Virginia Commercial Pesticide Applicators CORE exam
COMPREHENSIVE questions answered, 2025 verified
graded A+ already passed!
Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and secondary pests -
(ANSWER)Key pests are nearly always present and require regular control.
occasional pests are migratory or cyclical and require intermittent control.
secondary pests require control only under certain conditions, such as the
elimination of a key pest or the absence of a natural host.
what should you do first if you see damage to a plant, animal, or valuable
product/ - (ANSWER)identify the cause
what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be controlled? -
(ANSWER)make sure the pest is actually responsible for the damage. then
accurately identify the pest
how can pest identification help you develop a good pest control strategy? -
(ANSWER)it allows you to determine basic information about the pest, including
its life-cycle and when it is most susceptible to control measures.
name the 5 basic pest groups - (ANSWER)weeds, parasites and diseases,
mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates.
why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? - (ANSWER)weeds are
often hardy, aggressive, and tolerant of harsh conditions. many produce large
numbers of seeds which can spread over a wide area and remain dormant for a
long time.
,how can you tell a monocot from a dicot? - (ANSWER)monocots (sedges and
grasses) have one cotyledon, parallel leaf veins, flower parts in multiples of 3 and
fibrous roots. Dicots have 2 cotyledons, broad leaves with netted veination, and
flower parts in multiples of 4 and 5 and usually have taproots.
name the pathogens that cause most plant and animal diseases - (ANSWER)fungi,
bacteria, mycoplasma, and viruses
what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases - (ANSWER)stunting, yellow rings
on leaves, wilting, and mosaic patterns
how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? - (ANSWER)by attacking the
roots, stems and leaves. nematode root feeding interferes with a plants ability to
take up water and nutrients. infected plants wilt and seem to be suffering from a
lack of water or nutrients.
how do mollusks harm plants? - (ANSWER)by feeding on foliage and fruit.
mollusks reduce the value of commercial produce if they feed on harvested plants
and fruit.
what are arthropods? how do they differ from vertebrates? -
(ANSWER)arthropods are animals with segmented bodies and jointed
appendages. Arthropods have an external skeleton and may have specialized
appendages such as sucking tubes, chewing mouth parts, antennae, and pincers.
they have no backbones like vertebrates
, what is the difference between gradual and complete metamorphosis? why is it
important to know the life cycle stage of an insect? - (ANSWER)gradual
metamorphosis includes 3 stages: egg, nymph and adult. there is no pupa stage.
complete metamorphosis includes 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. insects
that develop via complete metamorphosis change body form. larvae may not look
at all like adults within the same species.it is very important to recognize the
damaging stage for best treatment results. many insect are pests in one stage but
not another. especially larval form.
what are beneficial insects? and why are they important to agriculture? -
(ANSWER)insects that are pollinators (bees and butterflies) or pest predators
(ladybeetles and lacewings). with out pollinators many types of plants could not
reproduce and beneficial predators feed on harmful insects, mites, and weeds.
how do mites harm plants? - (ANSWER)They suck the plant juices, eat the
underside of leaves, and disfigure the plants they feed on.
what is an economic threshold? - (ANSWER)the level at which economic losses
caused by pest damage, if the pest population continued to grow, would be
greater than the cost of controlling the pests. reaching an economic threshold
usually prompts some kind of pest control action.
how are thresholds important to a sound pest control strategy? -
(ANSWER)setting a treatment or action threshold is essential to prevent the pests
in an area from causing unacceptable injury or harm. action thresholds vary:
sometimes one pest is too many (like a rat in a food processing facility).
COMPREHENSIVE questions answered, 2025 verified
graded A+ already passed!
Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and secondary pests -
(ANSWER)Key pests are nearly always present and require regular control.
occasional pests are migratory or cyclical and require intermittent control.
secondary pests require control only under certain conditions, such as the
elimination of a key pest or the absence of a natural host.
what should you do first if you see damage to a plant, animal, or valuable
product/ - (ANSWER)identify the cause
what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be controlled? -
(ANSWER)make sure the pest is actually responsible for the damage. then
accurately identify the pest
how can pest identification help you develop a good pest control strategy? -
(ANSWER)it allows you to determine basic information about the pest, including
its life-cycle and when it is most susceptible to control measures.
name the 5 basic pest groups - (ANSWER)weeds, parasites and diseases,
mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates.
why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? - (ANSWER)weeds are
often hardy, aggressive, and tolerant of harsh conditions. many produce large
numbers of seeds which can spread over a wide area and remain dormant for a
long time.
,how can you tell a monocot from a dicot? - (ANSWER)monocots (sedges and
grasses) have one cotyledon, parallel leaf veins, flower parts in multiples of 3 and
fibrous roots. Dicots have 2 cotyledons, broad leaves with netted veination, and
flower parts in multiples of 4 and 5 and usually have taproots.
name the pathogens that cause most plant and animal diseases - (ANSWER)fungi,
bacteria, mycoplasma, and viruses
what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases - (ANSWER)stunting, yellow rings
on leaves, wilting, and mosaic patterns
how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? - (ANSWER)by attacking the
roots, stems and leaves. nematode root feeding interferes with a plants ability to
take up water and nutrients. infected plants wilt and seem to be suffering from a
lack of water or nutrients.
how do mollusks harm plants? - (ANSWER)by feeding on foliage and fruit.
mollusks reduce the value of commercial produce if they feed on harvested plants
and fruit.
what are arthropods? how do they differ from vertebrates? -
(ANSWER)arthropods are animals with segmented bodies and jointed
appendages. Arthropods have an external skeleton and may have specialized
appendages such as sucking tubes, chewing mouth parts, antennae, and pincers.
they have no backbones like vertebrates
, what is the difference between gradual and complete metamorphosis? why is it
important to know the life cycle stage of an insect? - (ANSWER)gradual
metamorphosis includes 3 stages: egg, nymph and adult. there is no pupa stage.
complete metamorphosis includes 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. insects
that develop via complete metamorphosis change body form. larvae may not look
at all like adults within the same species.it is very important to recognize the
damaging stage for best treatment results. many insect are pests in one stage but
not another. especially larval form.
what are beneficial insects? and why are they important to agriculture? -
(ANSWER)insects that are pollinators (bees and butterflies) or pest predators
(ladybeetles and lacewings). with out pollinators many types of plants could not
reproduce and beneficial predators feed on harmful insects, mites, and weeds.
how do mites harm plants? - (ANSWER)They suck the plant juices, eat the
underside of leaves, and disfigure the plants they feed on.
what is an economic threshold? - (ANSWER)the level at which economic losses
caused by pest damage, if the pest population continued to grow, would be
greater than the cost of controlling the pests. reaching an economic threshold
usually prompts some kind of pest control action.
how are thresholds important to a sound pest control strategy? -
(ANSWER)setting a treatment or action threshold is essential to prevent the pests
in an area from causing unacceptable injury or harm. action thresholds vary:
sometimes one pest is too many (like a rat in a food processing facility).
