Applied Zoology
This domain applies zoology to economically important animals: bees, silkworms, poultry, cattle, earthworms and pests. Questions test life cycles, products, breeds, diseases and management practices.
Core areas
- Apiculture: Apis indica and A. mellifera. Castes are queen (diploid, fertile female), drones (haploid males) and workers (diploid, sterile females). Products include honey, beeswax, propolis and royal jelly; bees also pollinate crops.
- Sericulture: Bombyx mori reared on mulberry. Silk is secreted by larval salivary glands; the cocoon is reeled. Life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, adult.
- Poultry: layers for eggs, broilers for meat. Chicken incubation takes about 21 days. Viral diseases include Newcastle (Ranikhet) disease and fowl pox; biosecurity and vaccination are key.
- Dairy: cattle and buffalo breeds; lactation depends on hormones; clean milking prevents mastitis; artificial insemination improves genetics.
- Vermiculture: epigeic earthworms such as Eisenia foetida convert organic waste into vermicompost.
- Integrated pest management: biological control, pheromone traps, resistant varieties and selective pesticides.
Worked example
A farmer has fresh cattle dung and wants vermicompost quickly. Reasoning: use Eisenia foetida, an epigeic species that feeds on organic litter; maintain 60-70% moisture, near-neutral pH and shade; avoid fresh acidic or pesticidal waste. The worms produce nutrient-rich castings, and the bedding must not overheat.
Traps
Queens are diploid and drones haploid. Silk comes from larval glands, not adult moths. Antibiotics do not cure viral poultry diseases. Vermiculture is not aquaculture. Biological control agents must be host-specific.