Showing 1–12 of 34 results
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Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies
Artist/Author: Lewis, Sara$79.00 Add to cartFor centuries, the beauty of fireflies has evoked wonder and delight. Yet for most of us, fireflies remain shrouded in mystery: How do fireflies make their light? What are they saying with their flashing? And what do fireflies look for in a mate? In Silent Sparks, noted biologist and firefly expert Sara Lewis dives into the fascinating world of fireflies and reveals the most up-to-date discoveries about these beloved insects. From the meadows of New England and the hills of the Great Smoky Mountains, to the rivers of Japan and mangrove forests of Malaysia, this beautifully illustrated and accessible book uncovers the remarkable, dramatic stories of birth, courtship, romance, sex, deceit, poison, and death among fireflies.
The nearly two thousand species of fireflies worldwide have evolved in different ways – and while most mate through the aerial language of blinking lights, not all do. Lewis introduces us to fireflies that don’t light up at all, relying on wind-borne perfumes to find mates, and we encounter glow-worm fireflies, whose plump, wingless females never fly. We go behind the scenes to meet inquisitive scientists who have dedicated their lives to understanding fireflies, and we learn about various modern threats including light pollution and habitat destruction. In the last section of Silent Sparks, Lewis provides a field guide for North American fireflies, enabling us to identify them in our own backyards and neighbourhoods. This concise, handy guide includes distinguishing features, habits, and range maps for the most commonly encountered fireflies, as well as a gear list.
A passionate exploration of one of the world’s most charismatic and admired insects, Silent Sparks will inspire us to reconnect with the natural world.
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Australian Beetles Volume 2: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga (part)
Artist/Author: Slipinski, Adam, John Lawrence (Editors)$250.00 Add to cartSecond in a three-volume series that represents a comprehensive treatment of the beetles of Australia.
This three-volume series represents a comprehensive treatment of the beetles of Australia, a relatively under-studied fauna that includes many unusual and unique lineages found nowhere else on Earth.Volume 2 contains 36 chapters, providing critical information and identification keys to the genera of the Australian beetle families included in suborders Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga and several groups of Polyphaga (Scirtoidea, Hydrophiloidea, Scarabaeoidea, Buprestoidea and Tenebrionidae). Each chapter is richly illustrated in black and white drawings and photographs. The book also includes colour habitus figures for about 1000 Australian beetle genera and subgenera belonging to the families treated in this volume.
Volume 1 see stock id 13962.
This volume is a truly international collaborative effort, as the chapters have been written by 23 contributors from Australia, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland and USA.
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Australian Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), Volume 2: Subfamily Cerambycinae
Artist/Author: Ślipiński, Stanisław Adam, Hermes E Escalona$160.00 Add to cartLonghorn Beetles – Cerambycidae are one of the most easily recognised groups of beetles, a family that worldwide encompasses over 33,000 species in 5,200 genera. With over 1,400 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 wood form an important element of the saproxylic fauna, speeding energy circulation in these habitats. Many species are listed as quarantine pests because of their destructive role to the timber industry.
This second of three volumes on Australian Longhorn Beetles covers the taxonomy of genera of the Cerambycinae, with comments on natural history and morphology. One hundred and forty-two Cerambycinae genera are diagnosed and described, an illustrated key to their identification is provided, and images illustrate representatives of genera and of actual type specimens. A full listing of all Australian species with synonymies and bibliographic citations is also included.
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A Guide to Stag Beetles of Australia
Artist/Author: Hangay, George, Roger de Keyzer$50.00 Add to cartA comprehensive, stunningly illustrated guide to this unusual and diverse family of beetles.
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 Australian Tiger Beetles
Artist/Author: Golding, Mark R$62.00 Add to cartMany years travelling around Australia combined with a passion for the ‘little’ things which are so important for a healthy life have been compiled to produce this author’s view of the rarely seen group of insect predators, the tiger beetles. As Mark says ‘If we are aware of something, we have a better chance of helping it survive.’
