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 overview of the roles of alien species in insect conservation brings together information, evidence and examples from many parts of the world to illustrate their impacts (often severe, but in many cases poorly understood and unpredictable) as one of the primary drivers of species declines, ecological changes and biotic homogenisation. Both accidental and deliberate movements of species are involved, with alien invasive plants and insects the major groups of concern for their influences on native insects and their environments. Risk assessments, stimulated largely through fears of non-target impacts of classical biological control agents introduced for pest management, have provided valuable lessons for wider conservation biology. They emphasise the needs for effective biosecurity, risk avoidance and minimisation, and evaluation and management of alien invasive species as both major components of many insect species conservation programmes and harbingers of change in invaded communities. The spread of highly adaptable ecological generalist invasive species, which are commonly difficult to detect or monitor, can be linked to declines and losses of numerous localised ecologically specialised insects and disruptions to intricate ecological interactions and functions, and create novel interactions with far-reaching consequences for the receiving environments. Understanding invasion processes and predicting impacts of alien species on susceptible native insects is an important theme in practical insect conservation.

Arthropods are invertebrates that constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom, and their bio-ecology is closely linked with global functioning and survival. Arthropods play an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, provide livelihoods and nutrition to human communities, and are important indicators of environmental change. Yet the population trends of several arthropods species show them to be in decline. Arthropods constitute a dominant group with 1.2 million species influencing earth's biodiversity. Among arthropods, insects are predominant, with ca. 1 million species and having evolved some 350 million years ago. Arthropods are closely associated with living and non-living entities alike, making the ecosystem services they provide crucially important. In order to be effective, plans for the conservation of arthropods and ecosystems should include a mixture of strategies like protecting key habitats and genomic studies to formulate relevant policies for in situ and ex situ conservation. This two-volume book focuses on capturing the essentials of arthropod inventories, biology, and conservation.Further, it seeks to identify the mechanisms by which arthropod populations can be sustained in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and by means of which certain problematic species be managed without producing harmful environmental side-effects. This edited compilation includes chapters contributed by over 80 biologists on a wide range of topics embracing the diversity, distribution, utility and conservation of arthropods and select groups of insect taxa. More importantly, it describes in detail the mechanisms of sustaining arthropod ecosystems, services and populations. It addresses the contribution of modern biological tools such as molecular and genetic techniques regulating gene expression, as well as conventional, indigenous practices in arthropod conservation. The contributors reiterate the importance of documenting and understanding the biology of arthropods from a holistic perspective before addressing conservation issues at large. This book offers a valuable resource for all zoologists, entomologists, ecologists, conservation biologists, policy makers, teachers and students interested in the conservation of biological resources.

Arthropods are invertebrates that constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom, and their bio-ecology is closely linked with global functioning and survival. Arthropods play an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, provide livelihoods and nutrition to human communities, and are important indicators of environmental change. Yet the population trends of several arthropods species show them to be in decline. Arthropods constitute a dominant group with 1.2 million species influencing earth's biodiversity. Among arthropods, insects are predominant, with ca. 1 million species and having evolved some 350 million years ago. Arthropods are closely associated with living and non-living entities alike, making the ecosystem services they provide crucially important. In order to be effective, plans for the conservation of arthropods and ecosystems should include a mixture of strategies like protecting key habitats and genomic studies to formulate relevant policies for in situ and ex situ conservation. This two-volume book focuses on capturing the essentials of arthropod inventories, biology, and conservation. Further, it seeks to identify the mechanisms by which arthropod populations can be sustained in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and by means of which certain problematic species be managed without producing harmful environmental side-effects. This edited compilation includes chapters contributed by over 80 biologists on a wide range of topics embracing the diversity, distribution, utility and conservation of arthropods and select groups of insect taxa. More importantly, it describes in detail the mechanisms of sustaining arthropod ecosystems, services and populations. It addresses the contribution of modern biological tools such as molecular and genetic techniques regulating gene expression, as well as conventional, indigenous practices in arthropod conservation. The contributors reiterate the importance of documenting and understanding the biology of arthropods from a holistic perspective before addressing conservation issues at large. This book offers a valuable resource for all zoologists, entomologists, ecologists, conservation biologists, policy makers, teachers and students interested in the conservation of biological resources.

