect populations reproduce or the Reproduction Potential? Rp 2 factors used in calculation of Rp: Fecundity & SR (eastern) (1) SexRatio: (no. females/population) e.g. -- • collect 1000 pupae of WSBW • raise them to adults • 500 are females • SR = 500 = 0.5 (2) 1000 As long as an insect population can breed without biological or abiotical restrictions, the reproductive potential is: Rp = Zn