Despite being the biggest group of organisms inhabiting Earth in both diversity and sheer numbers, insects are barely commercialized. Most of the standard textbooks of applied entomology talk about insect pest management, and when it comes to commercial aspects of insects, only apiculture, sericulture, and lac culture are talked about. This book will help bring other commercial uses of insects and their economic potential to the fore. This will generate interest in further research on the commercial potential of insects, thereby harnessing a much-found resource. The book has the following salient features: 1. Encompasses all major aspects of beneficial and commercial insects. 2. Deals with edible insects and mass culture of natural enemies and beneficial insects. 3. Emphasis on the mass cultivation of beneficial insects for obtaining yields. 4. Discusses stingless bees and their products. 5. Helps to solve the problem of food scarcity and improve food security.

The book provides an overview of detection and diagnosis of insect infestation, survey techniques, and principles of strategy and control."--BOOK JACKET.

In Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden, you'll learn how to fill your garden with the right plants to support the beneficial predatory insects that control common garden pests.

The Georgia Pest Management Handbook provides current information on selection, application, and safe use of pest control chemicals. This handbook has recommendations for pest control around homes and on pets; for pests of home garden vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals; and for pests of public health interest associated with our homes. Cultural, biological, physical, and other types of control are recommended where appropriate. Pesticide recommendations are based on information on the manufacturer labels and on performance data from research and extension trials at the University of Georgia and its sister institutions. Because environmental conditions, the severity of pest pressure, and methods of application vary widely, recommendations do not imply that performance of pesticides will always be acceptable. This publication is intended to be used only as a guide. Trade and brand names are used only for information. The University of Georgia does not guarantee nor warrant published standards on any product mentioned; nor does the use of a trade or brand name imply approval of any product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable. Always follow the use instructions and precautions on the pesticide label. For questions, concerns, or improvement suggestions regarding the Georgia Pest Management Handbook, please contact your county agent.

Edible insects have always been a part of human diets, but in some societies there remains a degree of disdain and disgust for their consumption. Although the majority of consumed insects are gathered in forest habitats, mass-rearing systems are being developed in many countries. Insects offer a significant opportunity to merge traditional knowledge and modern science to improve human food security worldwide. This publication describes the contribution of insects to food security and examines future prospects for raising insects at a commercial scale to improve food and feed production, diversify diets, and support livelihoods in both developing and developed countries. It shows the many traditional and potential new uses of insects for direct human consumption and the opportunities for and constraints to farming them for food and feed. It examines the body of research on issues such as insect nutrition and food safety, the use of insects as animal feed, and the processing and preservation of insects and their products. It highlights the need to develop a regulatory framework to govern the use of insects for food security. And it presents case studies and examples from around the world. Edible insects are a promising alternative to the conventional production of meat, either for direct human consumption or for indirect use as feedstock. To fully realise this potential, much work needs to be done by a wide range of stakeholders. This publication will boost awareness of the many valuable roles that insects play in sustaining nature and human life, and it will stimulate debate on the expansion of the use of insects as food and feed.

Visitors to tropical forests generally come to see the birds, mammals, and plants. Aside from butterflies, however, insects usually do not make it on the list of things to see. This is a shame. Insects are everywhere, they are often as beautiful as the showiest of birds, and they have a fascinating natural history. With their beautifully illustrated guide to insects and other arthropods, Paul E. Hanson and Kenji Nishida put the focus on readily observable insects that one encounters while strolling through a tropical forest in the Americas. It is a general belief that insects in the tropics are larger and more colorful than insects in temperate regions, but this simply reflects a greater diversity of nearly all types of insects in the tropics. On a single rainforest tree, for example, you will find more species of ant than in all of England.Though written for those who have no prior knowledge of insects, this book should also prove useful to those who study them. In addition to descriptions of the principal insect families, the reader will find a wealth of biological information that serves as an introduction to the natural history of insects and related classes. Sidebars on insect behavior and ecological factors enhance the descriptive accounts. Kenji Nishida's stunning photographs—many of which show insects in action in their natural settings—add appeal to every page. A final chapter provides a glimpse into the intriguing world of spiders, scorpions, crabs, and other arthropods.

