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Whether you're an amateur insect enthusiast, a student or an entomologist, this updated and revised third edition of A Field Guide to Insects in Australia will help you to identify insects from all the major insect groups. With more photographs and up-to-date information, it will enable you to differentiate between a dragonfly and a damselfly or a cricket and a grasshopper. You'll find cockroaches, termites, praying mantids, beetles, cicadas, moths, butterflies, ants and bees. More than 300 colour photographs show the insects in their natural habitat and the line drawings clearly illustrate subtle differences where identification is tricky.
Moths are often thought of as the ugly cousins of butterflies, yet their colours can be just as remarkable and, with over 20,000 species in Australia, their biology and lifestyles are far more diverse. With striking colour photographs of live moths in their natural habitat, this guide illustrates all the major moth families in Australia, including some rarely seen species. It provides many curious facts about the unusual aspects of moth biology, including details on day-flying species, camouflage, moths that mimic wasps, larvae with stinging hairs, and larvae that have gills. This easy-to-read book includes sections on the iconic Witjuti grubs, Bogong moths, the giant-tailed Hercules moths of northern Queensland (one of the largest moths in the world, with a wingspan of over 25 cm), moths that release hydrocyanic acid in their defence, and moths that produce ultrasonic calls that bats learn to associate with a bad taste. A Guide to Australian Moths highlights the environmental role of moths, their relationships with other animals and plants, and their importance to humans. It provides a unique introduction to the extraordinary diversity of moths found in Australia.
A Guide to the Beetles of Australia provides a comprehensive introduction to the Coleoptera – a huge and diverse group of insects. Beetles make up 40 per cent of all insects known to science. The number of described beetle species in the world – around 350 000 – is more than six times the number of all vertebrate species. New beetle species are being discovered all the time. Of the 30 000 species that may occur in Australia, only 20 000 have been scientifically described. These include around 6500 weevils (Curculionidae), 2600 scarabs, dung beetles and chafers (Scarabaeidae); and 2250 leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae). A Guide to the Beetles of Australia highlights the enormous diversity of this unique insect Order. It emphasises the environmental role of beetles, their relationships with other plants and animals, and their importance to humans. Winner of the 2010 Whitley Medal.
Most Australian stag beetles live secretive lives, spending the majority of their life cycle inside decaying timber or under logs sunken in the soil. Yet these active recyclers of the forest are admired by beetle-loving people worldwide. Their aesthetic appeal and the rarity of some species make them of great value to collectors: the beetles in the subfamily Lampriminae are splendidly colourful, while others show an amazing variety in male mandible size and structure. A Guide to Stag Beetles of Australia is a comprehensive account of the 95 lucanid species found in Australia. This book reveals their diversity and beauty, looks in detail at their morphology, habitats and ecology, and explains how to collect, keep and preserve them. Natural history enthusiasts and professional and amateur coleopterists alike will benefit from the use of this guide. The book features some stunning images from entomologist and photographer Paul Zborowski. Paul has over 40 years' experience of field-based study of insects and related creatures in habitats all over the world.
This definitive guide to the subject offers a window into a fascinating world. Notorious species such as the Redback and the Sydney Funnel-web sit alongside less well-known but equally intriguing spiders such as the ant-mimics and net-casting spiders. The introduction covers spider structure, evolution, reproduction, silk and venom, together with peculiarities of the family within an Australian context. The two main sections of the book deal with Trapdoor Spiders and Modern Spiders, and within each section there is a chapter on each of the 80 or so spider families that occur in Australia. Each is illustrated with beautiful photographs of the subjects, with more than 30 images per family for some of the larger groups such as the jumping spiders, and many rare images never before published.
True ladybirds, classified in the tribe Coccinellini, are easily recognisable by their relatively large and shiny bodies and contrasting colour patterns. They are one of the most widely studied groups of beetles, being of economic importance and used as model organisms in biological and ecological research. Ladybird Beetles of the Australo-Pacific Region covers 22 genera and 95 valid species, including 12 new species, of ladybird beetles from Australia, New Guinea and the Pacific area. For each species, descriptions, illustrations and keys will assist with the correct identification of ladybirds from this large but practically unknown fauna. This book is a valuable contribution to the taxonomy of the ladybirds and to the knowledge of the biodiversity of this unique biogeographic region. It will be of use to entomologists, biologists, ecologists, quarantine officers, natural history museum curators, and students.
Longhorn Beetles — Cerambycidae are one of the most easily recognised groups of beetles, a family that worldwide encompasses over 33 000 species in 5200 genera. With over 1400 species classified in 300 genera, this is the sixth largest among 117 beetle families in Australia. These beetles often attack and kill living forest or orchard trees and develop in construction timber (like the European House borer, introduced to WA), causing serious damage. Virtually all Cerambycidae feed on living or dead plant tissues and play a significant role in all terrestrial environments where plants are found. Larvae often utilise damaged or dead trees for their development, and through feeding on rotten w...
The campaign to eradicate the papaya fruit fly from north Queensland has been widely acknowledged by international scientists as a significant technical achievement that equals any similar control program world-wide. Fruit Fly Fighters is a highly readable and practical account of the whole campaign from 1995 when the papaya fruit fly was first discovered until 1999 when eradication was formally declared. Key aspects covered include: The emergency response; Campaign management; The growers' perspective; Monitoring, eradication, data management; quarantine, traffic control points; market access for fruit from infected areas; public relations; and research and development. The operating manuals and other reports are in a CD-ROM that accompanies this book.
Volume 1 in a three-volume series that represents a comprehensive treatment of the beetles of Australia.
Water bugs are familiar insects in aquatic habitats throughout the World. They belong to the order Hemiptera, the largest insect order with incomplete metamorphosis. There are basically two kinds: (1) the semiaquatic bugs (Gerromorpha) which live upon the water surface, and (2) the true water bugs (Nepomorpha) which live beneath the water surface. Water bugs are found in a wide variety of natural habitats from small, temporary pools to larger ponds and lakes, from small streams to rivers, and from inland freshwater bodies to coastal mangroves, tidal pools of coral reefs, and the surface of the ocean. Water bugs are chiefly predators or scavengers, feeding on any prey they can master, from ti...