Pest (organism) - Citizendia

Carpet beetle larvae damaging a specimen of Sceliphron destillatorius in an entomological collection

A pest is an organism which has characteristics that are regarded by humans as injurious or unwanted. Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles A larva ( Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of Animal with indirect development, undergoing Metamorphosis (for example Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus This is most often because it causes damage to agriculture through feeding on crops or parasitising livestock, such as codling moth on apples, or boll weevil on cotton. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food The codling moth ( Cydia pomonella) is a member of the Lepidopteran family Tortricidae. The apple is the pomaceous Fruit of the apple tree Species Malus domestica in the Rose family Rosaceae. The boll weevil ( Anthonomus grandis) is a Beetle measuring an average length of six Millimeters which feeds on Cotton buds and flowers Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp An animal can also be a pest when it causes damage to a wild ecosystem or carries germs within human habitats. The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have Examples of these include those organisms which vector human disease, such as rats and fleas which carry the plague disease, or mosquitoes which vector malaria. In Epidemiology, a vector is an Organism that does not cause Disease itself but which transmits Infection by conveying Pathogens from A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly Rats are various medium sized long-tailed Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea Flea is the Common name for any of the small wingless Insects of the order Siphonaptera (some authorities use the name Aphaniptera Bubonic plague is the best-known manifestation of the bacterial disease plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis (formerly known as Mosquitoes are insects in the family Culicidae. They have a pair of scaled wings a pair of Halteres, a slender body and long legs Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including

The term pest may be used to refer specifically to harmful animals but is also often taken to mean all harmful organisms including fungi and viruses. A fungus (ˈfʌŋgəs is a eukaryotic Organism that is a member of the kingdom Fungi (ˈfʌndʒaɪ A virus (from the Latin virus meaning Toxin or Poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable Pesticides are chemicals that are used to control or protect other organisms from pests. A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest.

It is possible for an animal to be a pest in one setting but beneficial or domesticated in another (for example, European rabbits introduced to Australia caused ecological damage beyond the scale they inflicted in their natural habitat). In Australia, Rabbits are the most serious Mammalian pests, an Invasive species whose destruction of habitats is responsible for Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Introduced species|Weed Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions Many weeds are also seen as useful under certain conditions, for instance Patterson's curse is often valued as food for bees and as a wildflower, even though it can poison livestock. Echium plantagineum ( Purple Viper's Bugloss) is a species of Echium, native to western and southern Europe (from southern This article refers collectively to all true honey bees for the "common" domesticated honey bee see European honey bee Honey bees

The concept of a pest is anthropogenic, based on human purposes and perceptions.

Related is pestilence, which is any highly-infectious (epidemic) disease. In Epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people is a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a

See also