Pest Identification and Biology
What this domain tests
This domain tests whether you can identify the pests you will treat and explain their life cycles, because species and life stage determine the control method. Florida questions often ask you to separate similar species, interpret damage or signs, and choose a management approach that fits the biology.
Core identification rules
- Metamorphosis: cockroaches, bed bugs, and true bugs have gradual (incomplete) metamorphosis; ants, fleas, flies, beetles, and moths have complete metamorphosis with egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
- Cockroaches: German cockroach adults are 13–16 mm, tan with two dark pronotal stripes; females carry the ootheca until it hatches. Asian cockroach looks almost identical but is an outdoor flier attracted to light and rarely infests buildings. American and smoky brown cockroaches are larger; American has a pale edge on the pronotum, smoky brown is uniformly dark mahogany.
- Ants vs. termites: ants have elbowed antennae, a pinched waist, and a forewing larger than the hindwing; termites have beaded antennae, a broad waist, and equal wings.
- Rodents: roof rat tail is longer than head plus body; Norway rat tail is shorter; house mouse is small with a tail about as long as its body. Incisors grow continuously, so gnawing is a biological need, not just feeding.
Worked example
A technician collects a 14 mm cockroach with two dark stripes from a Florida kitchen cabinet. The wings cover the abdomen and the insect runs rather than flies. Identification: German cockroach, likely a female or a late instar near harborage. Reason: the size, stripes, indoor location, and wing length fit German; Asian cockroach would usually be taken at a light trap outdoors and would fly readily. The control implication is a crack-and-crevice bait or IGR program plus inspection of adjacent cabinets, not a broadcast baseboard spray.
Traps that cost marks
Do not call every small cockroach German; Asian and brown-banded are common look-alikes. Do not separate drywood from subterranean termites by color alone: drywood swarmers are larger and darker, and drywood colonies need no soil contact. Bed bug and bat bug identification requires a microscope to compare pronotal hair length. Brown recluse is not established in Florida; do not identify every brown spider as a recluse.