In insect and other arthropod immune systems, discrimination between self and nonself tissues is accomplished through the combined actions of two immunocytes and several humoral factors. Immunology of Insects and Other Arthropods presents a comprehensive look at this and other important topics in arthropod immunology. Issues discussed include insect immunocytes and other hemocytes, including computer image analysis of immunocyte serial sections; the two basic cellular immune reactions (phagocytosis and encapsulation), including the molecular basis and roles of gap junctions in encapsulation; how encapsulation is affected by polydnavirus and encapsulation-promoting factors; why insect cells are immune to HIV; humoral factors; and antibacterial factors in Lepidoptera, Diptera, and other insect orders. Other topics include hemolymph proteins interacting with mammalian complement cascade; adaptive humoral response in the American cockroach; antigenic stimulation of hemaglutinin production in insects; and the applications of the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) in detecting endotoxins in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, clinical diagnosis, and hygienic control. This book represents an important reference source for hematologists, pathologists, immunologists, AIDS researchers, comparative immunologists, and pharmaceutical companies.

This unique book is written with the novice in mind, providing an introduction to all aspects of working with cockroaches. The focus of this writing is on the neuroendocrine system of cockroaches, which was collected by entomologists, primarily with the aim of improving methods of insect pest control. It includes some chapters devoted exclusively to techniques with detailed instructions. This comprehensive work also covers details of anatomy along with illustrations and experimental results. This is one of the few books available which provides such a broad coverage of areas of neurobiology of one organism. This handbook is a must for all researchers in the biomedical/veterinary field. Entomologists will find this reading exciting as well.

Invertebrate cell culture is increasingly being used in various areas of biological research. Research in cellular biology and pathology that previously depended primarily on in vitro investigations of vertebrate animal cell systems is now being conducted using invertebrate cells. Specialists and pioneers from the United States, Japan, Switzerland, Slovakia, and China have presented original contributions to create a well-balanced cross-section of current developments. Topics discussed include the preparation of cell culture media; cultivation of mosquito, lepidopteran, grasshopper, and tick cells; the application of such cells to mammalian and plant virus research; and diverse applications in medicine, biology, and agriculture. A special chapter devoted to the work of Japanese cell culture pioneers is also featured. All chapters are supported by tables, photographs, and up-to-date bibliographies.

The editors of this book, who are world renown for their creativity with entomopathogenic nematodes, have assembled the foremost authorities from four continents to contribute on basic and applied concepts. The authors have taken advantage of this opportunity to express their views to a wide scientific audience. They have combined their international experience so that the latest developments in this fascinating and rapidly expanding field are present in comprehensive manner with diverse topics ranging from biological control theory to organismal and molecular biology.

Insect Cell Biotechnology provides a lucid, up-to-date description of recent major advances in the field. A number of significant topics are addressed, including the use and production of baculoviruses in insect cells, baculovirus specificity, bacterial toxin studies in cultured insect cells, scale-up operations required in the production of recombinant protein and insect viruses propagated in insect cells, growth and nervous system interactions, and the physiological and developmental capacities of cell lines. Transfection in Drosophila cells and a chapter on the theoretical and practical implications of stress produced by x-rays, ultraviolet light, chemicals, psoralens, and heat are discussed as well.

This text contains the papers of a meeting on American isopods, the only crustacean group with representatives in all terrestrial ecosystems ranging from the sea shore to the desert. Due to such adaptibility, this group can be seen as a model for the successful transition on land. The text deals with two main subjects: the effects of stressful conditions on the individual animal as reflected by its survival or by the disruption of its normal reproductive pattern; and the distribution of the isopods and their selection of microhabitat.

This book is devoted to amaranth, a plant to which 45 species are indigenous to the Mesoamerican region and 10 others originated in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Amaranth was the foundation of the extensive North and South American ancient civilizations and is still important in the agriculture of more recent Indian cultures. However, this plant nearly disappeared after the Spanish conquest. In view of the outstanding agronomic performance of the plant and the high nutritional value of the grain, it is now becoming an important crop in various regions of the world. Progress in the utilization of amaranth is directly related to scientific and technical information on its biological, physical, and chemical properties. Amaranth: Biology, Chemistry, and Technology begins with a chapter on the use of tissue culture, molecular biology, and genetic engineering techniques for crop improvement. The next few chapters deal with classical genetics, traditional plant breeding, and plant physiology. Following chapters review the properties of storage and leaf proteins, carbohydrates (especially starch), and seed oil. The potential of amaranth for new food products and popping is discussed, and commercialization and marketing of amaranth and its products are described. The book also emphasizes the outstanding nutritional properties of amaranth.