'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.

Southern Africa has a particularly rich and varied insect fauna of 26 orders, 579 families and about 80 000 species currently recorded. The wealth of information on the systematics and biology of southern African insect groups has not been comprehensively treated before and is here condensed by 48 contributors, each of whom is an authority on a particular group. A work of this nature requires a balance between scientific accuracy and utility so that the information will be easily accessible and comprehensible to professional and amateur entomologists alike. In this work, the scientist will find enough general information to lead him or her to more detailed works while the amateur entomologist will find sufficient explanation in the text, beautiful colour illustrations and glossary.

In medical and health care the scientific method is little used, and statistical software programs are experienced as black box programs producing lots of p-values, but little answers to scientific questions. The pocket calculator analyses appears to be, particularly, appreciated, because they enable medical and health professionals and students for the first time to understand the scientific methods of statistical reasoning and hypothesis testing. So much so, that it can start something like a new dimension in their professional world. In addition, a number of statistical methods like power calculations and required sample size calculations can be performed more easily on a pocket calculator, than using a software program. Also, there are some specific advantages of the pocket calculator method. You better understand what you are doing. The pocket calculator works faster, because far less steps have to be taken, averages can be used. The current nonmathematical book is complementary to the nonmathematical "SPSS for Starters and 2nd Levelers" (Springer Heidelberg Germany 2015, from the same authors), and can very well be used as its daily companion.

Thanks to the application of new technologies such as whole-genome sequencing, analysis of transcriptome and proteome of insect pest to agriculture, great progress has been made in understanding the life style, reproduction, evolution and nuisance to crops caused by insect pests such as aphids, planthoppers, and whiteflies. We believe that time has come to summarize progress and to have a glance over the horizon. In this Book experts in the field discuss novel means to increase the different kinds of resistances of plants to better limit the effects of pest, to understand and disturb the hormonal regulation of embryogenesis, molting, metamorphosis and reproduction, to determine the function of insect genes in diverse processes such as metabolism, interaction with plants, virus transmission, development, and adaptation to a changing environment. The knowledge presented here is discussed with the aim of further improving control strategies of insect pestsman";mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:NL;mso-fareast-language:NL;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">.

Insect and disease issues are often specific to the Mediterranean forest systems rather than shared with the temperate forests. In addition to the specific native insects and diseases, the forests are subject to the invasion of exotic species. The forests are also at risk from high degrees of human activity, including changing patterns of forest fires, land management activities, intensive plantation forestry using introduced timber species from other Mediterranean climate zones, and atmospheric deposition. Combined with elements of global climate change that may disproportionately affect Mediterranean climate systems, this creates a number of significant management issues that are unique to the Mediterranean forests. It is our goal that the information contained in this volume will contribute to understanding the unique aspects of Mediterranean forest systems and to protecting these critical resources.

'If you thought butterflies were special, the clear intelligible science in this superb page-turner will make you realise they're ultra-special' - MATTHEW OATES This new addition to the British Wildlife Collection is a unique take on butterfly behaviour and ecology, written by the former Chief Executive of Butterfly Conservation, Martin Warren. It explores the secret lives of our British species (also drawing on comparative examples from continental Europe), revealing how they have become adapted to survive in such a highly competitive natural world. Combining personal anecdote with the latest discoveries in the scientific literature, this book covers everything from why we love butterflies and their life-cycle from egg to adult, to their struggle for survival in a world of predators and parasites and the miracle of migration. The final chapters explore how butterflies are recorded, the change in their ranges and abundance during the 20th and 21st centuries, and the significance of managing habitats at a landscape scale, concluding with a passionate plea for why we must act now to reverse butterfly declines. Insightful, inspiring and a joy to read, Butterflies is the culmination of a lifetime of careful research into what makes these beautiful insects tick and how and why we must conserve them.

