Call of Nature


Book Description

'a true gem' —London Naturalist 'I love this book' —Nick Baker The author completes the book with an identification guide to dung itself, so that you can identify the animal that left it behind. Pellets or pats? Scats, spraints, frass, guano, spoor learn your way around different species droppings. There's also a dung-feeder s identification guide that includes the species you re most likely to encounter on an exploration of the dung heap. Journey through the digestive systems of humans, farm and wild animals, and meet some of nature’s ultimate recyclers as they eat, breed in and compete for dung. The fall of bodily waste onto the ground is the start of a race against the clock as a multitude of dung-feeders and scavengers consume this rich food source. From the enigmatic dung-rolling beetles to bat guano and giant elephant droppings, dung creates a miniature ecosystem to be explored by the aspiring dung watcher. The author completes the book with an identification guide to dung itself, so that you can identify the animal that left it behind. Pellets or pats? Scats, spraints, frass, guano, spoor – learn your way around different species’ droppings. There’s also a dung-feeder’s identification guide that includes the species you’re most likely to encounter on an exploration of the dung heap.




The Lives of Lepidopterists


Book Description

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.




A Natural History of Ladybird Beetles


Book Description

A comprehensive, full-colour work providing insights into recent advances in the ecological understanding of ladybirds.




Medical and Veterinary Entomology


Book Description

Medical and Veterinary Entomology, Second Edition, has been fully updated and revised to provide the latest information on developments in entomology relating to public health and veterinary importance. Each chapter is structured with the student in mind, organized by the major headings of Taxonomy, Morphology, Life History, Behavior and Ecology, Public Health and Veterinary Importance, and Prevention and Control. This second edition includes separate chapters devoted to each of the taxonomic groups of insects and arachnids of medical or veterinary concern, including spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks. Internationally recognized editors Mullen and Durden include extensive coverage of both medical and veterinary entomological importance. This book is designed for teaching and research faculty in medical and veterinary schools that provide a course in vector borne diseases and medical entomology; parasitologists, entomologists, and government scientists responsible for oversight and monitoring of insect vector borne diseases; and medical and veterinary school libraries and libraries at institutions with strong programs in entomology. Follows in the tradition of Herm's Medical and Veterinary Entomology The latest information on developments in entomology relating to public health and veterinary importance Two separate indexes for enhanced searchability: Taxonomic and Subject New to this edition: Three new chapters Morphological Adaptations of Parasitic Arthropods Forensic Entomology Molecular Tools in Medical and Veterinary Entomology 1700 word glossary Appendix of Arthropod-Related Viruses of Medical-Veterinary Importance Numerous new full-color images, illustrations and maps throughout




Biological Control


Book Description

This book enhances our understanding of biological control, integrating historical analysis, theoretical models and case studies in an ecological framework.




Nature and Landscape


Book Description

The roots of environmental aesthetics reach back to the ideas of eighteenth-century thinkers who found nature an ideal source of aesthetic experience. Today, having blossomed into a significant subfield of aesthetics, environmental aesthetics studies and encourages the appreciation of not just natural environments but also human-made and human-modified landscapes. Nature and Landscape is an important introduction to this rapidly growing area of aesthetic understanding and appreciation. Allen Carlson begins by tracing the development of the field's historical background, and then surveys contemporary positions on the aesthetics of nature, such as scientific cognitivism, which holds that certain kinds of scientific knowledge are necessary for a full appreciation of natural environments. Carlson next turns to environments that have been created or changed by humans and the dilemmas that are posed by the appreciation of such landscapes. He examines how to aesthetically appreciate a variety of urban and rural landscapes and concludes with a discussion of whether there is, in general, a correct way to aesthetically experience the environment.







Encyclopedia of Insects


Book Description

Awarded Best Reference by the New York Public Library (2004), Outstanding Academic Title by CHOICE (2003), and AAP/PSP 2003 Best Single Volume Reference/Sciences by Association of American Publishers' Professional Scholarly Publishing Division, the first edition of Encyclopedia of Insects was acclaimed as the most comprehensive work devoted to insects. Covering all aspects of insect anatomy, physiology, evolution, behavior, reproduction, ecology, and disease, as well as issues of exploitation, conservation, and management, this book sets the standard in entomology. The second edition of this reference will continue the tradition by providing the most comprehensive, useful, and up-to-date resource for professionals. Expanded sections in forensic entomology, biotechnology and Drosphila, reflect the full update of over 300 topics. Articles contributed by over 260 high profile and internationally recognized entomologists provide definitive facts regarding all insects from ants, beetles, and butterflies to yellow jackets, zoraptera, and zygentoma. - 66% NEW and revised content by over 200 international experts - New chapters on Bedbugs, Ekbom Syndrome, Human History, Genomics, Vinegaroons - Expanded sections on insect-human interactions, genomics, biotechnology, and ecology - Each of the 273 articles updated to reflect the advances which have taken place in entomology research since the previous edition - Features 1,000 full-color photographs, figures and tables - A full glossary, 1,700 cross-references, 3,000 bibliographic entries, and online access save research time - Updated with online access