Innumerable Insects

Innumerable Insects PDF Author: Michael S. Engel
Publisher: Union Square + ORM
ISBN: 1454933526
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 610

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Book Description
A fascinating look at the world’s most numerous inhabitants—with stunning images from the American Museum of Natural History’s Rare Book Collection. “As aesthetically pleasing as it is informative . . . The images, however, are the stars of this work, which will delight every entomophile who turns its pages.” —Publishers Weekly To date, we have discovered and described or named around 1.1 million insect species, and thousands of new species are added to the ranks every year. It is estimated that there are around five million insect species on Earth, making them the most diverse lineage of all life by far. This magnificent volume from the American Museum of Natural History tells their incredible story. Noted entomologist Michael S. Engel explores insects’ evolution and diversity; metamorphosis; pests, parasites, and plagues; society and language; camouflage; and pollination—as well as tales of discovery by intrepid entomologists. More than 180 illustrations from the Rare Book Collection at the Museum’s Research Library reveal the extraordinary world of insects down to their tiniest, most astonishing details, from butterflies’ iridescent wings to beetles’ vibrant colors. “Engel explores the identification and classification of insects, along with habitat, habits, and life cycles . . . Even the drawing of a giant cave cockroach (not native to the United States!) is captivating . . . engrossing.” —Library Journal

Innumerable Insects

Innumerable Insects PDF Author: Michael S. Engel
Publisher: Union Square + ORM
ISBN: 1454933526
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 610

Get Book Here

Book Description
A fascinating look at the world’s most numerous inhabitants—with stunning images from the American Museum of Natural History’s Rare Book Collection. “As aesthetically pleasing as it is informative . . . The images, however, are the stars of this work, which will delight every entomophile who turns its pages.” —Publishers Weekly To date, we have discovered and described or named around 1.1 million insect species, and thousands of new species are added to the ranks every year. It is estimated that there are around five million insect species on Earth, making them the most diverse lineage of all life by far. This magnificent volume from the American Museum of Natural History tells their incredible story. Noted entomologist Michael S. Engel explores insects’ evolution and diversity; metamorphosis; pests, parasites, and plagues; society and language; camouflage; and pollination—as well as tales of discovery by intrepid entomologists. More than 180 illustrations from the Rare Book Collection at the Museum’s Research Library reveal the extraordinary world of insects down to their tiniest, most astonishing details, from butterflies’ iridescent wings to beetles’ vibrant colors. “Engel explores the identification and classification of insects, along with habitat, habits, and life cycles . . . Even the drawing of a giant cave cockroach (not native to the United States!) is captivating . . . engrossing.” —Library Journal

Innumerable Insects

Innumerable Insects PDF Author: Michael S. Engel
Publisher: Sterling
ISBN: 9781454923237
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
A fascinating look at the world's most numerous inhabitants, illustrated with stunning images from the American Museum of Natural History's Rare Book Collection. It is estimated that there are around five million insect species on Earth, and this magnificent volume tells their incredible story. It covers everything from insect evolution, metamorphosis, and camouflage to society, language, and pollination--plus tales of discovery by intrepid entomologists. More than 180 illustrations describe these fascinating animals down to their tiniest details, from butterflies' iridescent wings to beetles' vibrant colors.

A Philosophy of the Insect

A Philosophy of the Insect PDF Author: Jean-Marc Drouin
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231540728
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
The world of insects is at once beneath our feet and unfathomably alien. Small and innumerable, insects surround and disrupt us even as we scarcely pay them any mind. Insects confront us with the limits of what is imaginable, while at the same time being essential to the everyday functioning of all terrestrial ecosystems. In this book, the philosopher and historian of science Jean-Marc Drouin contends that insects pose a fundamental challenge to philosophy. Exploring the questions of what insects are and what scientific, aesthetic, ethical, and historical relationships they have with humanity, he argues that they force us to reconsider our ideas of the animal and the social. He traces the role that insects have played in language, mythology, literature, entomology, sociobiology, and taxonomy over the centuries. Drouin emphasizes the links between humanistic and scientific approaches—how we have projected human roles onto insects and seen ourselves in insect form. Caught between the animal and plant kingdoms, insects force us to confront and reevaluate our notions of gender, family, society, struggle, the division of labor, social organization, and individual and collective intelligence. A remarkably original and thought-provoking work, A Philosophy of the Insect is an important book for animal studies, environmental ethics, and the history and philosophy of science.