Inchworms, tiger moths, underwings, owlet moths, silkworms,sphinx moths, grass moths, and butterflies. Collectively, these and many others are the Lepidoptera, one of the most diverse groups of animals on the planet. Lepidoptera can be found in the highest tropical canopies,the driest deserts, and at the leading edge of science. The adults include some of the most beautiful insects that have inspired artists and have sailed through the dreams of human cultures for millennia. The immature stages ("caterpillars"), like the underwing depicted on the cover, link together vital processes in diverse terrestrial ecosystems that are only barely documented let alone understood. The people that study these animals are lepidopterists, and the goal of this book is to introduce them with their own words. In twenty chapters, lepidopterists tell their stories, and these tales mirror the diversity of nature in their range and depth. You will find individuals that wrestle with the challenges of scientific careers, stories of far flung travel sand close calls, and historical perspectives on recent decades of scientific break throughs.

The first edition of the Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe was a ground-breaking identification guide that led to an increase in Odonata recording across Europe. The second edition includes fully revised regional guides and identification texts, updated distribution maps and conservation statuses, illustrated accounts for five species that have been discovered in the region since the first edition, updated checklists and taxonomy, new photographs throughout, as well as an introduction to larvae identification. Each species is lavishly illustrated with artworks of males, females and variations, as well as close-ups of important characters.

Throughout Asia, Australia and the Pacific, and increasingly in Africa, the primary horticultural insect pests are fruit flies belonging to the genera Bactrocera, Zeugodacus and Dacus (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacini). The Dacini is a hugely diverse clade of nearly 900 species endemic to the rainforests of Asia, Australia and the western Pacific, and the savannas and woodlands of Africa. All these species lay their eggs into fleshy fruits and vegetables, where the maggots feed, therefore destroying the fruit. In addition to being crop pests, dacines are also invasive pests of major quarantine importance and their presence in production areas can significantly impact market access opportunities. This broad text provides a rapid introduction to this economically and ecologically important group, which includes species such as the Oriental fruit fly (B. dorsalis), Melon fly (Z. cucurbitae), Queensland fruit fly (B. tryoni) and the Olive fly (B. oleae). Broken into three primary sections, it first explores the evolutionary history, systematic relationships, taxonomy and species-level diagnosis of the Dacini flies. The following biology section covers their life history, population demography, behaviour and ecology, and natural enemies. The final section of the book covers the management of these flies, with chapters on pre-harvest, post-harvest and regulatory controls. Each chapter concludes with a list of key monographs, papers or book chapters for further reading. This book will be of interest to field entomologists, extension officers, quarantine officers and market access negotiators, as well as students of applied entomology and pest management.

This order once encompassed all insects with a complex network of wing veins, regardless of whether their metamorphosis was incomplete or complete. By the early 20th century, most of the species had been transferred to new orders, leaving only a small percentage of the insects once assigned to the Neuroptera remaining in that order. By the second half of the 20th century, some of the taxonomists began to believe that the fragmentation of this order had gone too far, and that the order Megaloptera needed to be grouped in some way with Neuroptera, either by making them suborders of the same order or by creating a superorder to accommodate both. This volume provides a discussion of both taxa, tentatively regrouping both in the order Neuroptera. While all known species of Megaloptera in South America have completely aquatic larval stages, few species in the suborder Planipennia, formerly called Neuroptera sensu stricto, are aquatic during any of their life stages. The most interesting of the exceptions are species in the family Sisyridae, some of which develop as larvae inside freshwater sponges.Because only a relatively small number of species are still included in Neuroptera sensu lato, this book provides keys to all known South American species that have been described well enough to be identified with any degree of certainty. Many species in the family Chloropidae, the neuropteran family with the greatest number of recognized species in South America, have proven to be valuable as biological controls for insect pests in agriculture. Their importance for tropical agriculture is another reason for including terrestrial species in this book. The series will continue with volumes providing keys to identify species of other South American orders, but in most cases, only aquatic insects can be included in the keys to the species.

