A BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED LOOK AT THE LIVES AND MIND-BOGGLING BEHAVIOURS OF INSECTS How to Read an Insect takes you on an unforgettable tour of the insect world, presenting these amazing creatures as you have never seen them before. This stunningly illustrated guide puts a wealth of fascinating behaviours under the microscope - from elegant displays of courtship to brutal acts of predation. Along the way, Ross Piper charts the evolution of insects and reveals everything you need to know about how they nest, feed, reproduce and defend themselves. He concludes by discussing the impact of the human world on insects, and what we can do to prevent their decline in numbers. * Explores the remarkable lifestyles of exotic insects as well as those in your own garden. * Includes highlights from a wide range of new insect behaviour studies. * Features a wealth of breathtaking colour photos, illustrations, and graphics.

Advances in Insect Physiology, Volume 56, provides readers with the latest interdisciplinary reviews on the topic. It is an essential reference source for invertebrate physiologists, neurobiologists, entomologists, zoologists, and insect chemists, with this new release focusing on the Effects of resource limitation on the strengths of tradeoffs in insect lifecycles, The circadian system in insects: cellular, molecular, and functional organization, Molecular Physiology of the Insect Midgut, The Cryptonephridic system in Lepidoptera, Subsocial insects and the physiology of parental care, Mechanisms regulating phenotypically plastic traits in wing polymorphic insects, and more.

Australia's varied grasslands have suffered massive losses and changes since European settlement, and those changes continue under increasingly intensive human pressures for development and agricultural production. The values of native grasslands for conservation of endemic native biodiversity, both flora and fauna, have led to strong interests in the protection of remaining fragments, especially near urban centres, and documentation of the insects and other inhabitants of grasslands spanning tropical to cool temperate parts of the country. Attention to conservation of grassland insects in Australia is relatively recent, but it is increasingly apparent that grasslands harbour many localised and ecologically specialised endemic species. Their conservation necessarily advances from very incomplete documentation, and draws heavily on lessons from the far better-documented grasslands elsewhere, most notably in the northern hemisphere, and undertaken over far longer periods. From those cases, and the extensive background to grassland management to harmonise conservation with production and amenity values through honing use of processes such as grazing, mowing and fire, the needs and priorities for Australia can become clearer, together with needs for grassland restoration at a variety of scales. This book is a broad overview of conservation needs of grassland insects in Australia, drawing on the background provided elsewhere in the world on the responses to disturbances, and the ecological importance, of some key insect groups (notably Orthoptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera) to suggest how insect conservation in native, pastoral and urban grasslands may be advanced. The substantial references given for each chapter facilitate entry for non-entomologist grassland managers and stewards to appreciate the diversity and importance of Australia's grassland insects, their vulnerabilities to changes, and the possibilities for conserving them and the wider ecological roles in which they participate.

The book reviews key developments in downy mildew research, including the disease, its distribution, symptomatology, host range, yield losses, and disease assessment; the pathogen, its taxonomy, morphology, phylogeny, variability, sporulation, survival and perpetuation, spore germination, infection, pathogenesis, seed infection, disease cycle, epidemiology, forecasting, and fine structures. The book also elaborates the mechanisms of host resistance (biochemical, histological, genetic, and molecular, including cloning and the mapping of R-genes), disease resistance breeding strategies, and the genetics of host-parasite interactions. It explores disease management based on cultural, chemical, biological, host resistance, and integrated approaches; and provides suggestions for future research areas. This book offers a comprehensive guide to an economically important disease, reviewing in detail the extant body of literature. Divided into 16 chapters, each of which includes a wealth of photographs, graphs, histograms, tables, figures, flow charts, micrographs etc., it represents an invaluable source of information for all researchers, teachers, students, industrialists, farmers, policymakers, and all others who are interested in growing healthy and profitable cruciferous crops all over the world.

This book summarizes the recent advancements in identifying the mosquito vectors and discusses various strategies for their control. The book describes various molecular taxonomic methods, including DNA barcoding and single nucleotide polymorphism-based machine learning approach, which are used for the identification of mosquito vectors. It also presents the various mosquito control methods, namely, phytochemicals, Bacillus thuringiensis toxins, nanotechnology, biological control agents, and environmental management strategies. It also highlights the importance of various repellents that are used for protection from different kinds of mosquito vectors. Finally, the book offers a comprehensive yet representative description of challenges associated with mosquito vector-borne diseases. The book is a useful resource for medical entomologists, health workers, and researchers working in mosquito-control and vector-borne diseases.

