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| biggest insect in history: Goliath Beetle Mary Packard, 2007-01-01 Describes Goliath beetles, discussing where and how they live and their size, important body parts, camouflage skills, diet, and babies. |
| biggest insect in history: Biggest Bugs Life-size George Beccaloni, 2010 Life-sized photos of the world's biggest bugs in full color. |
| biggest insect in history: The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World Oliver Milman, 2022-03-01 A devastating examination of how collapsing insect populations worldwide threaten everything from wild birds to the food on our plate. From ants scurrying under leaf litter to bees able to fly higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, insects are everywhere. Three out of every four of our planet’s known animal species are insects. In The Insect Crisis, acclaimed journalist Oliver Milman dives into the torrent of recent evidence that suggests this kaleidoscopic group of creatures is suffering the greatest existential crisis in its remarkable 400-million-year history. What is causing the collapse of the insect world? Why does this alarming decline pose such a threat to us? And what can be done to stem the loss of the miniature empires that hold aloft life as we know it? With urgency and great clarity, Milman explores this hidden emergency, arguing that its consequences could even rival climate change. He joins the scientists tracking the decline of insect populations across the globe, including the soaring mountains of Mexico that host an epic, yet dwindling, migration of monarch butterflies; the verdant countryside of England that has been emptied of insect life; the gargantuan fields of U.S. agriculture that have proved a killing ground for bees; and an offbeat experiment in Denmark that shows there aren’t that many bugs splattering into your car windshield these days. These losses not only further tear at the tapestry of life on our degraded planet; they imperil everything we hold dear, from the food on our supermarket shelves to the medicines in our cabinets to the riot of nature that thrills and enlivens us. Even insects we may dread, including the hated cockroach, or the stinging wasp, play crucial ecological roles, and their decline would profoundly shape our own story. By connecting butterfly and bee, moth and beetle from across the globe, the full scope of loss renders a portrait of a crisis that threatens to upend the workings of our collective history. Part warning, part celebration of the incredible variety of insects, The Insect Crisis is a wake-up call for us all. |
| biggest insect in history: Big Bugs Life-size George Beccaloni, 2010 Did you know that the first specimen of the world's largest butterfly was blasted out of the sky with a shot-gun? Or that the world's longest beetle can break a pencil with its powerful jaws? Biggest Bugs Life-size is the first book to feature life-size photographs of the world's largest and most spectacular bugs. George Beccaloni brings together all the essential facts about 35 of the biggest and heaviest bugs in the world including where they live, what they eat and who discovered them. Unearth the biggest cockroach in the world which has a wingspan of 185 mm. Marvel at the world's longest insect from the island of Borneo which measures a staggering a 567 mm long - that's over half a metre! Stunningly illustrated throughout, including an amazing fold-out of the world's longest bug, Biggest Bugs Life-size gives readers an accurate idea of just how huge these creatures really are. |
| biggest insect in history: Dragonflies and Damselflies Dennis Paulson, 2019-03-26 A lavishly illustrated introduction to the world's dragonflies and damselflies Dragonflies and damselflies are often called birdwatchers’ insects. Large, brightly colored, active in the daytime, and displaying complex and interesting behaviors, they have existed since the days of the dinosaurs, and they continue to flourish. Their ancestors were the biggest insects ever, and they still impress us with their size, the largest bigger than a small hummingbird. There are more than 6,000 odonate species known at present, and you need only visit any wetland on a warm summer day to be enthralled by their stunning colors and fascinating behavior. In this lavishly illustrated natural history, leading dragonfly expert Dennis Paulson offers a comprehensive, accessible, and appealing introduction to the world’s dragonflies and damselflies. The book highlights the impressive skills and abilities of dragonflies and damselflies—superb fliers that can glide, hover, cruise, and capture prey on the wing. It also describes their arsenal of tactics to avoid predators, and their amazing sex life, including dazzling courtship displays, aerial mating, sperm displacement, mate guarding, and male mimicry. Dragonflies and Damselflies includes profiles of more than fifty of the most interesting and beautiful species from around the world. Learn about the Great Cascade Damsel, which