The Encyclopedia of Insects is a comprehensive work devoted to all aspects of insects, including their anatomy, physiology, evolution, behavior, reproduction, ecology, and disease, as well as issues of exploitation, conservation, and management. Articles provide definitive facts about all insects from aphids, beetles and butterflies to weevils and yellowjackets. Insects are beautiful and dreadful, ravenous pests and devastating disease vectors, resilient and resistant to eradication, and the source of great benefit and great loss for civilization. Important for ecosystem health, they have influenced the evolution of other life forms on our planet including humans. Anyone interested in insects, from university professors and researchers to high school students preparing a report, will find The Encyclopedia of Insects an indispensable volume for insect information.* An unprecedented collection in 1,276 pages covering every important aspect of insects * Presents 270 original articles, thoroughly peer reviewed and edited for consistency * Features 1,000 figures and tables, including 500 full-color photographs* Includes the latest information contributed by 250 experts in 17 countries * Designed to save research time with a full glossary, 1,700 cross-references, and 3,000 bibliographic entries

In the last few decades there has been an ever-increasing component in most BSc Zoology degree courses of cell biology, physiology and genetics, for spectacular developments have taken place in these fields. Some aspects of biotechnology are now also being included. In order to accommodate the new material, the old zoology courses were altered and the traditional two-year basis of systematics of the animal kingdom, comparative anatomy (and physiology) and evolution, was either severely trimmed or reduced and presented in an abridged form under another title. Soon after these course alterations came the swing to modular teaching in the form of a series of shorter, separate courses, some of which were optional. The entire BSc degree course took on a different appearance and several different basic themes became possible. One major result was that in the great majority of cases taxonomy and systematics were no longer taught and biology students graduated without this basic training. We field biologists did appreciate the rising interest in ecology and environ mental studies, but at the same time lamented the shortage of taxonomic skills, so that often field work was based on incorrect identifications. For years many of us with taxonomic inclinations have been bedevilled by the problem of teaching systematics to undergraduates. At a guess, maybe only 5% of students find systematics interesting. It is, however, the very basis of all studies in biology - the correct identification of the organism concerned and its relationships to others in the community.

Insects will be appearing on our store shelves, menus, and plates within the decade. In The Insect Cookbook, two entomologists and a chef make the case for insects as a sustainable source of protein for humans and a necessary part of our future diet. They provide consumers and chefs with the essential facts about insects for culinary use, with recipes simple enough to make at home yet boasting the international flair of the world’s most chic dishes. Insects are delicious and healthy. A large proportion of the world’s population eats them as a delicacy. In Mexico, roasted ants are considered a treat, and the Japanese adore wasps. Insects not only are a tasty and versatile ingredient in the kitchen, but also are full of protein. Furthermore, insect farming is much more sustainable than meat production. The Insect Cookbook contains delicious recipes; interviews with top chefs, insect farmers, political figures, and nutrition experts (including chef René Redzepi, whose establishment was elected three times as “best restaurant of the world”; Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations; and Daniella Martin of Girl Meets Bug); and all you want to know about cooking with insects, teaching twenty-first-century consumers where to buy insects, which ones are edible, and how to store and prepare them at home and in commercial spaces.

Over the past three decades there has been a dramatic increase in theoretical and practical studies on insect natural enemies. The appeal of insect predators, and parasitoids in particular, as research animals derives from the relative ease with which many species may be cultured and experimented with in the laboratory, the simple life cycles of most parasitoids, and the increasing demand for biological pest control. There is now a massive literature on insect natural enemies, so there is a great need for a general text that the enquiring student or research worker can use in deciding on approaches and techniques that are appropriate to the study and evaluation of such insects. This book fulfils that demand. A considerably updated and expanded version of a previous best-seller, it is an account of major aspects of the biology of predators and parasitoids, punctuated with information and advice on which experiments or observations to conduct, and how to carry them out. Guidance is provided, where necessary, on the literature that may need to be consulted on particular topics. While researchers can now refer to several books on parasitoids and predators, Insects as Natural Enemies is unique in emphasising practicalities. It is aimed at students and professional working in universities and both government and commercial institutes in the fields of pest management, agriculture, horticulture and forestry.