Acarology - the study of mites and ticks, is a subdiscipline of Zoology, and is many times considered in the field of Entomology (the study of insects). Mites and ticks are distributed throughout the world and inhabit almost every ecosystem (both terrestrial and aquatic) including grassland soils. More than 55,000 species of mites and ticks are already described. Mites and ticks directly affects humans as pests of different crops, fruit plants, vegetable crops and field crops; as parasites of human beings, veterinary animals, poultry and pets; pests of stored grains and other products; mushrooms and cheese; and as parasites of honeybees. Mite infestations are responsible for economic losses worth billions of dollars in terms of reduced crop yields and lowered quality of produce. Many species of mites serve as vectors of various plant diseases; some species of ticks cause losses through blood feeding and by transmitting many diseases among man and animals. House-dust mite allergies, and tick bite allergies are also common in many parts of the world.Present Book, "Fundamentals of Applied Acarology," is written keeping in view non-availability of any standard text dealing in different aspects of acarology at one place. Separate chapters in this book are devoted to Importance of Acarology, Historical account, acarine technology, morphology and anatomy of Acari; Feeding, Development and Reproduction. Molecular developments in relation to mites and ticks are also discussed. Role of mites and ticks in Quarantines of plants and animals; forensic/criminal investigations; and importance of accidental acarophagy are discussed in detail. Safe usage of pesticides based on their mode of action (IRAC's Groups), development of acaricide resistance and measures to mitigate it are discussed. Mite pests of fruit trees, vegetable plants, and floricultural plants; field crops; mite problems in greenhouses/polyhouses; and mite problems encountered under organic cultivation of plants; and their management through minimum usage of pesticides are emphasized. Role of different predaceous mites in controlling plant pests like thrips, aphids and scale insects is elaborately discussed. Biological control of phytophagous mites is discussed in detail. Different animal parasitic mites and ticks are discussed from veterinary and medical point of view.At the end of each chapter, many important references for further reading; and Electronic References (ER) in the form of youtube links and other weblinks are given to understand fully how these tiny creatures look like; behave, feed and reproduce; nature of damage they cause to plants and animals; and measures to mitigate them. Weblinks will stimulate interest in the readers for more information about different mites and ticks. The knowledge contained in the book may prove as best material for "General and Applied Acarology" course for graduate and post-graduate levels, teachers and researchers in entomology, pest control advisors, professional entomologists, pesticide industry managers, policy planners, and others having interest in mites and ticks.

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.

Bees are flying insects of the order Hymenoptera closely related to wasps and ants. The ancestors of bees are assumed to be predatory wasps, which switched to pollen consumption. Further, bees co-evolved with flowering plants and divided into several species according to climatic conditions. Widely known bees are western bees Apis mellifera, and eastern bees Apis cerana. This book sheds light on features of evolution, phylogenesis, speciation, adaptation to environment, and taxonomy of bees. It will be of particular relevance to evolutionists, geneticists, taxonomists, ecologists, population geneticist, and breeders.

The history of biological control of harmful organisms by mites is marked by outstanding achievements with a few premiere natural enemies. Early works concentrated on the use of predatory mites for the control of synanthropic flies, More recently, the focus has been mostly on mites of the family Phytoseiidae for the control of plant feeding mites. This is an important family of acarine predators of plant pest mites, which are effectively used in agriculture worldwide. Besides the vast knowledge in several species in this family, there are as well many opportunities for biological control, represented in an array of organisms and through the improvement of management techniques, which are constantly explored by researchers worldwide. This has resulted in an increasing interest in predatory mite species within the families Stigmaeidae, Ascidae, Laelapidae, Rhodacaroidea, Macrochelidae, Erythraeidae and Cheyletidae, among others. This book will compile important developments with predatory mite species within these families, which are emerging as important tools for integrated pest management. New developments with predatory insects and pathogenic organisms attacking mites will also be a subject of this book. Finally, the potential and gaps in knowledge in biological control of acarine plant pests will be addressed.