This book represents proceedings from ICINN 1993, and comprises papers on nerve function, neurotransmitters, ion channels, second messengers and neuropeptides. By using a variety of techniques, combining aspects of nrurophysiology, pharmacology, immunology, peptide separation and sequencing or molecular biology, it has become possible to study systems in greater detail and complexity than before.

This book documents the latest accomplishments and technology relating to pheromone use in insect pest management along with the information that lead to these advances. It will appeal to entomologists, biologists, chemists, biochemists, pest control specialists, and insect physiologists.

This book documents the latest accomplishments and technology relating to pheromone use. It contains listing of pheromones which provides an up-to-date background of material to help bring both the advanced and the new worker abreast of the rapidly growing pheromone field.

Insects and Pollution provides a comprehensive overview of both the direct and indirect effects of pollution on insects and discusses the ecological and economic consequences of these changes. The book reviews studies on pollutant-induced changes in insects classified according to their trophic position, taxonomy, and developmental stage. These changes are considered on different spatial and temporal scales, in different climatic and vegetation zones, and in different habitats (with emphasis on coniferous forests). The book also describes the effects of a variety of pollutants on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Other topics considered include the effects of pollutants on insect physiology, ecology and evolution, and updating and synthesizing data. Insects and Pollution is the first book to combine entomological and ecotoxicological perspectives to address the far-ranging effects of pollution on insects. It is essential reading for entomologists, ecotoxicologists, conservation biologists, and other professionals in the environmental sciences.

This work provides a guide to current research in barnacle evolution. Topics covered include: chemical signals in barnacles; larval settlement; naupliar evidence for cirripede taxonomy and phylogeny; and South American patterns of barnacle distribution.

Insects are the most numerous class of animals or earth, both in terms of their number and their variety. There are 800,000 recognized species, with between 1 and 10 million estimated species yet to be classified. This book will discuss, mechanics of flight, Wing structure, Hovering flight, flight in smaller and larger insects and wing polars.

This book discusses nematodes for biological of insects. The book includes the following chapters; classification of nematode, key to entomogenous nematodes, nematode groups, microorganisms associated with entomogenous nematodes, immunity to entomogenous nematodes, natural enemies of entomogenous nematodes, environmental impact of entomogenous nematodes, and future prospects.

Written by experts in the fields of insect pest genetics, the genetics of biological control organisms, and the application of biological control, this book provides the first up-to-date summary of the genetic literature on the genetics of arthropod biological control agents. It identifies successful programs and also gaps and needs in research, research constraints, and possible research approaches in this important field of pest control. The power and applicability of new genetic and molecular biology methods have created new and exciting possibilities to greatly improve the effectiveness of traditional biological control programs. This book provides essential information about the state-of-the-art application of these new methods. It explains how biological control procedures can be improved, covers methods for selecting pesticide-resistant strains of natural enemies, and looks at methods for maintaining genetic diversity and quality control during the rearing of biological control agents in the laboratory. The book also provides information regarding the application of powerful PCR methods for taxonomic identification of strains and species of biocontrol agents.

This book was first published in 1990. It discusses a plethora of both high and low tech options for the control of vectors such as mosquitos in the spread of disease.

This book describes new strategies being used to combat disease agents and invertebrate pests. Outstanding experts from the United States, Belgium, China, Guatemala, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand have contributed chapters that cover the latest achievements in genetic engineering, emphasizing the microbial and viral biological control agents that can provide environmentally safe, economical control systems. Topics discussed include genetic engineering of Bacillus thuringiensis and B. sphaericus, the development of insect resistance to microbial biocontrol agents, engineering of baculoviruses and nematodes, bioengineering of plants, plant transformation by particle bombardment, fusion of cultured insect cells, new immunodiagnostic assays and control measures against parasitic human diseases, and genetically engineered microbial agents for malaria control. The book also presents improved mass production procedures of microbial and viral biocontrol agents, as well as regulatory and environmental aspects of genetically engineered biocontrol agents. Biotechnology for Biological Control of Pests and Vectors will provide a valuable reference for researchers and students of biological control, microbiology, virology, and molecular biology.

This book focuses on chemicals that effect aggregation for mating and elicit sexual behavior in insects, mites, and ticks, mainly on "sex pheromonal" or "mating" activity. These pheromones are useful to both agriculture science and industry because of their potential as detection and control agents.

For nearly 50 years, pest control was mostly based on broad-spectrum conv- tional insecticides such as organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. However, the severe adverse effects of pesticides on the environment, problems of resistance reaching crisis proportions and public protests led to stricter regulations and legislation aimed at reducing their use. Ways to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides in plant protection and to use more alternative and novel me- ods for pest control or biorational control are the challenges of pest control for the twenty-first century. The term biorational (biological + rational) pesticides can be defined as the use of specific and selective chemicals, often with a unique modes of action, that are compatible with natural enemies and the environment, with minimal effect on n- target organisms. Biorational control is based on a diversity of chemical, biological and physical approaches for controlling insect pests which results in minimum risk to man and the environment.

