Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1552976122 ISBN 13: 9781552976128

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2002

Synopsis

Combining authoritative, easy-to-read essays with accurate illustrations and full color photographs, this encyclopedia covers all of the families that encompass the million-plus species of insects and spiders. A unique and thoroughly current volume, it includes:

Specially commissioned articles written by a team of scientists, zoologists and expert researchers
Insightful and up-to-date information on insect and spider biology and behavior
The latest scientific findings and interpretations
Features that explore and discuss in depth topics that are of particular interest and importance, for example, Beetles as Agents of Biological Control

In addition to a comprehensive text, each species entry also has a Factfile for quick retrieval of essential data:

Scientific Order and Population
Distribution and Habitat
Size, Color and Features
Reproduction, Life Cycle and Longevity
Conservation Status

Scientists, zoologists and expert researchers have contributed specially commissioned articles. These specialists, all experts in their fields, are actively involved in conducting frontline scientific or behavioral research. The inclusion of their latest findings and interpretations sets this title apart.

About this title

About the Author

Christopher O'Toole works in the Hope Entomological Collections of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History where he runs the Bee Systematics and Biology Unit. His research has taken him to the deserts of the Middle East and North America and the savannahs of South America and Africa. He has collaborated on natural history films about insects, most recently the six-part BBC TV series Alien Empire, for which he wrote the accompanying book, and has written 14 additional books on insect behavior and natural history, including Bees of the World (with Anthony Raw) and Bumblebees.

Reviews

With lush color photographs and lavishly detailed illustrations, this encyclopedia presents a striking abundance of information at a glance. Also noteworthy is the scholarly text, a comprehensive overview of these frequently studied phyla.

A major article introduces the main classes: insects and arachnids. Articles pertaining to specific species follow. For example, 23 species of the class Insecta--with a separate article for millipedes and centipedes, members of the superclass myriapoda--are featured. Entries vary in length, depending upon the complexity of the species. Information on stoneflies is covered in two pages, while Crickets and grasshoppers requires twelve pages of text. All articles--penned by authorities in the field of biological study--provide current scientific information and research findings relating to physiology and to behavior.

Several valuable features are standard in each article. Most significant are the "Factfiles," which provide a quick summary of valuable statistics, including the order, class, physical features, life cycles, population, habitat, color, reproduction habits, and longevity of the species. Conservation status, a key consideration for many researchers, is also noted, using IUCN (World Conservation Union) categories as a descriptor. Boxed "Special Feature" (for example, "Fly-Borne Diseases") and "Photo Story" (such as "Building Nests of Mud and Paper" ) articles supplement the erudite text with fascinating sidelights concerning behavior, morphology, and economic and medical importance, among other topics.

Although a glossary of biological terms is included, sidebars defining these terms on the pages on which they appear might have been a better placement because most students will not turn to the end of the volume. A bibliography of sources and an index complete the book.

One thinks short and concise when perusing an encyclopedia. Such is not the case with this resource, which is strongly recommended for high-school, public, and academic libraries. For students, Marshall Cavendish's multivolume Insects and Spiders [RBB F 1 03] offer less scholarly but equally attractive coverage. RBB
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Edition details

• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1552976122
• ISBN 13: 9781552976128
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240
• Editor: O'Toole Christopher