Fireflies, Honey, and Silk

Fireflies, Honey, and Silk PDF Author: Gilbert Waldbauer
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520268075
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
"Gilbert Waldbauer takes us on a wild and storied ride through the insect world. Page after page, Fireflies, Honey, and Silk is highly entertaining, authoritative, encyclopedic, mesmerizing."—Erich Hoyt, author of Insect Lives and The Earth Dwellers: Adventures in the Land of Ants "In Fireflies, Honey, and Silk, Waldbauer serves up a veritable smorgasbord of insects from around the world whose lives directly intersect our whims and desires. With wide-ranging essays, the author reveals species that not only please and inspire us, but also those we have used to nourish, adorn, and cure our bodies."—Arthur V. Evans, author of National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America and What's Bugging You?

Extraordinary Insects

Extraordinary Insects PDF Author: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780008316372
Category : Evolution (Biology)
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
A journey into the weird, wonderful and truly astonishing lives of the small but mighty creatures who keep the world turning. Out of sight, underfoot, unseen beyond fleeting scuttles or darting flights, insects occupy a hidden world, yet are essential to sustaining life on earth. Insects influence our ecosystem like a ripple effect on water. They arrived when life first moved to dry land, they preceded - and survived - the dinosaurs, they outnumber the grains of sand on all the world's beaches, and they will be here long after us. Working quietly but tirelessly, they give us food, uphold our ecosystems, can heal our wounds and even digest plastic. They could also provide us with new solutions to the antibiotics crisis, assist in disaster zones and inspire airforce engineers with their flying techniques. But their private lives are also full of fun, intrigue and wonder -musical mating rituals; house-hunting for armies of beetle babies; metamorphosing into new characters; throwing parties in fermenting sap; cultivating fungi for food; farming smaller species for honey dew and always ensuring that what is dead is decomposed, ready to become life once again. Here, we will discover life and death, drama and dreams, all on a millimetric scale. Like it or not, Earth is the planet of insects, and this is their extraordinary story.

Smithsonian Handbook of Interesting Insects

Smithsonian Handbook of Interesting Insects PDF Author: Gavin R. Broad
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
ISBN: 1588346862
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Stunning photographic guide to bugs, from the beautiful to the bizarre and every bug in between Smithsonian Handbook of Interesting Insects presents striking photographic profiles of insects, each one specially selected from the 34 million specimens found in one of the oldest and most important entomology collection in the world, held by London's Natural History Museum. The book showcases more than one hundred significant bug species, including the ruby-tailed wasp, the garden tiger moth, the jewel beetle, the flying stick insect, the orchid bee, and many others. Magnificent full-color photographs show the bugs in detail, so that readers can learn to distinguish, for example, the translucent abdomen of the great pied hoverfly from the yellow or orange markings on a giant scoliid wasp. Each detailed and dazzling photograph is accompanied by a caption describing the bug's lifestyle, distribution, size, and key characteristics. An insightful introduction also explores the different orders and families found in the insect classes and an explanation of how they have evolved. Based on the most up-to-date science and accessibly written, the book will appeal to scientists and amateur science readers alike.

