Wheat Insect Pests

Wheat is a very important cereal plant that has been serving the nutrition of human beings for about 10,000 years and has become a strategic product of countries today. Since the day it was cultivated, it has been under the influence of many different biotic and abiotic stress factors in the regions where it grows. Harmful insects are the leading biotic stress factors. Insects appear in different phenological periods of the wheat plant in different parts of the world and sometimes cause economic damage by feeding on the root, stem, leaf, spike, flower, and grain of the plant. Throughout the world, there are many harmful insect species belonging to different orders and families that feed on the wheat plant. Today, it is known that the global potential crop loss due to harmful insects in wheat is 7.9% on average. This yield loss varies according to countries, regions, years, climatic conditions, and wheat genotypes. Preventing the damage and product losses caused by insects in wheat is an important plant protection problem of the countries. The solution to this problem passes in recognizing the harmful insects in question and successfully combating them. In this chapter, a brief description of the life cycle, ecology, geographical distribution damages in plants, economic importance, host plants, natural enemies, and management of harmful insects that cause economic loss in wheat are given.