breeds only at waterfalls, the mesmerizing flight of Blue-winged Helicopters, and how the larva of the Common Sanddragon can burrow into sand as efficiently as a mole. Combining expert text and excellent color photographs, this is a must-have guide to these remarkable insects. A lavishly illustrated, comprehensive, and accessible natural history that reveals the beauty and diversity of one of the world’s oldest and most popular insect groups Offers a complete guide to the evolution, life cycles, biology, anatomy, behavior, and habitats of dragonflies and damselflies Introduces the 39 families of dragonflies and damselflies through exemplary species accounts Features tips on field observation and lab research, and information on threats and conservation |
| biggest insect in history: Six-Legged Soldiers Jeffrey A. Lockwood, 2010-07-22 Examines how insects have been used as weapons in wartime conflicts throughout history, presenting as examples how scorpions were used in Roman times and hornets nests were used during the MIddle Ages in siege warfare and how insects have been used in Vietnam, China, and Korea. |
| biggest insect in history: The Mosquito Timothy C. Winegard, 2019-08-06 **The instant New York Times bestseller.** *An international bestseller.* Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award Finalist for the RBC Taylor Award “Hugely impressive, a major work.”—NPR A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power. The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village. Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order. |
| biggest insect in history: Insect Biodiversity Robert G. Foottit, Peter H. Adler, 2018-04-11 Volume Two of the new guide to the study of biodiversity in insects Volume Two of Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society presents an entirely new, companion volume of a comprehensive resource for the most current research on the influence insects have on humankind and on our endangered environment. With contributions from leading researchers and scholars on the topic, the text explores relevant topics including biodiversity in different habitats and regions, taxonomic groups, and perspectives. Volume Two offers coverage of insect biodiversity in regional settings, such as the Arctic and Asia, and in particular habitats including crops, caves, and islands. The authors also include information on historical, cultural, technical, and climatic perspectives of insect biodiversity. This book explores the wide variety of insect species and their evolutionary relationships. Case studies offer assessments on how insect biodiversity can help meet the needs of a rapidly expanding human population, and examine the consequences that an increased loss of insect species will have on the world. This important text: Offers the most up-to-date information on the important topic of insect biodiversity Explores vital topics such as the impact on insect biodiversity through habitat loss and degradation and climate change With its companion Volume I, presents current information on the biodiversity of all insect orders Contains reviews of insect biodiversity in culture and art, in the fossil record, and in agricultural systems Includes scientific approaches and methods for the study of insect biodiversity The book offers scientists, academics, professionals, and students a guide for a better understanding of the biology and ecology of insects, highlighting the need to sustainably manage ecosystems in an ever-changing global environment. |
| biggest insect in history: Buzz, Sting, Bite Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, 2019-07-02 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. |
| biggest insect in history: The Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia Paul D Brock, Jack W Hasenpusch, 2009-01-29 Australia has a rich diversity of phasmids – otherwise known as stick and leaf insects. Most of them are endemic, few have been studied and new species continue to be found. Stick insects are, by far, Australia’s longest insects – some of them reach up to 300 mm in body length, or more than half a metre if you include their outstretched legs. Many stick insects are very colourful, and some have quite elaborate, defensive behaviour. Increasingly they are being kept as pets. This is the first book on Australian phasmids for nearly 200 years and covers all known stick and leaf insects. It includes photographs of all species, notes on their ecology and biology as well as identification keys suitable for novices or professionals. |
