This volume is an account of the scientific and social responses made to the discovery of an invasive forest insect - the emerald ash borer or EAB (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, 1888) - in North America, that was formally announced in July 2002. Since its recognition, this wood-boring beetle has become one of the most destructive and costly exotic species ever encountered. More than $300 million in federal USDA-APHIS funds (alone) have been devoted to battling this pest, which has killed some tens of millions of ash trees, chiefly within southeastern Michigan and surrounding states. EAB has now been found in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. But those numbers are almost certain to keep growing in coming years. While primarily a case study, this work nonetheless examines larger issues concerning invasive species as a whole, their inadvertent transport and worldwide spread through the rise of globalization, regulations that have been adopted to prevent their introduction, and the successes or failures of state and federal agencies to try and enforce those regulations. It offers the first general work of its kind to appear on the ash borer that is directed towards a broad audience including the public, entomologists and foresters, environmentalists and ecologists, researchers, regulators, and indeed anyone who wishes to learn more about this important and timely topic. No previous knowledge of EAB or invasion biology is assumed. This book covers all of the major aspects of scientific research and management that have occurred since EAB was recognized in 2002. It is thoroughly researched and draws from the best available data and sources, which represent (a) archival materials; (b) scholarly publications and conference proceedings; (c) interviews conducted with leading participants in the EAB program; (d) selected newspaper/magazine articles; and (e) reputable sources found on the Internet (e.g., USDA-APHIS).

'Although there is much in this world that is incomprehensible, you can nevertheless discover a meaning as long as you have managed to limit your field of search.' Fredrik Sjoeberg - collector, romantic, explorer - spends his life tracing the smallest details of the natural world. In these two beautifully wrought tales he meditates on the joy of little things, childhood memories, long-forgotten Swedish entomologists, earthworms, wine-making, the National Parks of the United States, the richness of life and the strange paths it leads us on. 'Digressive, discursive and delightful' Daily Telegraph 'A joy . . . Fredrik Sjoeberg's best-selling memoir The Fly Trap marked him as a maestro of the episodic. Here, he completes a trilogy' Nature 'Thoroughly entertaining, beguilingly uncategorizable ... By his own admission Sjoeberg has a "butterfly mind" ... What insures this approach against triviality is the author's patient alertness to pattern, to telling correspondence' Nat Segnit, The Times Literary Supplement

Bees, both commercially managed honey bees and wild bees, play an important role in global food production. In the United States alone, the value of insect pollination to U.S. agricultural production is estimated at $16 billion annually, of which about three-fourths is attributable to honey bees. Worldwide, the contribution of bees and other insects to global crop production for human food is valued at about $190 billion. Given the importance of bees and other types of pollinators to food production, many have expressed concern about whether a pollinator crisis has been occurring in recent decades. Worldwide reports indicate that populations of both managed honey bees and native bees have been declining, with colony losses in some cases described as severe or unusual. In Europe, managed honey bee colony numbers have been declining since the mid-1960s, and individual beekeepers have reported unusual weakening and mortality in colonies, particularly during the period spanning winter through spring. According to the United Nations, many insect pollinator species may be becoming rarer, causing some to question whether this is a sign of an overall global biodiversity decline. This book examines selected U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies bee-related monitoring, research and outreach, as well as conservation efforts, and The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) efforts to protect bees through its regulation of pesticides.

Greatly anticipated and sorely needed, this book updates the successful guide to North American mosquitoes published by the American Mosquito Control Association in 1981. It includes 12 new species that have since been added to the North American mosquito fauna, revised distribution maps of all species, and revised and completely illustrated identification keys for the adult females and fourth instar larvae of all 174 species and subspecies known to occur in North America, north of Mexico. In chapters on adult and larval morphology, the coauthors-both world-renowned in their field of taxonomy-discuss the anatomical structures mentioned in the keys and pictured on full-page plates. They provide separate generic keys for adult females and larvae and keys to the species of each genus. In addition, they show the geographical distribution of each taxon in a series of maps and include a synopsis of the occurrence of species in the states and provinces of the United States and Canada. This book's usefulness to mosquito control programs cannot be overestimated. For example, it deals with 9 exotic species that have been introduced and today successfully thrive in North America. Several are increasing their range and this book will help identify these species when they first invade an area. Because of the occurrence of mosquito-borne diseases and the widespread distribution of mosquitoes as pests to humans, professionals must know how to identify them. With its wealth of up-to-date information, this book is the only one of its kind available for specialists working on mosquito-borne diseases and in mosquito control units and for both introductory and advanced students who study entomology.

The cockroach is truly an evolutionary wonder. This definitive volume provides a complete overview of suborder Blattaria, highlighting the diversity of these amazing insects in their natural environments. Beginning with a foreword by Edward O. Wilson, the book explores the fascinating natural history and behavior of cockroaches, describing their various colors, sizes, and shapes, as well as how they move on land, in water, and through the air. In addition to habitat use, diet, reproduction, and behavior, Cockroaches covers aspects of cockroach biology, such as the relationship between cockroaches and microbes, termites as social cockroaches, and the ecological impact of the suborder. With over 100 illustrations, an expanded glossary, and an invaluable set of references, this work is destined to become the classic book on the Blattaria. Students and research entomologists can mine each chapter for new ideas, new perspectives, and new directions for future study.

Ants are probably the most dominant insect group on Earth, representing ten to fifteen percent of animal biomass in terrestrial ecosystems. Flowering plants, meanwhile, owe their evolutionary success to an array of interspecific interactions--such as pollination, seed dispersal, and herbivory--that have helped to shape their great diversity. "The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions" brings together findings from the scientific literature on the coevolution of ants and plants to provide a better understanding of the unparalleled success of these two remarkable groups, of interspecific interactions in general, and ultimately of terrestrial biological communities.
"The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions" synthesizes the dynamics of ant-plant interactions, including the sources of variation in their outcomes. Victor Rico-Gray and Paulo S. Oliveira capture both the emerging appreciation of the importance of these interactions within ecosystems and the developing approaches that place studies of these interactions into a broader ecological and evolutionary context. The collaboration of two internationally renowned scientists, "The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions" will become a standard reference for understanding the complex interactions between these two taxa.