Insects are the major component of the world's biodiversity. By their vast numbers of both species and individuals, they are vital determinants of the terrestrial ecological processes. Quantitatively, insects are important pointers for the species-rich geographical areas. Qualitatively, they are also important, whether the subjects of conservation themselves or as tools for identifying biotic areas with high endemism. "Insect Conservation Biology" covers a wide range of topics from single species to landscape conservation, and from rare butterflies to the benefits-and-risks of biocontrol agents. The approach is both positive and realistic, with insects being discussed in the contexts of sustainable development, agroecology and monitoring environmental change. Ethical issues surrounding insects are also considered as well as preservation technology and restoration ecology. Conservation circles have given too little attention to the ecological significance of insects, while entomologists have been employed mostly to control a tiny minority of species of insect pests. The realms of conservationist and entomologist are brought together in this book. This book should be of interest to conservation managers/biologists, entomologists, ecologists, and environmental scientists interested in biological diversity.

A multi-authored work on the basic biology of Asian honeybees, written by expert specialists in the field, this book highlights phylogeny, classification, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, biogeography, genetics, physiology, pheromones, nesting, self-assembly processes, swarming, migration and absconding, reproduction, ecology, foraging and flight, dance languages, pollination, diseases/pests, colony defensiveness and natural enemies, honeybee mites, and interspecific interactions. Comprehensively covering the widely dispersed literature published in European as well as Asian-language journals and books, "Honeybees of Asia" provides an essential foundation for future research.

Bryozoa are among the most abundant yet least understood of phyla in the fossil record. These exclusively colonial animals can be traced back to the Ordovician as fossils and are common elements of sediments deposited in shallow marine environments. On occasion their calcareous skeletons are sufficiently numerous to produce bryozoan limestones. The potential of bryozoans in facies analysis, and their use in macroevolutionary studies, have both been widely recognised, but to date have been incompletely exploited. Bryozoan Paleobiology brings together the scattered research on living and fossil bryozoans in broad and profusely illustrated overview that will help students and researchers alike in understanding this fascinating group of animals. Beginning with the basics of bryozoan morphology, ecology and classification, the book progresses from the smallest scale of skeletal ultrastructure, to the largest of bryozoan distributions in time and space. On the way, topics such as the origin of zooidal polymorphism and macroevolutionary trends in colony forms are covered. Case studies illuminate these topics, and areas in which further research is particularly required are highlighted.

This volume embraces the history of insect palaeontology, methods for studying fossils, the taphonomic processes leading to their formation, the diagnostic features of all insect orders, both extant and extinct, the major fossils of each order, and the implications that can be drawn from the palaeoentomological record about past ecology and climates.

This book surveys attachment structures and adhesive secretions occurring in this class of animals and discusses the relationships between structure, properties, and function in the context of evolutionary trends, and biomimetic potential. Topics comprise mechanical attachment devices, such as clamps, claws, hooks, spines and wraps, as well as hairy and smooth adhesive pads, nano-fibrils, suction cups, and viscid and solidifying adhesives. Attachment is one of the major types of interactions between an organism and its environment. There are numerous studies that deal with this phenomenon in lizards, frogs, insects, barnacles, mussels and echinoderms, but the second largest class of animals, the Arachnida, was highly neglected so far. The authors demonstrated that most arachnid adhesive structures are highly analogous to those of insects and vertebrates, but there are also numerous unique developments with some intriguing working principles. Because arachnid attachment organs have a very strong potential of technological ideas for the development of new materials and systems, inspirations from biology could also be interesting for a broad range of topics in materials and surface engineering.

JOHN G. HILDEBRAND Research on insect olfaction is important for at least two reasons. First, the olfactory systems of insects and their arthropod kin are experi mentally favourable models for studies aimed at learning about general principles of olfaction that apply to vertebrates and invertebrates alike. Detailed comparisons between the olfactory pathways in vertebrates and insects have revealed striking similarities of functional organisation, physiol ogy, and development, suggesting that olfactory information is processed through neural mechanisms more similar than different in these evolution arily remote creatures. Second, insect olfaction itself is important because of the economic and medical impact of insects that are agricultural pests and disease vectors, as well as positive impact of beneficial species, such as the bees and moths responsible for pollination and production of honey. The harm or benefit attributable to an insect is a function of what it does - that is, of its behaviour - which is shaped by sensory information. Often olfaction is the key modality for control of basic insect behaviour, such as ori entation and movement toward, and interactions with, potential mates, appro priate sites for oviposition, and sources of food. Not surprisingly, therefore, much work on insect olfaction has been motivated by long-term hopes of using knowledge of this pivotal sensory system to design strategies for mon itoring and managing harmful species and fostering the welfare of beneficial ones."