| biggest insect in history: Microsculpture Levon Biss, 2017-10-10 You will never look at a beetle or a moth the same way again. --WIRED Art meets science to dazzling effect. --The Guardian Microsculptureis a unique photographic study of insects in mind-blowing magnification that celebrates the wonders of nature and science. Levon Biss’s photographs capture in breathtaking detail the beauty of the insect world and are printed in large-scale format to provide an unforgettable viewing experience. Each picture in Microsculpture is created from approximately 8,000 individual photographs. Segments of the specimen are lit and photographed separately using microscope lenses, then “stacked” to maintain sharp focus throughout. These images are then combined to create a single high-resolution file. From start to finish, each portrait takes approximately 4 weeks to create. The project has captured the attention of the world with features in WIRED and New Scientist. Microsculpture has been exhibited at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Xposure 2016 International Photography Festival in Sharjah, U.A.E. It has been viewed by over half a million people so far and will be touring museums around the world from 2017 onward. The entomology collection has significant cultural and historical value, containing the world’s oldest pinned insect specimen and many thousands of insects collected by pioneering Victorian explorers and biologists such as Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace. |
| biggest insect in history: The Big Book of Bugs Matthew Robertson, 1999 A collection of unusual facts, games, puzzles, activities, and artwork centering around the world of insects. |
| biggest insect in history: Goliath Beetle Mary Packard, 2007-01-01 In Goliath Beetle, young readers follow the world's biggest insect as they learn about its natural habitat, physical characteristics, diet, life cycle, and behavior. Bright, colorful photographs are closely linked to age-appropriate text to engage young readers as they discover how this amazing insect manipulates its large size for survival. This beetle is so heavy that its legs have claws allowing it to cling tightly to the tree trunk. Goliath Beetle includes such useful and fun learning features as a detailed diagram that compares the animal's super size to something familiar in kids' own lives. |
| biggest insect in history: History of Insects A.P. Rasnitsyn, Donald L. Quicke, 2007-05-29 This is the first single book to cover the whole of the fossil history of insects so comprehensively. The volume embraces subjects from the history of insect palaeontology to the diagnostic features of all insect orders, both extant and extinct. |
| biggest insect in history: Never Home Alone Rob Dunn, 2018-11-06 A natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements Even when the floors are sparkling clean and the house seems silent, our domestic domain is wild beyond imagination. In Never Home Alone, biologist Rob Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone. Yet, as we obsess over sterilizing our homes and separating our spaces from nature, we are unwittingly cultivating an entirely new playground for evolution. These changes are reshaping the organisms that live with us -- prompting some to become more dangerous, while undermining those species that benefit our bodies or help us keep more threatening organisms at bay. No one who reads this engrossing, revelatory book will look at their homes in the same way again. |
| biggest insect in history: Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients Aaron T. Dossey, Juan A. Morales-Ramos, M. Guadalupe Rojas, 2016-06-23 Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients: Production, Processing and Food Applications describes how insects can be mass produced and incorporated into our food supply at an industrial and cost-effective scale, providing valuable guidance on how to build the insect-based agriculture and the food and biomaterial industry. Editor Aaron Dossey, a pioneer in the processing of insects for human consumption, brings together a team of international experts who effectively summarize the current state-of-the-art, providing helpful recommendations on which readers can build companies, products, and research programs. Researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, policymakers, and anyone interested in insect mass production and the industrial use of insects will benefit from the content in this comprehensive reference. The book contains all the information a basic practitioner in the field needs, making this a useful resource for those writing a grant, a research or review article, a press article, or news clip, or for those deciding how to enter the world of insect based food ingredients. - Details the current state and future direction of insects as a sustainable source of protein, food, feed, medicine, and other useful biomaterials - Provides valuable guidance that is useful to anyone interested in utilizing insects as food ingredients - Presents insects as an alternative protein/nutrient source that is ideal for food companies, nutritionists, entomologists, food entrepreneurs, and athletes, etc. - Summarizes the current state-of-the-art, providing helpful recommendations on building companies, products, and research programs - Ideal reference for researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, policymakers, and anyone interested in insect mass production and the industrial use of insects - Outlines the challenges and opportunities within this emerging industry |
