Information on the biology of ants and various techniques for studying ants is included. An extensive chapter on ant identification forms the bulk of this handbook with keys to worker ants, queen ants and male ants accompanied by colour and b/w plates. A quick-check field key is also included for use in the field. This is a digital reprint of the 1996 first edition (ISBN 0-85546-305-8).

A fascinating look at the world's most numerous inhabitants, illustrated with stunning images from the American Museum of Natural History's Rare Book Collection. To date, we have discovered and described or named around 1.1 million insect species, and thousands of new species are added to the ranks every year. It is estimated that there are around five million insect species on Earth, making them the most diverse lineage of all life by far. This magnificent volume from the American Museum of Natural History tells their incredible story. Noted entomologist Michael S. Engel explores insects' evolution and diversity; metamorphosis; pests, parasites, and plagues; society and language; camouflage; and pollination--as well as tales of discovery by intrepid entomologists. More than 180 illustrations from the Rare Book Collection at the Museum's Research Library reveal the extraordinary world of insects down to their tiniest, most astonishing details, from butterflies' iridescent wings to beetles' vibrant colors.

Introduces readers to the roles of butterflies in world ecosystems, as well as threats to butterfly populations and conservation efforts. Eye-catching infographics, clear text, and a "That's Amazing!" feature make this book an engaging exploration of the importance of butterflies.

This ground-breaking identification guide to all the dragonflies and damselflies of Britain and Europe brings some of the top field experts in Odonata from across the continent together with Richard Lewington, widely accepted to be Europe's foremost illustrator of insects. The guide covers all of Europe, from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean basin, including western Turkey, Cyprus, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and the Azores, Canaries and Madeira. All 160 species are described, with detailed field descriptions, notes on similar species, information on behaviour, range and status, habitat and flight season. Where necessary, simple keys and tables of similar species are provided. Distribution maps indicate species' ranges. Each species is lavishly illustrated with artworks of males and females, immatures, colour varieties, detailed side views, and close-ups of important characters. Photographs and line drawings of key features are additional identification aids.

We are all fascinated by, and often wary of, the tiny animals that creep and crawl in our gardens or lurk in the dark corners of our homes, but how much do we really know about insects and their relatives? Nick Baker's Bug Book aims to encourage our understanding of all types of bugs by providing practical information and fun activities. Learn how to determine the sex of a spider, how to look after ants in a home-made formicarium and even how to rear your own dragonflies. Packed with details on essential equipment for bug watching and collecting, informative illustrations and close-up photography, this book is essential reading for budding entomologists of all ages.

A wonderful pairing with the Metamorphosis journal or a beautiful stand-alone gift, this notecard set includes 16 cards featuring 8 original compositions (with over 15 moths and butterflies), colored envelopes, and a gorgeous keepsake box. The backs of the cards list the common and scientific names of each butterfly and moth as well as the organic materials used to create each piece.

The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland provides comprehensive coverage of all our resident and migratory butterflies, including the latest information on newly discovered species such as Cryptic Wood White and the Geranium Bronze. When first published in 1991 it won the Natural World Book of the Year Award and won plaudits from all quarters. Fully revised, considerably expanded and reset in 2010, it was judged that year's Guardian Nature Book of the Year. Now revised again to reflect the latest research findings, and with up-to-date distribution maps, this remarkable book is THE guide to the appearance, behaviour, life cycle and ecology of the butterflies of Britain and Ireland.

This is the book the mothing world has been waiting for. Ben Smart describes how to identify the early stages of more than 170 species of micro-moth larvae at all times of the year. Each species account contains details of the moth's foodplant, life cycle and distribution, with information on where to find the larvae and the vital signs to look out for in the field. Each species of moth described gets a page to itself, and the many photographs illuminate the essential diagnostic signs. There are 12 chapters, one for each month, as well as recommendations on what micro-moths to look for on field trips at different times of the year. Although focusing on Lancashire and Cheshire, the information is relevant to micro-moths well beyond the boundaries of the two counties. Published by the Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna Society and Butterfly Conservation.The second edition is identical to the first in all respects, except for an additional index.

