Insects, Hygiene and History

Insects, Hygiene and History PDF Author: James Ronald Busvine
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474241751
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Busvine's introductory account of the evolutionary histories of insects and mites leads on to a fascinating study of human reactions to ectoparasites. It shows how the extent of man's curiosity about them and references to their prevalence provide a continuous commentary both on the history of biological science from Aristotle to the present day and on the modes and manners of ages past. Subjects of ribald verse, quack medicine and morbid imagination as well as literary symbols of piety, love and human insignificance, this is also the history of how medicine discovered that ectoparasites acted as transmitters for epidemic diseases.

Insects, Hygiene and History

Insects, Hygiene and History PDF Author: James Ronald Busvine
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474241751
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Get Book Here

Book Description
Busvine's introductory account of the evolutionary histories of insects and mites leads on to a fascinating study of human reactions to ectoparasites. It shows how the extent of man's curiosity about them and references to their prevalence provide a continuous commentary both on the history of biological science from Aristotle to the present day and on the modes and manners of ages past. Subjects of ribald verse, quack medicine and morbid imagination as well as literary symbols of piety, love and human insignificance, this is also the history of how medicine discovered that ectoparasites acted as transmitters for epidemic diseases.

Bugged

Bugged PDF Author: Sarah Albee
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0802734227
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
A funny, insightful exploration of the clash between the human and insect worlds - to sometimes disastrous results

Medical Insects and Arachnids

Medical Insects and Arachnids PDF Author: R.P. Lane
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401115540
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 733

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Book Description
Surprising though it seems, the world faces almost as great a threat today from arthropod-borne diseases as it did in the heady days of the 1950s when global eradication of such diseases by eliminating their vectors with synthetic insecticides, particularly DDT, seemed a real possibility. Malaria, for example, still causes tremendous morbidity and mortality throughout the world, especially in Africa. Knowledge of the biology of insect and arachnid disease vectors is arguably more important now than it has ever been. Biological research directed at the development of better methods of control becomes even more important in the light of the partial failure of many control schemes that are based on insecticide- although not all is gloom, since basic biological studies have contributed enormously to the outstanding success of international control programmes such as the vast Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa. It is a sine qua non for proper understanding of the epidemiology and successful vector control of any human disease transmitted by an arthropod that all concerned with the problem - medical entomologist, parasitologist, field technician - have a good basic understanding of the arthropod's biology. Knowledge will be needed not only of its direct relationship to any parasite or pathogen that it transmits but also of its structure, its life history and its behaviour - in short, its natural history. Above all, it will be necessary to be sure that it is correctly identified.

Bugs and the Victorians

Bugs and the Victorians PDF Author: John F. M. Clark
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300150911
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
This text explores how science became increasingly important in 19th century British culture and how the systematic study of insects permitted entomologists to engage with the most pressing questions of Victorian times: the nature of God, mind, and governance, and the origins of life.

Evolution of the Insects

Evolution of the Insects PDF Author: David Grimaldi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521821490
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 790

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Book Description
Insects are the most diverse group of organisms in the 3 billion-year history of life on Earth, and the most ecologically dominant animals on land. This book chronicles for the first time the complete evolutionary history of insects: their living diversity, relationships and 400 million years of fossils. Whereas other volumes have focused on either living species or fossils, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of insect evolution. The book is illustrated with 955 photo- and electronmicrographs, drawings, diagrams, and field photos, many in full colour and virtually all of them original. The book will appeal to anyone engaged with insect diversity: professional entomologists and students, insect and fossil collectors, and naturalists.

Pests in the City

Pests in the City PDF Author: Dawn Day Biehler
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295804866
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
From tenements to alleyways to latrines, twentieth-century American cities created spaces where pests flourished and people struggled for healthy living conditions. In Pests in the City, Dawn Day Biehler argues that the urban ecologies that supported pests were shaped not only by the physical features of cities but also by social inequalities, housing policies, and ideas about domestic space. Community activists and social reformers strived to control pests in cities such as Washington, DC, Chicago, Baltimore, New York, and Milwaukee, but such efforts fell short when authorities blamed families and neighborhood culture for infestations rather than attacking racial segregation or urban disinvestment. Pest-control campaigns tended to target public or private spaces, but pests and pesticides moved readily across the porous boundaries between homes and neighborhoods. This story of flies, bedbugs, cockroaches, and rats reveals that such creatures thrived on lax code enforcement and the marginalization of the poor, immigrants, and people of color. As Biehler shows, urban pests have remained a persistent problem at the intersection of public health, politics, and environmental justice, even amid promises of modernity and sustainability in American cities. Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG9PFxLY7K4&feature=c4-overview&list=UUge4MONgLFncQ1w1C_BnHcw