Spider Evolution: Genetics, Behavior, and Ecological Influences provides a thorough exploration of the evolutionary trail of arachnids, particularly spider species, from prehistoric origins to current sustainability issues. This book analyzes extinct organisms in the Arachnida class, specifically looking at their phylogenomics and molecular footprints to understand evolutionary changes in diversification in today's species. Sections cover spider origins and their influences on behavioral traits, physiology of sensory organs, and biomechanics, also touching on spiders as prey and predators and how their roles have changed in the 400 million years of Arachnida existence. The book then focuses upon current environmental issues facing spider species and how these have, and can, affect the evolution of these organisms. Topics include biodiversity minimization, climate change and natural disasters. This book is a much-needed resource for entomologists and arachnid- or arthropod-driven researchers. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students will also benefit from the historic review, current assessment and future predictions of spider evolution provided in this book.

About 95 per cent of all known animal species are invertebrates. A knowledge of their sexual, reproductive, and development biology is essential for the effective management of species that are economically useful to man or are harmful to him, his crops, and livestock. This treatise is the first to cover all aspects of reproduction and development of the entire spectrum of invertebrates -- terrestrial, marine, freshwater, brackish-water, free-living, and parasitic. The chapters, by leading world experts in their fields, are up-to-date and informative, and suggest a number of problems for future research. "Progress in Male Gamete Ultrastructure and Phylogeny" (issued in parts A--C) is the ninth volume in the series.
Contents Preface to the Progress Series; Preface to Volume IX, Part A; Contributors; Porifera, N. Boury-Esnault and B.G.M. Jamieson; Cnidaria and Ctenophora, Peter L. Harrison and B.G.M. Jamieson; Platyhelminthes, Nikki A. Watson; Nemertea, Ake Franzen and Bjorn A. Afzelius; Rotifera, Giulio Melone and Marco Ferraguti; Gastrotricha, Maria Balsamo, Elena Fregni and Marco Ferraguti, Kinorhyncha, Andrey V. Adrianov and Vladimir V. Malakhov; Nematomorpha, Roberto Valvassori, Magda de Eguileor, Annalisa Grimaldi and Giulio Lanzavecchia; Acanthocephala, Marcella Carcupino and Bahram S. Dezfuli; Subject Index; Species Index.

The great variety in structure and function of arthropod sensory organs is due to the huge number of species living in spatially and temporally different environments and to great variation in behavioral patterns. This atlas compiles the electron microscopic anatomy of arthropod sensory organophotoreceptors, chemoreceptors, and others in relation to function, behavior, and environment. The authors show how each sensory receptor is finely tuned to detect the necessary information in the arthropods surroundings and how the sensory receptors dynamically change their fine structures according to their functional and adaptational states. In each two-page spread of the book, electron or light micrographs are shown on the right, with diagrammatic illustrations and accompanying text on the left, in a format that is attractive and easy to understand. The atlas thus provides an important bridge between the physiology and morphology of arthropod sensory receptors.

Molluscs comprise the second largest phylum of animals (after arthropods), occurring in virtually all habitats. Some are commercially important, a few are pests and some carry diseases, while many non-marine molluscs are threatened by human impacts which have resulted in more extinctions than all tetrapod vertebrates combined. This book and its companion volume provide the first comprehensive account of the Mollusca in decades. Illustrated with hundreds of colour figures, it reviews molluscan biology, genomics, anatomy, physiology, fossil history, phylogeny and classification. This volume includes general chapters drawn from extensive and diverse literature on the anatomy and physiology of their structure, movement, reproduction, feeding, digestion, excretion, respiration, nervous system and sense organs. Other chapters review the natural history (including ecology) of molluscs, their interactions with humans, and assess research on the group. Key features of both volumes: up to date treatment with an extensive bibliography; thoroughly examines the current understanding of molluscan anatomy, physiology and development; reviews fossil history and phylogenetics; overviews ecology and economic values; and summarises research activity and suggests future directions for investigation. Winston F Ponder was a Principal Research Scientist at The Australian Museum in Sydney where he is currently a Research Fellow. He has published extensively over the last 55 years on the systematics, evolution, biology and conservation of marine and freshwater molluscs, as well as supervised post graduate students and run university courses. David R. Lindberg is former Chair of the Department of Integrative Biology, Director of the Museum of Paleontology, and Chair of the Berkeley Natural History Museums, all at the University of California. He has conducted research on the evolutionary history of marine organisms and their habitats on the rocky shores of the Pacific Rim for more than 40 years. The numerous elegant and interpretive illustrations were produced by Juliet Ponder.