This excellent photographic guide offers people a chance to get familiar with some of the most timid and least seen top order invertebrate predators in Australia – the carnivorous tiger beetles. It is designed to enhance our understanding of our own backyard as there is a massive amount of insect destruction.
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Beetles: The Natural History and Diversity of Coleoptera
Artist/Author: Marshall, Stephen A.$125.00 Add to cartAn accessible but comprehensive overview of beetles, illustrated with 4,500 photographs, in the same vein as Stephen Marshall’s previous popular title Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera.
In Beetles: The Natural History and Diversity of Coleoptera, Marshall has again applied his deep knowledge of the insect world. Comprehensive and packed with 27 pages of richly illustrated keys and 4,500 colour illustrations, it provides the reader with a colourful and enjoyable introduction to the natural history of a huge group of organisms, along with an overview of the diversity of fascinating families included in the group. The subject of this book is an enormous one, since the beetles, or Coleoptera, include almost 400,000 named species.
Marshall opens with a description of what makes a beetle a beetle, and then introduces the natural history of the order with copious examples and explanations.Part one of the book includes:
– Life Histories of Beetles: Form and Function: Eggs; Larvae; Pupae, Prepupae and Cocoons; Adults; Courtship and Mating Behaviors
– Defense and Deception: Tanks, Tricks and Coleopteran; Chemical Warfare; Brilliance and Bioluminescence in the Beetles
– Freshwater and Marine Beetles: Freshwater beetles; Marine beetles
– Beetle Associations with Fungi, Dung and Carrion: Beetles and Fungi; Beetles and Dung; Beetles and Dead Bodies
– Beetles, Plants and Plant Products: Beetles and Flowers; Phytophagy and Beetle Diversity; Aposematic Beetles and Their Plant Hosts; Beetles as Agricultural and Garden Pests; Beetles and Biological Control of Weeds; Beetles and Trees
– Beetles and Other Animals: Dangerous Beetles; Coleoptera and Culture; Beetles Indoors; Rare, Endangered and Threatened Beetles; Beetles, Birds and Wild Mammals; Beetles and Other InvertebratesPart two of Beetles is a guided tour of the diversity of the order, with fascinating stops for all of the world’s 180 or so families of beetles as well as most of the significant subfamilies. Thousands of photos, almost all taken in the field by the author, are used to capture the range of form and function in each family, with pages of examples of the popular groups – such as fireflies, tiger beetles, jewel beetles – but also with unique photographs of little-known groups ranging from long-lipped beetles to the rarest rove beetles. Essential information about importance, range, behavior and biology is provided for each group, and easily used photographic keys to most families are provided for those wishing to use the book as an identification guide.
The profusely illustrated keys in Beetles, linked to the unprecedented photographic coverage of the world’s beetle families and subfamilies, enable readers to identify most families of beetles quickly and accurately, and to readily access information about each family as well as hundreds of distinctive genera and species.
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World’s Weirdest Bugs: The Tiny Aliens Among Us
Artist/Author: Zborowski, Paul$20.00 Add to cartOver a million species of insects have already been named, catalogued and pictured. Theories as to how many are still to be named in collections, and discovered for the first time in the wild, vary considerably. However a figure of over 2 million is conservative. Imagine natural selection, the environmental forces acting on the survival of a species in a particular habitat, working over millions of years to adapt forms and behaviour for survival. As these changes are driven by random mutations in huge populations of a species, some of these mutations are neutral. They neither hinder nor help the species to survive. However to us observers some of these mutations can be pretty weird. The colour palette available is almost infinite, the shapes also, and why not have wild coloured eyes, or bizarre lumps, spines and duverlakies? Whatever doesn’t hurt survival can stay and develop further over time…
This book contains example stories from all over the world. The subject is endless, so the last few chapters simply touch on more weird stories for the reader to investigate further. The so-called ‘honorary mentions’, in this hall of weird fame. And no apologies for squeezing in one non-insect chapter – the spider relatives, the Opiliones, are just too quirky to ignore..
