Certified Crop Advisor Practice Exam

What feeding method do insects primarily use to feed on plants?

1. Scraping

2. Chewing

3. Piercing/sucking

4. Grinding

The correct answer is: Piercing/sucking

Insects primarily utilize the piercing/sucking method for feeding on plants, which is particularly characteristic of certain groups such as aphids, leafhoppers, and some beetles. This method involves specialized mouthparts that allow insects to penetrate plant tissues and access the fluid within. The structure of these mouthparts is adapted to reach the vascular systems of plants, where they extract nutrients, primarily sap. This feeding behavior can lead to significant plant stress and damage, as it often results in stunted growth, wilting, or even death of the plant if infestations are heavy. While scraping, chewing, and grinding are also feeding methods employed by other insects, they do not predominantly account for the feeding strategies used specifically by the group that includes many common plant pests. Chewing insects, for example, like caterpillars and beetles, tend to remove chunks of plant material, rather than extracting fluids, which differentiates their feeding behavior from that of piericing/sucking insects. Thus, the prominence of piercing/sucking as a feeding method explains the effectiveness of these insects in exploiting plant resources.