Moths (Collins New Naturalist) - Softcover

Majerus, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0002201429 ISBN 13: 9780002201421

Publisher: HarperCollins UK, 2002

Synopsis

Another volume in the "New Naturalist" series, this book is a comprehensive account of the diverse natural history of these fascinating and popular insects. Michael Majerus, author of the "New Naturalist" book "Ladybirds", examines all aspects of moths, from their life histories to their role as pests to humans. He covers their reproduction, feeding, evolution, habitats and conservation. The book also discusses the enemies of moths, and the ways they have evolved to avoid detection, including camouflage, warning coloration, and mimicry.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Majerus is a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and teaches undergraduates about evolution and natural history at the Department of Genetics. He has had a passionate interest in insects, particularly butterflies and moths, since the age of four. He is excellent at popularising science, and is the author of the popular New Naturalist Ladybirds.

From Booklist

With nearly 200,000 species worldwide, moths are the planet's second-largest order of animals (after beetles). They form the major part of the Lepidoptera, far outnumbering their more familiar cousins, butterflies. Majerus, a British entomologist, has produced an extremely thorough book about the lives of these "butterflies of the night." Lengthy chapters cover life history and anatomy, evolution, sex, host plants and habitats, flight and distribution, disease and predators, and defenses. Each chapter discusses the place of moths in the natural world and gives specific examples for each general concept that is discussed. A chapter on melanism points out the influence of moths on the way biologists think about evolution, and a final chapter looks at the wide-ranging impact humans have had on moths (and vice versa). Though the book has a decidedly British slant, the universality of the overall principles transcends this partiality. Its price is steep, but there is no other book that matches the author's thoroughness and timeliness. A must for academic libraries and larger public libraries, and recommended for all others. Nancy Bent
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Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0002201429
• ISBN 13: 9780002201421
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336