-- Beat Wermelinger has been researching forest insects for 25 years. This book also showcases his impressive photography, taken from his archive of more than 14,000 insect pictures. In addition to conveying knowledge, the author also reveals the aesthetics and subtleties of this often unknown and seemingly strange group of animals. The book not only presents the importance of insects, but also intrigues and surprises the reader -- The recently reported loss of insect biomass has increased awareness of the importance of insects and will stimulate public as well as professional and academic interest in this book. The book deals with many topical insect groups (like bark beetles) that increase its relevance in today's era of climatic shifts and insect outbreaks. -- This is the only book on the importance of forest insects published for a non-American market. It will be adoptable on undergraduate and graduate entomological courses (Insects and Ecology modules) as well as having both professional and public appeal.

This book aims to present updated knowledge on various aspects of the natural history, biology, and impact of triatomines to all interested readers. Each chapter will be written by authorities in the respective field, covering topics such as behavior, neurophysiology, immunology, ecology, and evolution. The contents will consider scientific, as well as innovative perspectives, on the problems related to the role of triatomine bugs as parasite vectors affecting millions in the Latin American region.

Documenting and understanding intricate ecological interactions involving insects is a central need in conservation, and the specialised and specific nature of many such associations is displayed in this book. Their importance is exemplified in a broad global overview of a major category of interactions, mutualisms, in which the interdependence of species is essential for their mutual wellbeing. The subtleties that sustain many mutualistic relationships are still poorly understood by ecologists and conservation managers alike. Examples from many parts of the world and ecological regimes demonstrate the variety of mutualisms between insect taxa, and between insects and plants, in particular, and their significance in planning and undertaking insect conservation - of both individual species and the wider contexts on which they depend. Several taxonomic groups, notably ants, lycaenid butterflies and sucking bugs, help to demonstrate the evolution and flexibility of mutualistic interactions, whilst fundamental processes such as pollination emphasise the central roles of, often, highly specific partnerships. This compilation brings together a wide range of relevant cases and contexts, with implications for practical insect conservation and increasing awareness of the roles of co-adaptations of behaviour and ecology as adjuncts to designing optimal conservation plans. The three major themes deal with the meanings and mechanisms of mutualisms, the classic mutualisms that involve insect partners, and the environmental and conservation lessons that flow from these and have potential to facilitate and improve insect conservation practice. The broader ecological perspective advances the transition from primary focus on single species toward consequently enhancing wider ecological contexts in which insect diversity can thrive.

Written in easy to follow language, the book presents cutting-edge agriculturally relevant plant biotechnologies and applications in a manner that is accessible to all. This book updates and introduces the scope and method of plant biotechnologies and molecular breeding within the context of environmental analysis and assessment, a diminishing supply of productive arable land, scarce water resources and climate change. New plant breeding techniques including CRISPR-cas system are now tools to meet these challenges both in developed countries and in developing countries. Ethical issues, intellectual property rights, regulation policies in various countries related to agricultural biotechnology are examined. The rapid developments in plant biotechnology are explained to a large audience with relevant examples. New varieties of crops can be adapted to new climatic conditions in order to reduce pest-associated losses and the adverse abiotic effects

This book covers advanced concepts and creative ideas with regard to insect biorational control and insecticide resistance management. Some chapters present and summarize general strategies or tactics for managing insect pests such as the principles of IPM in various crop systems and biorational control of insect pests, advances in organic farming, alternative strategies for controlling orchard and field-crop pests. Other chapters cover alternative methods for controlling pests such as disruption of insect reproductive systems and utilization of semiochemicals and diatomaceous earth formulations, and developing bioacoustic methods for mating disruption. Another part is devoted to insecticide resistance: mechanisms and novel approaches for managing insect resistance in agriculture and in public health.

This volume focuses on the latest methods used to sequence, assemble, and analyze insect genomes. The collection of protocols in this book provides an introduction to the workflows and bioinformatics tools available for researchers. The chapters cover a range of useful topics such as determining genome size by flow cytometry; High Molecular Weight DNA extraction; improvements to a genome assembly provided by long-range sequencing approaches; assessments of orthology and single-copy genes at different phylogenetic levels; detecting regulatory regions with FAIRE, RAMPAGE, and computational analysis of cis-regulatory modules in insects; bioinformatics analysis of epigenetic modifications, high-throughput scanning of insect genomes (TEEseq) for the presence of endosymbionts, and leveraging genome sequence information to design RNAi strategies. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and thorough, Insect Genomics: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for graduate students, postdocs, and novice research scientists who are interested in learning more about this developing field.