Intensive and extensive cultivation of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) leads to serious pest problem in vineyards in major grape growing areas of the world. Climatic conditions in India are favorable for high production of table and wine grapes, and thus also for incidence of variety of pests. These include the sucking insect pests namely thrips, hoppers, mealybugs etc., and beetle pests like stem borer, stem girdler, flea beetles, chafer beetles, shot hole borer and several lepidopteron, mites, nematodes and vertebrate pests. Pests of grapes in other countries relevant to Indian conditions are also dealt herewith since they may get introduced in India in future. Up to date information on biology, damage, seasonal development, management practices of the pests are covered in this book. Some of the pest management practices followed in other countries are also given, which will be useful to Indian conditions. Pesticide residue is a serious problem both for export and internal market in grapes. Guideline for pesticide residue management in grapes is also given in this book. The authors have tried to accommodate almost all the important information generated on the grape pests up to 2012. A complete list of grape pests (except disease) occurring in different grape growing regions of the world is also covered in this book which will be ready reckoner for the grape workers. The authors sincerely hope that this book will provide useful information to many entomologists, students working on grapes and the grape growers in the country. It is a pleasure to thank all those people who gave help, suggestions and encouragement in the preparation of our book "The Grape Entomology".

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.

The first soil survey in the Philippines was done by Mr. Clarence Dorsey, an American soil scientist in the province of Batangas in 1903. The Soils of the Philippines, however, is the first comprehensive summary of more than a century of soil-survey work in this country. It integrates the soil concepts of the reconnaissance soil-survey results, which commenced as early as 1934 and continued until the mid 1960s, with the semi-detailed soil surveys that continue to this day. The result is the first-ever genetic key for classifying Philippine soils at soil series level; thus, making it possible for any newcomers to the soil survey field to confidently produce their own soil map, at a more detailed map scale, to suit the project requirements. This book brings together discussions on soils and soil mapping units and up-to-date international techniques and technologies. It makes soils relevant to current political realities and national issues. As soil survey moves from a reductionist agricultural-development planning tool to a more holistic and integrated approach, to enable us to understand our dynamic and complex environment, The Soils of the Philippines will be the only source of authoritative and updated data on soil resources for macro-level resource management planning for decades to come. With a vanishing breed of experienced soil surveyors, not only in the Philippines but also worldwide, it may remain the only book on Philippine soils for the next hundred years or more. Since soils follow a geological and not a human time frame, the contents of this volume will stay relevant for soil surveyors even in a fast changing world. As the country leaps from an agricultural economy towards modernization and a more diversified economic base, some of the soil series in the Philippines, for example the Guadalupe series underlying the skyscrapers of Makati City, are becoming extinct as a result of urban development. Therefore, this book serves as the repository for the soils that we possess, the soils that have been lost through decades of urbanization while, at the same time, it creates a soil classification system for the soils we are yet to discover.

Ecdysone is the steroidal prohormone of the major insect moulting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone. It groups with its homologues the steroidal molting hormones in arthropods, but they also occur in other phyla where they can play different roles. Besides ecdysteroids appear in many plants mostly as protection agents (toxins or antifeedants) against herbivorous insects. The important developments and achievements in modern ecdysone science since the first edition in 1989 by J. Koolman have led to this new revised, expanded and retitled reference work. New chapters in this edition include RNA interference, the ecdysone receptor crystal structures and structure activity relationships, etc. Each article may also be read independently, as a review of that particular subject. Complete up-to-date coverage of many important topics - the book is divisible into five conceptual areas: (1) Distribution and diversity of ecdysteroids in the two kingdoms is still basis, (2) In the post-genomic era, ecdysteroid genetic hierarchies in insect growth and reproduction, (3) Role of cross talk of genes and growth factors in ecdysteroid titers and signaling, (4) Ecdysteroids function through nuclear and membrane receptors, and (5) Ecdysteroids in modern agriculture, medicine, doping and ecotoxicology. Each of the 23 chapters is written by scientists active in the reviewed research area and a truly distinguished international team of contributors has been chosen. Ecdysone, Structures and Functions will be of immense use and contains essential information for scientists, students, and professionals alike in entomology, endocrinology, physiology, chemistry, and agricultural, plant, biomedicine and environmental sciences.