The common name for numerous species
of social insects that can damage
wooden structures such as furniture
or houses. Of about 2000 known
species, most are distributed in
tropical countries and some inhabit
the temperate regions. Termites are
sometimes referred to as 'white
ants' because of their creamy
oloring and ant-like appearance.
There are over 350 species of
termites in Australia of which some
20 species can damage timber in
houses. In nature, they assist in
the recycling of organic matter and
nutrients back to the soil.
There only 6 families of cockroaches
found worldwide, consisting of 4000
species. Australia has
representatives of 5 of these
families but with only 428 species
present. Half of a the cockroaches
in Australia can be found in the
Blattidae family which includes both
the native and introduced species.
Go to our links section to find out
more about the families of
cockroaches.
Spiders are invertebrates with a two
part body (phalo thorax and
abdomen), biting chelicerae and silk
glands that discharge through
spinnerets. They have 4 pairs of
legs and additional pair of short
appendages (pedipalps) beside the
chelicerae. Eight is not only the
number of legs spiders have. The
original spiders and most still have
eight eyes and if that is not enough
spiders still live today which have
the original complement of eight
spinnerets.
Spiders are invertebrates with a two
part body (phalo thorax and
abdomen), biting chelicerae and silk
glands that discharge through
spinnerets. They have 4 pairs of
legs and additional pair of short
appendages (pedipalps) beside the
chelicerae. Eight is not only the
number of legs spiders have. The
original spiders and most still have
eight eyes and if that is not enough
spiders still live today which have
the original complement of eight
spinnerets.
Spiders are invertebrates with a two
part body (phalo thorax and
abdomen), biting chelicerae and silk
glands that discharge through
spinnerets. They have 4 pairs of
legs and additional pair of short
appendages (pedipalps) beside the
chelicerae. Eight is not only the
number of legs spiders have. The
original spiders and most still have
eight eyes and if that is not enough
spiders still live today which have
the original complement of eight
spinnerets.
Red
Imported Fire Ant, enopsis invicta,
is a serious new pest which has been
detected in Queensland, Australia.
They inflict a painful sting and if
not eradicated will seriously affect
our lifestyle. They are the greatest
ecological threat to Australia since
the introduction of the rabbit and
are potentially worse than the cane
toad.
In
Australia, a number of rodent
species are agricultural pests. Two
species, the house mouse (Mus
domesticus) and black rat (Rattus
rattus), were introduced around
the time of European settlement.
House mice are found throughout
agricultural cropping areas, and
around sheds and houses. When
conditions are favourable, their
numbers can increase to plague
levels. Black rats are found
throughout temperate and tropical
Australia in human-modified
environments.
There are 16 different families of
fleas worldwide, consisting of about
2380 species. In Australia 9 of
these families are represented with
just 90 different species. About
half of the endemic species that
occur in Australia are found in the
iopsyllidae family. The Pulicidae
family contains many of the
introduced fleas such as the cat,
dog and human flea, as well as some
native species. Go to our links
section to find out more aboutout
more about the different families of
fleas.
Bees belong to the insect Order
Hymenoptera, which includes wasps,
ants and sawflies. In Australia
there are four main bee families:
Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae and
Megachilidae. Many of these bees are
solitary nesters, while others may
share a nest. Others are fully
social species. Although some bees
sting, they are not considered to be
pests as they play an important role
in the Australian environment as key
pollinators of many native plant
species.
Wasps are a diverse group of
insects. In Australia alone there
are over 12,000 species, ranging
from the tiny priid wasps, which are
barely visible to the naked eye, to
the spider and cicada-killer wasps,
capable of taking large prey. Most
wasps have carnivorous larvae that
feed on other insects and spiders.
The adults provide food for them by
capturing prey or by laying the egg
on or near the food source, which
might be an egg, larva or pupa of
another insect.
Lice are small, wingless insects
that are parasites of birds and
mammals. They are usually less than
10 millimetres in length and are
rarely seen without the aid of a
microscope or magnifying glass. Lice
are short lived and usually host
cific.A few species of lice have
adapted to live and feed on humans,
such as the head louse (Pediculus
capitis), the eggs of which are
commonly called nits and the body
louse (Pediculus humanus).
There are only 4 families of
silverfish found worldwide,
consisting of about 370 species. In
Australia just 2 of these families
are represented with 28 species
present. The 2 Australian families
are easily separated from others
found throughout the world as the
oletiidae family are eyeless and the
Lepismatidae have only small
compound eyes. Go to our links
section to find out more about about
the families of silverfish.
This is one of the largest insect
orders in the world and includes
many familiar insects such as
mosquitoes, midges, sand flies,
house flies and blowflies. Many
species of Diptera are important due
to the role they play in disease
transmission, which includes such
things as mosquitoes that spread
malaria in many underdeveloped
countries
Carpet beetles damage fabrics,
furnishings and clothing that
contain wool, silk, hair, bristles,
fur, or feathers. Synthetic items
are resistant to attack, but
mixtures of synthetic and natural
fibres can be damaged. The natural
habitats of carpet beetles are nests
of birds, rodents, insects, and
spiders. The beetles are pollen
feeders and can be found in large
numbers in flowers; they can be
brought into the house in cut
flowers.
Although less
common than carpet beetles, clothes
moths are commonly experienced in
similar environments to carpet
beetles, namely woollen materials,
felt, fur and other materials of
animal gin.The two most common
species of clothes moths are the
case making clothes moth (Tinea
pellionella) and the common clothes
moth (Tineola bisselliella).
Wood borer are
insects which damage wood by
tunnelling at the larval (grub)
stage for food or leaving an
emergence hole on the surface of the
wood after becoming an adult
(beetle). These emergence holes
('pin holes') are quite visible and
are usually the first signs of an
active infestation of wood borer.
The fruiting bodies of wood decay
fungi vary in size, shape and
colour. The type of fungi
encountered by building inspectors &
pest controllers usually reside in
poorly ventilated sub-floors, below
wet areas of the home, exterior
timbers and in areas that retain
water in the soil. The durability
and type of timbers are factors
along with the temperature and
environment. Destruction of affected
timbers varies with the symptoms
involved.