This book is devoted to Agroecological Crop Protection, which is the declension of the principles of agroecology to crop protection. It presents the concepts of this innovative approach, case studies and lessons and generic keys for agroecological transition. The book is intended for a wide audience, including scientists, experimenters, teachers, farmers, students. It represents a new tool, proposing concrete keys of action on the basis of feedbacks validated scientifically. Beyond the examples presented, it is therefore of general scope and proposes recommendations for all temperate and tropical cropping systems. It contributes to the training and teaching modules in this field and it is an updated information support for professionals and a teaching aid for students (agronomy, crop protection, biodiversity management, agroecology).

This book presents visual plant defenses (camouflage, mimicry and aposematism via coloration, morphology and even movement) against herbivores. It is mainly an ideological monograph, a manifesto representing my current understanding on defensive plant coloration and related issues. The book is not the final word in anything, but rather the beginning of many things. It aims to establish visual anti-herbivory defense as an integral organ of botany, or plant science as it is commonly called today. I think that like in animals, many types of plant coloration can be explained by selection associated with the sensory/cognitive systems of herbivores and predators to reduce herbivory. It is intended to intrigue and stimulate students of botany/plant science and plant/animal interactions for a very long time. This book is tailored to a readership of biologists and naturalists of all kinds and levels, and more specifically for botanists, ecologists, evolutionists and to those interested in plant/animal interactions. It is written from the point of view of a naturalist, ecologist and evolutionary biologist that I hold, considering natural selection as the main although not the only drive for evolution. According to this perspective, factors such as chance, founder effects, genetic drift and various stochastic processes that may and do influence characters found in specific genotypes, are not comparable in their power and influence to the common outcomes of natural selection, especially manifested when very many species belonging to different plant families, with very different and separate evolutionary histories, arrive at the same adaptation, something that characterizes many of the visual patterns and proposed adaptations described and discussed in this book. Many of the discussed visual defensive mechanisms are aimed at operating before the plants are damaged, i.e., to be their first line of defense. In this respect, I think that the name of the book by Ruxton et al. (2004) "Avoiding Attack" is an excellent phrase for the assembly of the best types of defensive tactics. While discussing anti-herbivory, I do remember, study and teach physiological/developmental aspects of some of the discussed coloration patterns, and I am fully aware of the simultaneous and diverse functions of many plant characters in addition to defense.

This two-volume book is an up-to-date revision of methods and principles of phylogenetic analysis of morphological data. It is also a general guide for using the computer program TNT in the analysis of such data. The book covers the main aspects of phylogenetic analysis, and general methods to compare classifications derived from molecules and morphology. Practical application of all principles discussed is illustrated by reference to TNT, a freely available software package that can perform all the steps needed in a phylogenetic analysis. Key Features Provides in depth discussion of the connections between hypotheses of homology and the parsimony criterion Helps understand the basis for designing different aspects of a morphological study, from hints on delimiting the problem and data collecting, to character definitions and analysis Discusses the applicability of statistical models coopted from sequence analysis to the analysis of morphological data Gives detailed descriptions of the principles behind algorithms for evaluating and searching phylogenetic trees Presents extensive information on commands and options of the TNT computer program

"Mass Production of Beneficial Organisms: Invertebrates and Entomopathogens" is an essential reference and teaching tool for researchers in developed and developing countries working to produce "natural enemies" in biological control and integrated pest management programs.

As we become aware of the negative impact of pesticides in human health and on the environment, interest is rapidly increasing in developing biological pest control alternatives. Tremendous advances have been made in beneficial organism technology, such as insect predators and parasitoids, mite predators, entomopathogenic nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and viruses. However, developing techniques to mass produce these biological control agents is not enough if the cost of commercialization is prohibitive. Advancing mass production to the level of economic feasibility is critical, so these new technologies can compete in the open market.

This book educates academic and industry researchers, and enables further development of mass production so new technologies can compete in the open market. It is also an excellent resource for those researching beneficial arthropod mass production and technologies for other uses, including for study and application in biotechnology and biomedical research.
Focuses on techniques for mass production of beneficial organisms and methods of evaluation and quality assessmentOrganizes and presents the most advanced and current knowledge on methods to mass produce beneficial organisms in response to the increased global demand for alternatives to chemical pesticides for biological control producers Includes a team of highly respected editors and authors with broad expertise in these areas

Advances in Insect Physiology Volume 60 highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on a variety of timely topics, including The Steroid, Ecdysis Triggering Hormone, Juvenile Hormone Signaling Triad in Development and Reproduction, A Decade of Teasing Apart the Juvenile Hormone Receptor, Evolutionary Physiology of Peptidergic Signaling, Recent Advances in Neuroendocrine Regulation of Insect Excretory Systems, Recent Advances in Ecdysteroid Research in Insects, and Regulation and Mechanisms of Sleep in Drosophila.