We can see them fly gracefully from flower to flower with their multi-coloured wings: they are butterflies, the most admired and collected of insects; like bees, they are vital for plant pollination, which is why we have recently started protecting them as their numbers are significantly dwindling. Through this book you will get to know them better, explore their physiology, their defence and reproduction mechanisms and their most noteworthy features, and uncover the secrets behind the complicated patterns and amazing colours that characterize their appearance. We will also focus on the dangers that these wonderful insects face today due to pollution and human intervention that is putting at serious risk the life of a species that we need to protect at any cost, for example by following the instructions at the end of the book that explain how to set out your garden or balcony in order to attract - and help - these most heavenly insects.

This book is an account of two years spent getting to know Britain's most dazzling and enigmatic insects - the dragonflies and damselflies. The quest to find, photograph, watch and learn about dragons and damsels took the author on a tour of diverse and lovely wetlands up and down Britain, from the rugged wild peat bogs of north-west Scotland to the languid meanders of the Oxfordshire Thames. The account describes close encounters with the dragons and damsels themselves, set against backdrops of rich and vital habitats teeming with a range of other wildlife. It is also packed with background detail on dragonfly and damselfly natural history, and wetland ecology in general. The text is enlivened with line drawings and a section of colour photographs.

For centuries, the beauty of fireflies has evoked wonder and delight. Yet for most of us, fireflies remain shrouded in mystery: How do fireflies make their light? What are they saying with their flashing? And what do fireflies look for in a mate? In Silent Sparks, noted biologist and firefly expert Sara Lewis dives into the fascinating world of fireflies and reveals the most up-to-date discoveries about these beloved insects. From the meadows of New England and the hills of the Great Smoky Mountains, to the rivers of Japan and mangrove forests of Malaysia, this beautifully illustrated and accessible book uncovers the remarkable, dramatic stories of birth, courtship, romance, sex, deceit, poison, and death among fireflies. The nearly two thousand species of fireflies worldwide have evolved in different ways--and while most mate through the aerial language of blinking lights, not all do. Lewis introduces us to fireflies that don't light up at all, relying on wind-borne perfumes to find mates, and we encounter glow-worm fireflies, whose plump, wingless females never fly. We go behind the scenes to meet inquisitive scientists who have dedicated their lives to understanding fireflies, and we learn about various modern threats including light pollution and habitat destruction. In the last section of the book, Lewis provides a field guide for North American fireflies, enabling us to identify them in our own backyards and neighborhoods. This concise, handy guide includes distinguishing features, habits, and range maps for the most commonly encountered fireflies, as well as a gear list. A passionate exploration of one of the world's most charismatic and admired insects, Silent Sparks will inspire us to reconnect with the natural world.

Along the San Marcos River, in and surrounding Palmetto State Park in south central Texas, lie two square miles of relict ecosystem named the Ottine Wetlands. This area of swamps, marshes, and ponds is especially notable for its geographic isolation from other wetlands in southeastern Texas and for its fascinating intermixture of eastern North American plants and animals and western flora and fauna. The scientific importance of the Ottine Wetlands in the surrounding, relatively dry region was first recognized as early as 1928, yet the swamps and marshes have not been thoroughly studied. This is the first examination of the invertebrates - insects, crustaceans, molluscs, and others - that depend directly or indirectly on the abundant moisture of the wetlands. With nearly 290 full-color illustrations, this book describes and illustrates 241 species of flies, beetles, grasshoppers, wasps, ants, bugs, spiders, scorpions, snails, crustaceans, and millipedes that inhabit the Ottine waters, wetlands, and woodlands. In a brief introduction the authors describe the geological formation of the region and discuss the plant life of the area. They also provide a description of Palmetto State Park, with its easily accessed hiking and nature trails. Following the species descriptions, the book concludes with a glossary and a thorough bibliography of other relevant works on invertebrates. Scientifically thorough, yet readable, this book will appeal to nature lovers of all kinds.