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 book achieves an invaluable, contemporary picture of the phylum as a whole - Derek Wakelin - Parasitology

This book is mainly directed towards postgraduate students and professionals in the field of research and implementation of integrated pest and disease management programmes in greenhouse crops. After presenting the major pests and diseases that affect greenhouse vegetable and ornamental crops, several chapters deal with the tools for designing and implementing IP&DM in protected cultivation with particular emphasis on biological control. Current implementation and the future of IP&DM in the most important protected crops world-wide are presented in the concluding chapters. Protected cultivation is practised in many hundreds of thousands of hectares throughout the world under quite different social, economic and technical conditions. Contributions to the book reflect such a diversity of situations: from the high-technology glasshouses of northern Europe and America to the simple plastic tunnels of the Mediterranean area and temperate eastern Asia. Furthermore, the editors have entrusted each chapter to authors whose activity and perspectives could be complementary: pathologists and entomologists, from private and public sectors, and from differentiated geographical regions. Probably no book published to date has offered such a diverse yet integrated approach to pest and disease control in greenhouse crops. The book originated from an international course taught at the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies in Zaragoza, Spain. The authors are specialists from universities, research institutions and companies in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Volumes I and II of this world catalogue of dragon flies provide a survey about the system of the group, their geographic distribution and the most important specific literature. In this catalogue, taxa are methodized on supraspecific level, below which specific and intraspecific taxa are presented in alphabetical order.

Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (Pau 1986)

The 2nd International Symposium on Trichoptera was held at the University of Reading, England, 25-29 July 1977. It attracted 68 participants from 22 countries, which was a gratifying response to the circulation of about 250 workers on caddis flies. It was H. MALICKY who appreciated the need for a specialized meeting of this kind and organized the 1st International Symposium on Trichoptera, which was held at Lunz am See, Austria, 16-20 September 1974. This volume of Proceedings includes 38 papers; all except one were presented and discussed in the sessions listed in the programme. The papers were given in a lecture theatre of the Palmer Building, and demonstrations were laid out in a laboratory of the Department of Zoology where members met for their mprning and afternoon breaks. Members were accommodated in St Patrick's Hall, one of the University Halls of Residence. They were the guests of the University at an informal reception on 25 July. On the afternoon of 27 July an excursion was made to the River Lambourn at Bagnor near NeWbUry. This chalk stream has been the subject of an ecological study by a team from the Department of Zoology since 1970. The excursion was also an opportunity to see something of the local caddis fauna, and to do some collecting. The final session on 29 July, under the chairmanship of G. B. WIGGINS, was followed by a discussion on future plans."

Acridids (grasshoppers and locusts) can range from being rare curiosities to abundant menaces. Some are threatened with extinction and become subjects of intensive conservation efforts, while others are devastating pests and become the objects of massive control programmes. Even within a species, there are times when the animal is so abundant that its crushed masses cause the wheels of trains to skid (the Rocky Mountain grasshopper, Melanoplus spretus Walsh in western North America in the 1860s and I 870s), while at other times the animal is alarmingly scarce (the Rocky Mountain grasshopper went extinct in the early 1900s). Why are there these extremes in one insect family, and even in a single species? The NATO workshop examined this paradox and its implications for Environmental Security, which must address both the elements of land use (agricultural production and pest management) and conservation of biodiversity. The reconciliation of these objectives clearly demands a critical assessment of current knowledge and policies, identification of future research, and close working relationships among scientists. Insects can present two clear faces, as well as the intervening gradation. These extremes require us to respond in two ways: conservation of scarce species and suppression of abundant (harmful) species. But perhaps most important, these opposite poles also provide the opportunity for an exchange of information and insight.

