9781444317671

This established, popular textbook provides a stimulating and comprehensive introduction to the insects, the animals that represent over half of the planet's biological diversity. In this new fourth edition, the authors introduce the key features of insect structure, function, behavior, ecology and classification, placed within the latest ideas on insect evolution. Much of the book is organised around major biological themes - living on the ground, in water, on plants, in colonies, and as predators, parasites/parasitoids and prey. A strong evolutionary theme is maintained throughout. The ever-growing economic importance of insects is emphasized in new boxes on insect pests, and in chapters on medical and veterinary entomology, and pest management. Updated 'taxoboxes' provide concise information on all aspects of each of the 27 major groupings (orders) of insects.

The authors maintain the tradition of clarity and conciseness set by earlier editions, and the text is illustrated profusely with specially commissioned hand-drawn figures. The illustrations and the informative text aim to encourage the scientific study of insects, either as a vocation or as a hobby. The book is intended as the principal text for students studying entomology, as well as a reference text for undergraduate and graduate courses in fields of ecology, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, palaeontology, zoology, and medical and veterinary science.

List of boxes
Preface to the fourth edition
Preface to the third edition
Preface to the second edition
Preface and acknowledgments for first edition
The importance, diversity, and conservation of insects
What is entomology?
The importance of insects
Insect biodiversity
Naming and classification of insects
Insects in popular culture and commerce
Insects as food
Insect conservation
Further reading
External anatomy
The cuticle
Segmentation and tagmosis
The head
The thorax
The abdomen
Further reading
Internal anatomy and physiology
Muscles and locomotion
The nervous system and co-ordination
The endocrine system and the function of hormones
The circulatory system
The tracheal system and gas exchange
The gut, digestion, and nutrition
The excretory system and waste disposal
Reproductive organs
Further reading
Sensory systems and behavior
Mechanical stimuli
Thermal stimuli
Chemical stimuli
Insect vision
Insect behavior
Further reading
Reproduction
Bringing the sexes together
Courtship
Sexual selection
Copulation
Diversity in genitalic morphology
Sperm storage, fertilization, and sex determination
Sperm competition
Oviparity (egg-laying)
Ovoviviparity and viviparity
Atypical modes of reproduction
Physiological control of reproduction
Further reading
Insect development and life histories
Growth
Life-history patterns and phases
Process and control of molting
Voltinism
Diapause
Dealing with environmental extremes
Migration
Polymorphism and polyphenism
Age-grading
Environmental effects on development
Climate and insect distributions
Further reading
Insect systematics: phylogeny and classification
Systematics
The extant Hexapoda,
Class Entognatha: Protura (proturans), Collembola (springtails), and Diplura (diplurans)
Class Insecta (true insects)
Further reading
Insect biogeography and evolution
Insect biogeography
The antiquity of insects
Were the first insects aquatic or terrestrial?
Evolution of wings
Evolution of metamorphosis
Insect diversification
Insect evolution in the Pacific
Further reading
Ground-dwelling insects
Insects of litter and soil
Insects and dead trees or decaying wood
Insects and dung
Insect-carrion interactions
Insect-fungal interactions
Cavernicolous insects
Environmental monitoring using ground-dwelling hexapods
Further reading
Aquatic insects
Taxonomic distribution and terminology
The evolution of aquatic lifestyles
Aquatic insects and their oxygen supplies
The aquatic environment
Environmental monitoring using aquatic insects
Functional feeding groups
Insects of temporary waterbodies
Insects of the marine, intertidal, and littoral zones
Further reading
Insects and plants
Coevolutionary interactions between insects and plants
Phytophagy (or herbivory)
Insects and plant reproductive biology
Insects that live mutualistically in specialized plant structures
Further reading
Insect societies
Subsociality in insects
Eusociality in insects
Inquilines and parasites of social insects
Evolution and maintenance of eusociality
Success of eusocial insects
Further reading
&Insect predation and parasitism
Prey/host location
Prey/host acceptance and manipulation
Prey/host selection and specificity
Population biology - predator/parasitoid and prey/host abundance
The evolutionary success of insect predation and parasitism
Further reading
Insect defense
Defense by hiding
Secondary lines of defense
Mechanical defenses
Chemical defenses
Defense by mimicry
Collective defenses in gregarious and social insects
Further reading
Medical and veterinary entomology
Insect nuisance and phobia
Venoms and allergens
Insects as causes and vectors of disease
Generalized disease cycles
Pathogens
Forensic entomology
Further reading
Pest management
Insects as pests
The effects of insecticides
Integrated pest management
Chemical control
Biological control
Host-plant resistance to insects
Physical control
Cultural control
Pheromones and other insect attractants
Genetic manipulation of insect pests
Further reading
Methods in entomology: collecting, preservation, curation, and identification
Collection
Preservation and curation
Identification
Further reading
Glossary
References
Index
Taxoboxes
A reference guide to orders
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

We're the #1 textbook rental company. Let us show you why.

The Insects: An Outline of Entomology, 4th Edition

1444317679

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Rewards Program