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LSC-30070 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2022/23 Last Updated: 19 January 2023

LSC-30070 - Insect Ecology and Pest Management
Coordinator: William Kirk Room: Hux106 Tel: +44 1782 7 33517
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 734414

Programme/Approved Electives for 2022/23

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2022/23

Insects are fascinating because of their enormous diversity of forms and lifestyles. There are more species of insect than of all other animals and plants put together. As a result of this combination of diversity and abundance, they affect us in many ways. For example, honeybees pollinate our crops and produce honey, silkworms produce silk, mosquitoes spread malaria and kill millions of people, much of our crop production is destroyed by insects, and outbreaks of locusts destroy entire crops and can cause starvation. A knowledge of insect ecology has applied uses in many fields, e.g. agriculture, horticulture, forensics, veterinary science, medicine, parasitology, environmental management and conservation. In this module you will cover: insect diversity, flight, mate finding, sex pheromones, migration, parasitoids, herbivores, fluid feeders, plant-disease vectors, pollinators, bees and management of insect pests. You will be taught with a combination of lectures, lecture discussions and tutorials, and be expected to study independently and read widely.

Aims
To provide the ecological knowledge, understanding and skills needed by an entomologist in the field of pest management.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Discuss the principles and application of insect ecology: 1
Evaluate the methods used to manage insect pests: 2
Evaluate the biology, ecology and pest status of a species of pest insect: 2
Identify an adult insect to the level of order and specify appropriate keys for identification to the level of family and species: 2

Study hours

18 hours asynchronous lectures
18 hours lecture discussion sessions
09 hours tutorials
74 hours independent study
01 hours formative assessment
15 hours review preparation
15 hours report preparation

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Literature Review weighted 50%
Literature review - 2000 words
A 2,000-word literature review requiring critical evaluation of a topic relevant to many aspects of the module.

2: Report weighted 50%
Insect report - 2500 words
A report and critical assessment of the pest management of a species of insect

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 19 January 2023