The behaviour of these bees has been adapted to some extent to meet beekeeping requirements but few advances have been made in altering their behaviour so that honey and wax production is increased. Bee pheromone research aims to identify the pheromones and make analogous synthetic chemicals thus allowing the control of the colony's activities and enhancing honey production. This book evaluates the present state of knowledge of each known pheromone, discusses the pheromones of the stingless bees and describes the effect of pheromones on the social organization and mating behaviour of bumblebees. Suggestions are made for further and different types of research into pheromones. The book should be of interest to zoologists, entomologists and general biologists.

Initially, this work was designed to document and study the diversification of modern mammalian groups and was quite successful and satisfying. However, as field and laboratory work continued, there began to develop a suspicion that not all of the Eocene story was being told. It became apparent that most fossil samples, especially those from the American West, were derived from similar preservational circumstances and similar depositional settings. A program was initiated to look for other potential sources of fossil samples, either from non-traditional lithologies or from geographic areas that were not typically sampled. As this program of research grew it began to demonstrate that different lithologies and different geographic areas told different stories from those that had been developed based on more typical faunal assemblages. This book is conceived as an introduction to non-traditional Eocene fossils samples, and as a place to document and discuss features of these fossil assemblages that are rare or that come from rarely represented habitats.

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are among the most destructive agricultural pests in the world, eating their way through acres and acres of citrus and other fruits at an alarming rate and forcing food and agriculture agencies to spend millions of dollars in control and management measures. But until now, the study of fruit flies has been traditionally biased towards applied aspects (e.g., management, monitoring, and mass rearing)-understandable, given the tremendous economic impact of this species.
This work is the first that comprehensively addresses the study of the phylogeny and the evolution of fruit fly behavior. An international group of highly renowned scientists review the current state of knowledge and include considerable new findings on various aspects of fruit fly behavior, phylogeny and related subjects. In the past, the topics of phylogeny and evolution of behavior were barely addressed, and when so, often superficially. Fruit Flies (Tephritidae): Phylogeny and Evolution of Behavior is a definitive treatment, covering all behaviors in a broad range of tephritids.
This volume is divided into eight sections:

"Handbook of Agricultural Entomology" by Helmut van Emden is a landmark publication for students and practitioners of entomology applied to agriculture and horticulture. It can be used as a reference and as a general textbook.

The book opens with a general introduction to entomology and includes coverage of the major insects (and mites) that cause harm to crops, livestock and humans. The important beneficial species are also included. Organisms are described in a classification of insect Orders and Families. The emphasis is on morphological characters of major taxonomic divisions, "spot characters" for the recognition of Families, and the life histories, damage symptoms and economic importance of the various pest species.

The book is beautifully illustrated in full colour with more than 400 figures showing both the organisms and the damage caused to plants with diagnostic characters indicated by arrows. Coverage is world-wide and includes much material stemming from the vast personal experience of the author.A companion website with additional resources is available at www.wiley.com/go/vanemden/agriculturalentomology

When Franklin published her book on cyst nematodes in 1951, the cyst nematodes were already known as serious pests of brassicas, cereals, potatoes and sugar beets. However, at that time this group of nematode, with about 12 species, was considered tobe largely temperate in distribu tion. Now a total of 105 species (including those that are considered as synonyms or species inquirende by some or all) within six genera of cyst nematodes have been described from temperate, tropical, and subtropical regions and at least five species are important constraints to crop produc tion in tropical agriculture. The previous impression of localization of cyst nematodes in the temperate region was seemingly an artifact due to a greater concentration of nematologists in the temperate regions. Based on my own experience of working in several Asian and African countries, I believe that many more undescribed species are present in the tropical countries of Asia and Africa, and probably in other tropical regions. Most growers, extension workers, and research managers in these regions are still not aware of the possible harm of presence of these nematodes in their agricultural soils. The cyst nematodes are perhaps smaller than the smallest available computer chip but they are very well programmed to survive and pro pagate despite severe hardships. These nematodes are very selective in their choice of food; about 50% of known species are parasites of plants mainly in the families Poaceae and Fabaceae."