Bees pollinate plants, produce honey, and create marvellous social colonies. They also need our help. There is nothing quite like a bee, and nothing quite like The Bee Book. This essential guide to all things apiary takes you into the hive and reveals the remarkable lives of these essential pollinators, from their incredible influence on the evolution of flowers to the role of an individual worker bee within her colony. Bee species have existed for millions of years - but, as a result of pesticides and the climate crisis, their numbers are now threatened like never before. Discover how you can support bee populations where you live, with advice on creating bee hotels and nectar-rich wild gardens, or take the next step and try your hand at beekeeping. The Bee Book contains all the essential information you need to set up your own hive, establish your own colony, and care for your bees. It even includes ideas for making the most of the honey, beeswax, and propolis your hive will produce, including a honey and clay face mask, soothing cough drops, and luxurious body butter. Whether you're interested in bees, beekeeping, or simply wish to support local biodiversity, The Bee Book contains everything you need to know and more.

This thoroughly researched, highly informative, and enjoyable book includes a short history of butterfly collecting in Britain and of the equipment used.Brief biographies of 101 deceased Lepidopterists, generously laced with anecdotes and quotations, and many contemporary monochrome portraits; accounts of selected species of historical interest; and an appraisal of the effect of collecting and of current conservation policies. Appendixes

Your quick guide to identifying insects and bugs Get the perfect guide to insects and bugs of North America! Keep this tabbed booklet close at hand at home, at the park, on your camping trip, and for any outdoors adventure. Based on noted entomologist Jaret C. Daniels’ popular Backyard Bugs guide and featuring 136 of the most common and important bugs to know, the booklet is organized by where the bugs are generally found—such as at lights or on flowers—and then by type for quick and easy identification. Narrow your choices by location and appearance, and view just a few species at a time. The easy-to-use format means you’ll quickly find what you need to know about ants, bees, beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, wasps, and more. Plus, the quick guide is much easier to use than laminated foldouts, and the tear-resistant pages help to make the book durable in the field.

Intrepid international explorer, biologist, and photographer Mark W. Moffett, "the Indiana Jones of entomology," takes us around the globe on a strange and colorful journey in search of the hidden world of ants. In tales from Nigeria, Indonesia, the Amazon, Australia, California, and elsewhere, Moffett recounts his entomological exploits and provides fascinating details on how ants live and how they dominate their ecosystems through strikingly human behaviors, yet at a different scale and a faster tempo. Moffett's spectacular close-up photographs shrink us down to size, so that we can observe ants in familiar roles; warriors, builders, big-game hunters, and slave owners. We find them creating marketplaces and assembly lines and dealing with issues we think of as uniquely human--including hygiene, recycling, and warfare. "Adventures among Ants" introduces some of the world's most awe-inspiring species and offers a startling new perspective on the limits of our own perception.
- Ants are world-class road builders, handling traffic problems on thoroughfares that dwarf our highway systems in their complexity
- Ants with the largest societies often deploy complicated military tactics
- Some ants have evolved from hunter-gatherers into farmers, domesticating other insects and growing crops for food

'The definitive go-to wildlife guide for all 16 million British gardens.' - Mike Dilger Even the smallest garden can be an important haven for wildlife, and this authoritative guide enables everyone to explore this wealth on their back doorstep. It covers all the main animal groups - including pond life - likely to be found in a garden in Great Britain and Ireland. Detailed descriptions and information on life history, behaviour and occurrence are provided for more than 500 species, as well as practical information on creating a pond for wildlife, making nestboxes and feeding birds. Richard Lewington, acknowledged as one of the finest natural history artists in Europe, has teamed up with his brother Ian, one of our most respected bird artists, to provide nearly 1,000 superbly detailed colour artworks to complement the text. Presented in an accessible, easy-to-use format, this fully updated and expanded edition covers everything from blue tits to bumblebees and hedgehogs to hawkmoths.