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A Field Guide to Insects in Australia (Fourth Edition)
Artist/Author: Zborowski, Paul and Ross Storey$40.00 Add to cartIdentifies insects from all the major insect groups
Whether you’re an amateur insect enthusiast, a student or an entomologist, this completely revised new edition of A Field Guide to Insects in Australia will help you to identify insects from all the major groups. With more photographs, species 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 mantises, beetles, cicadas, moths, butterflies, ants, bees and many more. More than 600 colour photographs show the insects in their natural habitats, while more than 50 line drawings clearly illustrate the differences where identification is tricky.
Paul Zborowski is an entomologist and photographer based in Canberra. He has studied and photographed insect behaviour around the world and now concentrates on maintaining a macro photo collection which can be visited at www.close-up-photolibrary.com. Paul has revised this edition and continued the legacy of his esteemed friend and colleague, Ross Storey.
Ross Storey spent most of his professional life studying, collecting and curating insects for the University of Queensland and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. He described many new species and wrote scientific papers, especially on native dung beetles, on which he is a recognised world authority. Before his death in 2008, he worked as a taxonomist and curator of the QDPI’s Mareeba insect collection, one of Australia’s premier collections of tropical insects.
Identifies insects from all the major insect groups.
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A Guide to Beetles of Borneo
Artist/Author: Bosuang, Steven, Arthur Y.C. Chung and C.L. Chan.$60.00 Add to cartBorneo’s mesmerising natural biodiversity is made up of very many species, including beetles, and very many are also endemic or confined to this island. It follows that it is virtually impossible to attempt including all beetles in the present account. This pictorial guide covers more than 150 beetle species, including some of the most captivating or even inspiring forms known. To foster better awareness and showcase the high diversity of tropical beetles, we feature some large and interesting beetles as well as others commonly encountered in Borneo. More than a third of those featured in this book are endemic to Borneo.
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Introduced Dung Beetles in Australia: A Pocket Field Guide (Third Edition)
Artist/Author: Edwards, Penny, Pam Wilson and Jane Wright.$22.00 Add to cartThis field guide to introduced dung beetles in Australia covers all species found in Australia, including two species that have been newly introduced. Provides information for easy identification along with a distribution map. This book will enable farmers, Landcare workers and the interested public to identify and learn about the basic biology of these beetles found in cattle dung.
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Longhorned Woodboring Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae): Primary Types of the Smithsonian Institution
Artist/Author: Lingafelter, Stephen W.et al.$120.00 Add to cartThis title is not held in stock but we are happy to supply on special order. Please contact us. In terms of quantity and breadth, the Smithsonian Institution’s collection of longhorned woodboring beetles is one of the most important in the world. The effort to establish and describe this collection began as early as 1889, when the Smithsonian hired its first coleopterist (who was also only the second salaried entomologist at the Institution). In the years that followed, the collection grew thanks to the work of not only Smithsonian and U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologists, but also passionate amateur coleopterists who collected thousands of beetle specimens as they traveled the world for their professional occupations and then donated their unique collections to the Smithsonian. By 1957, the collection included nearly 200,000 specimens from around the world. Longhorned Woodboring Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae): Primary Types of the Smithsonian Institution is the first complete catalog of Coleoptera primary types housed at the Smithsonian and includes stunning full-color images of each type specimen. The product of more than a decade of curatorial research and care, it reaffirms the superior international status of this truly remarkable collection.
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The Book of Beetles: A Lifesize Guide to Six Hundred of Nature’s Gems
Artist/Author: Bouchard, Patrice, editor.$70.00 Add to cartBoasting an extraordinary visual diversity, beetles make up more than one fifth of all known life forms on earth. This book presents 600 significant examples, selected as part of a genome program. They are shown in glorious high definition photographs, life size and in detail, alongside an engraving offering a side or open-winged view. Each profile includes a population distribution map, a table of essential information, and a commentary revealing notable characteristics, related species, and a diagnosis of the specimens importance in terms of taxonomy, rarity, behaviour, and scientific significance. Arranged taxonomically, this essential reference reveals the variety, importance and beauty of beetles.