Evolution gave rise to a prominent insect diversity at every level of ecological niche. Since then, hordes of insects have threatened human and cattle health as well as most of all green lands and agricultural crops. Now, the insect problem expands from many mutant forms of yellow dengue fever mosquitoes to highly-resistant larvae of most all various phytophageous species. The tremendous expansion of insects is due not only to an increasing resistance capacity to insecticides, but also to a strong capacity for adapting to different climate and environmental changes, including global warming. Obviously insects display a number of rudimentary systems to build an extremely efficient organism to survive in a changing world. In many species, one pheromone molecule is enough to trigger mating behavior. Therefore, insects have become crucial models not only for evolutionary studies, but also for understanding specific mechanisms underlying sensory-based behaviors. Most of insect species such as ants, beetles, cockroaches, locusts, moths and mosquitoes largely rely on olfactory cues to explore the environment and find con-specifics or food sources. A conglomerate of renowned international scientific experts is gathered to expose the insect problem on the various continents of the planet and propose an alternative to the use of toxic insecticides. Sex pheromones, specific chemical signals necessary for reproduction, and pheromone detection in insects are described with full details of the olfactory mechanisms in the antennae and higher centers in the brain. Thus, new synthetic pheromones and/or plant odors with specific molecular target sites in the insect olfactory system are proposed for sustainable development in agricultural and entomological industries. Disrupting insect pheromone channels and plant odor detection mechanisms is solemnly envisioned as a unique way to control invasive insect pest species while preserving human and environment safety.

Packed with beautiful scenes showing butterflies of the world flitting among flowers. Simply brush water over the black and white designs to watch the butterflies burst into a rainbow of colours.

A complete beginner's guide to British moths. Moths are sometimes overlooked compared to the day-flying butterflies, however, many moths are even more colourful, accessible and fascinating. Britain and Ireland are home to an incredible array of moths, with more than 2,500 species known, and increasing numbers of people have discovered the joy in watching, catching and photographing this diverse group. But, where should you start in being able to identify them? British Moths: A Gateway Guide is a wonderful introduction to 350 species of the most common and eye-catching adult moths that you may encounter in the UK. Rather than being grouped in taxonomic order, species are organised by season, and similar-looking moths are placed alongside one another for ease of identification. Concise species accounts include information on key features, making it easy to distinguish between confusion species, seasonality, and when and where to see them; each account is also placed alongside photos that have been carefully chosen to aid identification with clearly-marked top tips. From the author of Much Ado About Mothing, this is the perfect companion for anyone wanting to learn more about these beautiful and remarkable creatures - from hawk-moths to tigers and ermines to emeralds.

Insect Hearing provides a broadly based view of the functions, mechanisms, and evolution of hearing in insects. With a single exception, the chapters focus on problems of hearing and their solutions, rather than being focused on particular taxa. The exception, hearing in Drosophila, is justified because, due to its ever growing toolbox of genetic and optical techniques, Drosophila is rapidly becoming one of the most important model systems in neurobiology, including the neurobiology of hearing. Auditory systems, whether insectan or vertebrate, must perform a number of basic tasks: capturing mechanical stimuli and transducing these into neural activity, representing the timing and frequency of sound signals, distinguishing between behaviorally relevant signals and other sounds and localizing sound sources. Studying how these are accomplished in insects offers a valuable comparative view that helps to reveal general principles of auditory function.

This volume describes the various applications of entomopathogenic soil microorganisms in the management and control of the devastating lepidopteran pest. An introduction describes the insecticidal properties of viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes and their metabolites, as well as their applications in the context of crop improvement. Subsequent chapters focus on topics such as insecticidal proteins; the role of nucleopolyhedroviruses; Bt toxins and their receptors; control of lepidopterans using entomopathogenic fungi; management of cotton defoliators; and sustainable use of entomopathogenic nematodes and their bacterial symbionts. An overview of culture collections of entomopathogenic microorganisms rounds out the volume.

A Wonderful Journey into the Insect World through Literature, Science, Art, and Popular Culture Aristotle on metamorphosis

• Alfred Russel Wallace on the rare butterflies of the Malay Archipelago
• Jean-Henri Fabre on the art of the dung beetle
• Dave Barry on naming the U.S. Official National Insect
• Charles Darwin on seagoing insects
• William Beebe on an army ant invasion
• Kevin Kelly on bee—and human—swarming
• Jonathan Schell on postnuclear insect survival
• Gary Larson on when insects take over
• May Berenbaum on maggots and murderers
• Henry David Thoreau on race wars among the ants
• Thomas Eisner on stealth bugs
• David George Gordon on appreciating the lowly cockroach
• Maurice Maeterlinck on the queen-bee’s wedding
• Edward O. Wilson on insect societies

…plus many other essays, illustrations, cartoons, screenplays, poems, recipes, tales, and observations on insect life.