Edible Insects

Edible Insects PDF Author: Heimo Mikkola
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 1789856353
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
Insect protein production through ‘mini-livestock farming’ has enormous potential to reduce the level of malnutrition in critical areas across the world. It has been estimated that insect eating is practised regularly by over two billion people, mostly in China and in most tropical countries in Africa, South America, and Asia. However, eating insects has been taboo in many western nations. Reasons for this are discussed in this book with examples from Finland and the UK. The enormous boom of insect farming in Finland started in September 2017 when the business type was legalized. However, a large part of the population found the insect food too expensive and exotic. UK research outlines a multitude of promising strategies to overcome ‘western’ resistance to eating insects. This book also includes a chapter on the potential of insect farming to increase global food security. It shows that Africa is a hotspot of edible insect biodiversity and there more than 500 species consumed daily. We have several examples of viable insect farming businesses that can fight poverty and malnutrition in developing countries and provide profit and wealth to rural farmers. The chapters of the book cover countries such as Cameroon, Ecuador, Finland, Ghana, India, Mexico, the UK, and the US.

Bugs In The System

Bugs In The System PDF Author: May Berenbaum
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465024459
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
An introduction to insect physiology, genetics and behaviour which looks at the interaction between humans and insects, and explores both the positive and negative aspects of the relationship.

Insect Ecology

Insect Ecology PDF Author: Peter W. Price
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780471161844
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 892

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Book Description
Insect Ecology is the world's foremost reference to the never-ending and crucial interactions of the richest taxon of organisms on this earth, with perhaps some 8 million extant species. Now in its Third Edition and twentieth year of publication, Insect Ecology has endured as an unparalleled classic. Taking the reader from an explanation of the science to its significance as a discipline, Insect Ecology is a meticulous, systematic examination of the underlying dynamics of plant-insect interactions, predation, parasites and hosts, and mutualistic relationships, including pollination ecology, that are central to understanding the insects' role in nature. Viewing the largely invisible drama of natural protagonists and antagonists, hidden in the lush foliage of a tropical rain forest or temperate woody vegetation, Peter Price details the unique traits, behaviors, and functions of insects, while placing them in the broader contexts of their places in food webs, ecosystem function, population dynamics, and community interactions. The author also describes the various levels of insect interaction, from trophic relationships (Part II), populations (Part III), and communities (Part IV), while unfolding the infinite variety of insect species and their visible legacy in the fossil record. Full of fascinating details ("Ants are everywhere, but only occasionally noticed. They run much of the terrestrial world as the premier soil turners." "[Insect] galls provide tanning acids and the basis for inks."), Insect Ecology offers detail and breadth, while providing timely discussion on the conservation of biodiversity, the existence and study of vacant ecological niches, latitudinal gradients in species richness, and evolutionary perspectives on population dynamics. The book also examines the development of theory in insect ecology and how it is advanced. Novel features in the Third Edition include four new chapters, covering the importance of insect ecology, the development of theory in the science, hypotheses on plant and herbivore interactions, and a synthesis chapter on population dynamics. Subheadings within chapters provide easier subject access, and many new figures contribute to the book's aesthetic appeal. Clearly organized and with a bibliography of 2,000 references to up-to-date and classic literature, the Third Edition of Insect Ecology is a practical, well-formatted resource. Also copiously illustrated with over 350 figures, many new to this edition, Insect Ecology is a lush graphic tour of the minute, often startling universe of insects in their native habitat. With a history in geologic time much older than the terrestrial vertebrates, insects speak to us-the scarab beetle encased in amber, or New Zealand's endangered large Wellington speargrass weevil-of a resilience and ingenuity oddly reflective of our own. Insect Ecology has let generations of agriculturalists, ecologists, entomologists, environmental scientists, foresters, professionals, and students understand the insects' world, and ours. With unerring detail and breadth, Insect Ecology has described for generations of professionals the interactions and dynamics of the world's richest group of species-the insects-whose wildly various 8 million forms have been the source of endless fascination and study. From caterpillars to the goliath beetle, from the adult copper butterfly to the agromyzid fly, the insect universe is at once ordinary and exotic, capturing, in microcosm, nature's complexity and beauty.

The Infested Mind

The Infested Mind PDF Author: Jeffrey Lockwood
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199374937
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
The human reaction to insects is neither purely biological nor simply cultural. And no one reacts to insects with indifference. Insects frighten, disgust and fascinate us. Jeff Lockwood explores this phenomenon through evolutionary science, human history, and contemporary psychology, as well as a debilitating bout with entomophobia in his work as an entomologist. Exploring the nature of anxiety and phobia, Lockwood explores the lively debate about how much of our fear of insects can be attributed to ancestral predisposition for our own survival and how much is learned through individual experiences. Drawing on vivid case studies, Lockwood explains how insects have come to infest our minds in sometimes devastating ways and supersede even the most rational understanding of the benefits these creatures provide. No one can claim to be ambivalent in the face of wasps, cockroaches or maggots but our collective entomophobia is wreaking havoc on the natural world as we soak our food, homes and gardens in powerful insecticides. Lockwood dissects our common reactions, distinguishing between disgust and fear, and invites readers to consider their own emotional and physiological reactions to insects in a new framework that he's derived from cutting-edge biological, psychological, and social science.