Buzz, Sting, Bite

Buzz, Sting, Bite PDF Author: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1982112875
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we—and the planet we inhabit—could not survive without them. Insects comprise roughly half of the animal kingdom. They live everywhere—deep inside caves, 18,000 feet high in the Himalayas, inside computers, in Yellowstone’s hot springs, and in the ears and nostrils of much larger creatures. There are insects that have ears on their knees, eyes on their penises, and tongues under their feet. Most of us think life would be better without bugs. In fact, life would be impossible without them. Most of us know that we would not have honey without honeybees, but without the pinhead-sized chocolate midge, cocoa flowers would not pollinate. No cocoa, no chocolate. The ink that was used to write the Declaration of Independence was derived from galls on oak trees, which are induced by a small wasp. The fruit fly was essential to medical and biological research experiments that resulted in six Nobel prizes. Blowfly larva can clean difficult wounds; flour beetle larva can digest plastic; several species of insects have been essential to the development of antibiotics. Insects turn dead plants and animals into soil. They pollinate flowers, including crops that we depend on. They provide food for other animals, such as birds and bats. They control organisms that are harmful to humans. Life as we know it depends on these small creatures. With ecologist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson as our capable, entertaining guide into the insect world, we’ll learn that there is more variety among insects than we can even imagine and the more you learn about insects, the more fascinating they become. Buzz, Sting, Bite is an essential introduction to the little creatures that make the world go round.

The Complete Insect

The Complete Insect PDF Author: David A. Grimaldi
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691243115
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
A beautifully illustrated exploration of the world’s most extraordinary animals With an astounding 3.5 million species occupying virtually every habitat on Earth, insects are one of the most diverse groups of animals on the planet, from the humble bee to the agile praying mantis. Taking you inside the extraordinary world of insects, The Complete Insect explores all aspects of the natural history of these remarkable creatures, providing a close-up look at their fascinating anatomy, physiology, evolution, ecology, behavior, and more. It features hundreds of stunning color photographs and illustrations and draws on a broad range of examples, from familiar ants to iridescent jewel beetles. A celebration of the rich complexity of insect life, The Complete Insect is a must-have book for insect enthusiasts and armchair naturalists. An absorbing, wide-ranging, and beautiful exploration of the fascinating natural history of insects Features a wealth of stunning full-color photographs from the field Includes photomicrographs and electron micrographs that offer a rare view of normally invisible structures Examines the complex relationship between humans and insects Integrates physiological adaptations with ecology and behavior

Drawing and Painting Insects

Drawing and Painting Insects PDF Author: Andrew Tyzack
Publisher: Crowood
ISBN: 1847976255
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 521

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Book Description
Drawing and Painting Insects is a beautiful and inspiring guide. Whatever your experience, whether new to the subject or a seasoned entomologist, this book will help you capture the beauty of insects by helping you understand their structure and appreciate their behaviour, movement, colour and habitat. Advice on finding insects to draw and paint, including how to raise your own insect models; Guide to the anatomy and life cycles of the insect for the artist; Step-by-step demonstrations of drawings, looking at perspective, tonal values and mark-making techniques; Examples of watercolour and oil paintings representing insects in precise, scientific renditions through to more creative interpretations; Introduction to other uses of insect illustration, including printmaking, sculpture, leather and glass; Illustrated with examples and insights from leading artists. A beautiful and inspiring guide to drawing and painting insects, of inspiration to botanical artists, natural historians, wildlife artists and biologists. Gives advice on finding insects to draw and paint, understanding their structure, appreciating their behaviour, movement, colour, habitat and much more. Superbly illustrated with examples and insights from leading artists - 541 colour illustrations in total. Andrew Tyzack is a graduate from the Royal College of Art and is well known for his painting of beekeepers and engravings of bees.

Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes

Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes PDF Author: Marc E. Epstein
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190215259
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
Marc E. Epstein provides a complete biography of Harrison Gray Dyar, Jr., one of the most influential biologists of the twentieth century. Epstein chronicles Dyar's impressive scientific accomplishments in the field of entomology, as well as his complicated personal life and many eccentricities.