Determinate Evolution in the Color-Pattern of the Lady-Beetles (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

Roswell H. Johnson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 026627739X ISBN 13: 9780266277392

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Discover how color patterns in lady beetles reflect evolution, environment, and heredity.

This edition surveys how the color patterns of American lady beetles vary within and between species. It explains a careful approach to naming and classification, and how data from multiple specimens inform our understanding of dominance, variation, and transmission. The discussion centers on practical descriptions and illustrations of color patterns across several genera, with attention to patterns that are shared, altered, or unique.

Readers will see how scientists frame questions about species, subspecies, varieties, and forms. The work emphasizes that taxonomy evolves with new data and that uncertainty can guide future inquiry. It also notes the challenges of keeping pedigrees and experimental stocks, and how these relate to broader evolutionary ideas.

• Understand how continuous and discontinuous color variation arises and what centers of variation mean.
• Learn how environment and heredity interact to shape color patterns in beetles.
• See how taxonomic terms are defined and applied to real-world beetle groups.
• Explore specific examples from Hippodamia and related genera to see the ideas in practice.

Ideal for readers with an interest in entomology, evolution, and natural history who want a clear, example‑driven look at how color pattern relates to classification and biology.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 026627739X
• ISBN 13: 9780266277392
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 116