Insects have evolved very unique and interesting tactics using chemical signals to survive. Chemical ecology illustrates the working of the biological network by means of chemical analyses. Recent advances in analytical technology have opened the way to a better understanding of the more complicated and abyssal interactions of insects with other organisms including plants and microbes. This book covers recent research on insects and chemical communications and presents the current status about challenges faced by chemical ecologists for the management of pests in agriculture and human health.

Every science, including the study of insects, may have circumscribed limits, but its deeper principles open up new worlds of possibility. Milward uncovers these hidden principles by examining the daily lives and habits of insects. His studies lead him to fascinating speculations, taking the reader into the realms not only of literature, as suggested by the subtitle, but also of philosophy and theology.When Milward discusses what everybody knows about insects and what he has personally observed, he relates insects to human life in general. His insights help us feel a certain fellowship with the insects, or at least with some of the more familiar insects. He does not let us forget that there is an important diff erence between human beings and insects. Human beings think. It is our ability to think that makes us what we are, but it is thinking that enables us to discover our affi nity with insects.The Secret Life of Insects does not probe into the hidden lives of insects or treat them as individuals. His main interest is the light insects may throw on our human experience, and the assistance they may lend us as we seek to transcend our human experience. Milward aims at the level of common knowledge. In contrast to entomological scientists, Milward finds shadowy glimpses of hidden meaning in the insect world. Th ese intimations or shadowy glimpses reveal thoughts and possibilities that will extend the human imagination. As a consequence, this work will inspire philosophers, as well as general readers interested in refl ecting on the profundity of ordinary life.

Shallow water marine molluscan faunas are distributed in a pattern of distinct, geographically definable areas. This makes mollusks ideal for studying the distribution of organisms in the marine environment and the processes and patterns that control their evolution. Biogeography and Biodiversity of Western Atlantic Mollusks is the first book to use quantitative methodologies to define marine molluscan biogeographical patterns. It traces the historical development of these patterns for the subtropical and tropical western Atlantic. The book discusses the multistage process of evolving new taxa caused by eustatic fluctuations, ecological stress, and evolutionary selection. Drawing on his decades of intensive field work, the author defines three western Atlantic molluscan provinces and 15 subprovinces based on his Provincial Combined Index, a modern refinement of Valentine's 50% rule. The faunal provinces-Carolinian, Caribbean, and Brazilian-are discussed in detail. The text defines the physical aspects of the provinces using quantitative data, with water temperature as the primary parameter. It discusses the details of the 15 subprovinces-geographically definable faunal subdivisions-as well as provinciatones, transition zones of provincial overlap. The author's algorithms demonstrate that the bulk of the molluscan biodiversity is concentrated in 40 separate centers of speciation, ranging from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, south to Argentina. Many of these evolutionary hotspots reside on remote archipelagos and offshore banks as well as within areas of provincial overlap. The text describes some of the more exotic and poorly known areas and presents maps and color photographs of characteristic habitats, index species, and live animals, including over 400 species of rare and seldom seen shells.

This book consisting of ten review chapters contributed by leading workers in their respective fields, from around the world, covers the whole subject of insect reproduction.It begins with the basic physiological questions of insect reproduction, moves on to discuss the new advances seen in the fields of behavioural and ecological mechanisms, and culminates by examining the recent work on evolutionary biology and its application in the field. Each chapter, although including a brief review of the basic seminal work, focuses mainly on the advances made within the last ten years and highlights those areas in which the respective authors see the greatest scope for further important advances

Spiders are often underestimated as suitable behavioural models because of the general belief that due to their small brains their behaviour is innate and mostly invariable. Challenging this assumption, this fascinating book shows that rather than having a limited behavioural repertoire, spiders show surprising cognitive abilities, changing their behaviour to suit their situational needs. The team of authors unravels the considerable intra-specific as well as intra-individual variability and plasticity in different behaviours ranging from foraging and web building to communication and courtship. An introductory chapter on spider biology, systematics and evolution provides the reader with the necessary background information to understand the discussed behaviours and helps to place them into an evolutionary context. Highlighting an under-explored area of behaviour, this book will provide new ideas for behavioural researchers and students unfamiliar with spiders as well as a valuable resource for those already working in this intriguing field.

The first half of this book is primarily a systematic survey of the snails, beginning with glossaries, keys for identification to genera and a checklist of species. This is followed by a synopsis of species, with brief notes on ecology, distribution and parasites. Relationships are then described between snails and schistosomes and with other parasites. The book goes on to consider the factors affecting snail populations and possible methods for population control.