ACE Nutrition & Dietary Needs 3

Question 1

What nutritional deficiency most commonly limits insect performance when feeding on plant phloem?

Accepted Answer

Essential amino acid deficiency

Answer

Phloem sap is rich in sugars but poor in essential amino acids, making nitrogen the key limiting nutrient for phloem-feeding insects.

Question 2

An insect's ability to regulate the ratio of protein to carbohydrate intake is best described by which concept?

Accepted Answer

Nutritional geometry (geometric framework)

Answer

The geometric framework of nutrition (nutritional geometry) models how insects actively regulate macronutrient intake to reach a specific protein-to-carbohydrate target.

Question 3

Which vitamin is particularly critical for insect vision and is often limiting in herbivorous insects feeding on mature leaves?

Accepted Answer

Beta-carotene (Vitamin A precursor)

Answer

Beta-carotene, a precursor to retinal used in photoreceptor pigments, is especially important for insect visual function and can be limited in senescing plant tissue.

Question 4

Coprophagy in certain insects such as termites primarily serves to:

Accepted Answer

Re-acquire gut symbionts and nutrients

Answer

Termites practice coprophagy to re-inoculate their gut with essential protozoa and bacteria and to recover incompletely digested nutrients.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the dietary classification of a polyphagous pest?

Accepted Answer

Feeds on a wide variety of unrelated plant species

Answer

Polyphagous insects consume a broad range of taxonomically unrelated hosts, making them particularly challenging pests from a management perspective.

(ACE) Associate Certified Entomologist Practice Test

(ACE) Associate Certified Entomologist Practice Test

ACE Nutrition & Dietary Needs 3