This book discusses the beneficial and harmful effects of insects and explains their development and significance for biodiversity.Threatening pests or threatened beneficials? Biting midges are wonderful insects. The animals are so tiny and uniquely shaped that they are particularly good at pollinating the small and tight flowers of the cocoa tree. Without them, there would be much less chocolate. We associate other insects more with the damage that they cause. Mosquitoes and wasps bite us. Moth larvae damage textiles and contaminate foods. Ants undermine our paths and flies are just a pain.But what exactly is our relationship with insects? Are they more beneficial or harmful? What role do they play in the world? What are the effects of climate change: Will the number of insects continue to increase?

We need bees. We rely on them not only to pollinate our planet but to sweeten our lives with the fruits of their labours - honey, beeswax, Royal Jelly. These tiny, hardworking insects have transformed our lives with their quiet diligence; fertilising much of our food, most of the wild plants we rely on, and giving us thousands of years of sugary pleasure, candlelight and beauty treatments. But bees are in danger. Across the planet, bee numbers are plummeting. Honey bees, fat, fluffy bumblebees and key species of solitary bees are disappearing from our gardens, fields and wild spaces. Over the past 50 years, the UK has lost more than half its solitary bee numbers and three species of bumblebee have gone extinct. In the rest of Europe, nearly one in ten species of wild bees are facing extinction, in the US about a quarter of all wild bees have disappeared in the past ten years alone. Thankfully, we can do something if we act now. In The Bee Bible, best-selling author Sally Coulthard shows us fifty positive ways we can all save bees; from planting flowers bees love to mowing less, buying the right honey to influencing public spaces and government policy. Whether you garden for bees, shop with bees in mind, campaign for bees, or just learn a bit of bee-whispering, little things can make a big difference. Just ask a bee.

This stunning insight into the micro world of the minibeasts reveals the critical roles they play in our past, present and future survival. These true rulers of our world are complex, highly advanced creatures which are integral to our ecology. Simply put, without the invertebrates (insects) and other tiny critters, humans would not survive. While outlining the importance of the minibeast world, this book is also a visual feast of detail and colour, capturing form and behaviour that the naked eye isn't able to see when encountering these small creatures. The result is a book that captivates the reader while inspiring a new appreciation for these magnificent animals. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of minibeasts and includes introductory text, images and informative captions. Topics covered include the jobs minibeasts perform that enable species' to exist, and the ways in which they have evolved to suit their environments. From medical drugs to hi-tech robotics, minibeasts provide a wealth of material for humans to draw on to help solve our 21st-century problems. We borrow ideas from them in the fields of biotechnology, engineering and design, and they are essential to our continued evolution. Lavishly illustrated with breath-taking macro photography, the awe-inspiring lives and physiologies of minibeasts are presented in an engaging, fascinating take on life on earth.

'A remarkable field guide ... one of those books that come along every now and then and cause a revolution.' Michael McCarthy Independent This concise guide is a companion to the main Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland by the same expert authors, but is in a condensed form with artwork opposite the species descriptions and lay-flat binding for ease of use in the field. It includes brief but comprehensive field descriptions of all the macro-moths in Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and this second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the latest advances in taxonomy. Featuring more than 1,700 superbly detailed colour artworks and covering nearly 900 species, this portable guide is an essential addition to every moth-lover's field kit.

This trusted handbook is a must-have for novice and seasoned beekeepers alike. Now totally redesigned and featuring colour photographs and graphics, the second edition also includes up-to-date information on honey bee health. The go-to reference presents comprehensive yet accessible information on everything from planning hives and installing a colony to preventing disease and managing productive hives that will bear bountiful honey harvests year after year.