ENT100 FINAL PRACTICE TEST
QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
ANSWERS
ancient origins of plague in N America - Answer- - rodents involved in endemic sylavatic
plague Eurasian steppes, western China belong in same genera as in N America
recent introduction of plague in N America - Answer- - human plague in SF occurred
1990
- required 3 years to spread 15mi away from SF
- lack of cultural evidence of plague
all life stages parasitic: psocodea (lice) - Answer- - true lice, body flattened top to
bottom
- obligatory parasites, meaning that entire life cycle spent on host animal
insects and war - Answer- - only social insects have societies that could participate in
war
- ants, bees, wasps, termites
- soldier caste
- wasp, bee, ant stings have two basic components: pheromones and venom
-- venom from stings is generally composed of four primary components: formic acid,
phospholipases, norepinephrine, histamines
-- formic acid causes pains
-- histamine causes inflammation and itching
- phospholipases disrupt cell membranes, leading to swelling
- norepinephrine stops blood flow, prolonging pain
- stings are nearly always associated with glands that produce alarm pheromones
- this association serves additional function: alerting rest of colony to danger and where
it's coming from
- each sting on an intruder is marked by pheromone, telling other colony members
where to attack
- autothysis: explosive self-destruction
-- some carpenter ants, termites
, insects vs. insects - Answer- - slave making: ants and bumble bee species; queen
enters nest of another species, takes on colony odor, kills host queen, and then colony
workers obey here and take care of her eggs/offspring
-- other times, species workers will steal larvae and pupae from other colonies
- ant militaries: most ant soldiers + workers fight to the death, but honeypot ant disputes
between colonies can be highly ritualized.
insects vs. humans - Answer- - ant wars in pop culture (ex. ant people in Homer's Iliad
and Ovid's Metamorphosis)
- human + insects vs. humans:
1. direct use of insects: bee+wasp hives used as projectiles
-- stingless bee booby-traps
-- honey bees used as defense in medieval europe, dropped on invaders from above
2. torture
-- persians smeared condemned with honey, tied them outside to be nibbled by ants
and biting flies
--bug pit
- torture with bedbugs in soviet russia
-- not always insidious; amazonian brazil tribe has manhood rite involving young men
wearing gloves woven with bullet ants for extended periods
3. indirect uses
-- smearing body content of leaf beetle onto arrow shaft that contains diamphotoxin,
which causes cardiac arrest
-- turkish toxic, "mad honey" used to poison enemies
insect borne pathogens during war - Answer- - prior to WWI, was leading cause of
soldier death during war
- plague: last major outbreak in late 18th century, Napoleon lost due to sick troops that
infected more troops
- malaria: associated with swamps, one battle strategy would be to intentionally force
enemy to camp in marshes; during u.s. civil war, 2/3 troops died of malaria and typhoid
- yellow fever: end of 18th century, yellow fever epidemic in caribbean region, french
army sent to haiti were destroyed army
insects as disease vectors, intentional and otherwise - Answer- - typhus: caused by a
rickettsial bacteria transmitted by body lice, killed lots of Napoleon's troops
- in WWI, "sanitary units" promoted changing clothes, short haircuts, ironing clothes to
kill body lice
- insect-borne disease used, by catapulting dead horses in hopes of transmitting
disease, etc.
- Japanese medical officer/microbiologist in China did tests of germ warfare agents;
couldn't get bacterial infection to work direction, experimented with using vectors as
germ warfare agents; involved development of ceramic Uji bombs filled with plague
QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
ANSWERS
ancient origins of plague in N America - Answer- - rodents involved in endemic sylavatic
plague Eurasian steppes, western China belong in same genera as in N America
recent introduction of plague in N America - Answer- - human plague in SF occurred
1990
- required 3 years to spread 15mi away from SF
- lack of cultural evidence of plague
all life stages parasitic: psocodea (lice) - Answer- - true lice, body flattened top to
bottom
- obligatory parasites, meaning that entire life cycle spent on host animal
insects and war - Answer- - only social insects have societies that could participate in
war
- ants, bees, wasps, termites
- soldier caste
- wasp, bee, ant stings have two basic components: pheromones and venom
-- venom from stings is generally composed of four primary components: formic acid,
phospholipases, norepinephrine, histamines
-- formic acid causes pains
-- histamine causes inflammation and itching
- phospholipases disrupt cell membranes, leading to swelling
- norepinephrine stops blood flow, prolonging pain
- stings are nearly always associated with glands that produce alarm pheromones
- this association serves additional function: alerting rest of colony to danger and where
it's coming from
- each sting on an intruder is marked by pheromone, telling other colony members
where to attack
- autothysis: explosive self-destruction
-- some carpenter ants, termites
, insects vs. insects - Answer- - slave making: ants and bumble bee species; queen
enters nest of another species, takes on colony odor, kills host queen, and then colony
workers obey here and take care of her eggs/offspring
-- other times, species workers will steal larvae and pupae from other colonies
- ant militaries: most ant soldiers + workers fight to the death, but honeypot ant disputes
between colonies can be highly ritualized.
insects vs. humans - Answer- - ant wars in pop culture (ex. ant people in Homer's Iliad
and Ovid's Metamorphosis)
- human + insects vs. humans:
1. direct use of insects: bee+wasp hives used as projectiles
-- stingless bee booby-traps
-- honey bees used as defense in medieval europe, dropped on invaders from above
2. torture
-- persians smeared condemned with honey, tied them outside to be nibbled by ants
and biting flies
--bug pit
- torture with bedbugs in soviet russia
-- not always insidious; amazonian brazil tribe has manhood rite involving young men
wearing gloves woven with bullet ants for extended periods
3. indirect uses
-- smearing body content of leaf beetle onto arrow shaft that contains diamphotoxin,
which causes cardiac arrest
-- turkish toxic, "mad honey" used to poison enemies
insect borne pathogens during war - Answer- - prior to WWI, was leading cause of
soldier death during war
- plague: last major outbreak in late 18th century, Napoleon lost due to sick troops that
infected more troops
- malaria: associated with swamps, one battle strategy would be to intentionally force
enemy to camp in marshes; during u.s. civil war, 2/3 troops died of malaria and typhoid
- yellow fever: end of 18th century, yellow fever epidemic in caribbean region, french
army sent to haiti were destroyed army
insects as disease vectors, intentional and otherwise - Answer- - typhus: caused by a
rickettsial bacteria transmitted by body lice, killed lots of Napoleon's troops
- in WWI, "sanitary units" promoted changing clothes, short haircuts, ironing clothes to
kill body lice
- insect-borne disease used, by catapulting dead horses in hopes of transmitting
disease, etc.
- Japanese medical officer/microbiologist in China did tests of germ warfare agents;
couldn't get bacterial infection to work direction, experimented with using vectors as
germ warfare agents; involved development of ceramic Uji bombs filled with plague