Cricket song is a sound of the Australian bush. Even in cities, the rasping calls signify Australia's remarkable cricket biodiversity. Crickets are notable for a variety of reasons. When their population booms, some of these species become agricultural pests and destroy crop pastures. Some introduced species are of biosecurity concern. Other crickets are important food sources for native birds, reptiles and mammals, as well as domestic pets. Soon you might even put them in your cake or stir-fry, as there is a rapidly growing industry for cricket products for human consumption. Featuring keys, distribution maps, illustrations and detailed colour photographs from CSIRO's Australian National Insect Collection, A Guide to Crickets of Australia allows readers to reliably identify all 92 described genera and many species from the Grylloidea (true crickets) and Gryllotalpoidea (mole crickets and ant crickets) superfamilies. Natural history enthusiasts and professionals will find this an essential guide. Features Comprehensive account of all 92 genera and many species from the Grylloidea (true crickets) and Gryllotalpoidea (mole crickets and ant crickets) superfamilies. Keys, illustrations, detailed colour photographs and distribution maps to aid identification. Chapters on biology, morphology, collecting crickets and crickets as food.

A richly illustrated look at the natural history of moths Moths are among the most underappreciated insects on the planet, yet they make up the majority of some 180,000 known species of Lepidoptera. Filled with striking images, The Lives of Moths looks at the remarkable world of these amazing and beautiful creatures. While butterflies may get more press than moths, Andrei Sourakov and Rachel Warren Chadd reveal that the lopsided attention is unjust. Moths evolved long before butterflies, and their importance cannot be overestimated. From the tiniest leaf miners to exotic hawk moths that are two hundred to three hundred times larger, these creatures are often crucial pollinators of flowers, including many that bloom at night or in twilight. The authors show that moths and their larvae are the main food source for thousands of animal species, and interact with other insect, plant, and vertebrate communities in ecosystems around the world, from tropical forests and alpine meadows to deserts and wetlands. The authors also explore such topics as evolution, life cycles, methods of communication, and links to humans. A feast of remarkable facts and details, The Lives of Moths will appeal to insect lovers everywhere.

This book presents a readable account of butterfly behaviour, based on field observations, great photographs and the latest research. The main focus is on courtship and mating - including perching, searching and territorial behaviour - but to understand these subjects it is necessary to explain how mates are chosen and this requires sections on wing colours and patterns. A chapter on butterfly vision is also essential in terms of how butterflies see the world and each other. There have been exciting discoveries in all of these fields in recent years, including: butterfly vision (butterfly photoreceptors), wing patterns (molecular biology), wing colouration (structural colours and nano-architecture), mating strategies and female choice (ecology and behaviour).

With iridescent blues and greens, damselflies are some of the most beautiful flying insects as well as the most primitive. As members of the insect order Odonata they are related to dragonflies but are classified in a separate suborder. These aquatic insects are a delight to the eye and a fascinating creature of study. In Damselflies of Alberta, naturalist John Acorn describes the twenty-two species native to the province. Exhaustively researched, yet written in an accessible style, the author's enthusiasm for these flying neon toothpicks is compelling. More than a field guide, this is a passionate investigation into one of nature's winged marvels of the wetlands.

Everything you ever wanted to know but were too scared to find out is covered in this fascinating book on the Camel Spider. All you ever need to know about these fascinating creatures is covered in detail. Can these Spiders really reach speeds of up to 30 mph and chase people? Do they scream and grow to the size of dinners plates? The book has been written in a way which is very easy to read. Many topics are covered including, their size, speed, breeding and bite. There are also some fascinating stories from soldiers who have come across these spiders whilst in Afghanistan. Hathai Ross has covered many interesting details about these fascinating creatures. The Camel Spider or Wind Scorpion book is brimmed full of information including colour pictures for anyone who is interested in Spiders

'Read this book, then look and wonder' Sunday Times We have to learn to live as part of nature, not apart from it. And the first step is to start looking after the insects, the little creatures that make our shared world go round. Insects are essential for life as we know it - without them, our world would look vastly different. Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research and a lifetime's study, Dave Goulson reveals the long decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades and its potential consequences. Eye-opening and inspiring, Silent Earth asks for profound change at every level and a passionate argument or us to love, respect and care for our six-legged friends. 'Compelling - Silent Earth is a wake-up call' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding 'Enlightening, urgent and funny, Goulson's book is a timely call for action' New Statesman

Everything you need to know about eating insects and more. Guaranteed to answer all your questions, this book is a must have for anybody passionate about eating or breeding insects. The author, Elliott Lang tried eating insects for the first time on holiday in Thailand and loved them. He couldn't find any good book about it and decided to write a book himself and so started to explore the world of eating insects. Edible insects and bugs, insect breeding, most popular insects to eat, cooking ideas, restaurants who serve insects and where to buy insects all covered. Including which insects are most popular to eat and tips on preparing insects for cooking The book is written in an easy to read and understandable style.