| biggest insect in history: Wicked Bugs Amy Stewart, 2011-05-03 In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down over one hundred of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the “bookworms” that devour libraries, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses, Wicked Bugs delves into the extraordinary powers of six- and eight-legged creatures. With wit, style, and exacting research, Stewart has uncovered the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild. It’s an A to Z of insect enemies, interspersed with sections that explore bugs with kinky sex lives (“She’s Just Not That Into You”), creatures lurking in the cupboard (“Fear No Weevil”), insects eating your tomatoes (“Gardener’s Dirty Dozen”), and phobias that feed our (sometimes) irrational responses to bugs (“Have No Fear”). Intricate and strangely beautiful etchings and drawings by Briony Morrow-Cribbs capture diabolical bugs of all shapes and sizes in this mixture of history, science, murder, and intrigue that begins—but doesn’t end—in your own backyard. |
| biggest insect in history: Giant Weta Natalie Lunis, 2013-01-01 Introduces the giant weta, a type of grasshopper that lives on lislands near New Zealand, describing its physical characteristics, habitat, life cycle, and the way in which it defends itself against predators. |
| biggest insect in history: Extraordinary Insects Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, 2020-04-02 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. |
| biggest insect in history: Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness , 2011 |
| biggest insect in history: Amazing Numbers in Biology Rainer Flindt, 2006-12-21 This book of tables provides comparative data from the fields of zoology, botany, microbiology, and human biology. It is a must for everyone interested in biology but also of help for all parents to address questions such as Mama/Papa, how old can a ... be? The plain facts of life from all areas of biology, including such topics as growth rates of hair and nails, and ages and weights of seeds are simply fascinating. Biology comes alive in this comprehensive and entertaining reference work. Warning: Anybody who begins browsing through this book will not easily stop reading! |
| biggest insect in history: Insect Metamorphosis Xavier Belles, 2020-03-14 Insect Metamorphosis: From Natural History to Regulation of Development and Evolution explores the origin of metamorphosis, how it evolved, and how it is it regulated. The book discusses insect metamorphosis as a key innovation in insect evolution. With most of the present biodiversity on Earth composed of metamorphosing insects—approximately 1 million species currently described, with another 10-30 million still waiting to be discovered, the book delves into misconceptions and past treatments. In addition, the topic of integrating insect metamorphosis into the theory of evolution by natural selection as noted by Darwin in his On the Origin of Species is also discussed. Users will find this to be a comprehensive and updated review on insect metamorphosis, covering biological, physiological and molecular facets, with an emphasis on evolutionary aspects. - Features updated knowledge from the past decade on the mechanisms of action of juvenile hormone, the main doorkeeper of insect metamorphosis - Aids researchers in entomology or developmental biology dealing with specialized aspects of metamorphosis - Provides applied entomologists with recently updated data, especially on regulation, to better face the problems of pest control and management - Gives general evolutionary biologists context on the process of metamorphosis in its larger scope |
| biggest insect in history: Animal Records Mark Carwardine, Natural History Museum (London, England), 2008 This guide features incredible facts about creatures from each of the main animal groups, including mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish, and insects. |
| biggest insect in history: Listverse.com's Epic Book of Mind-Boggling Top 10 Lists Jamie Frater, 2014-05-13 A collection of crazy-but-true facts, peculiar occurrences, despicable crimes, bizarre records, unbelievable creatures, and many more shocking oddities. Delving into the shocking side of pop culture, science and history, Listverse.com’s Epic Book of Mind-Boggling Top 10 Lists offers a wealth of fascinating reading with over 200 lists and more than 2,000 interesting facts, including: • Alien Artifacts • Creepy Urban Legends • Bizarre Murder Weapons • Horrific TV Accidents • Outrageous Rock Tales • Twisted Circus Acts • Terrifying Villains • Crazy-but-True Movie Plots • Dirty CIA Operations • Monstrously Evil Babysitters • Strange Hamburger Facts • Animal Freaks of Nature • Mind-Blowing Technologies |
| biggest insect in history: Extreme Insects Richard Jones, 2010 This illustrated book is a celebration of the insect universe, exploring their amazing forms and functions, their fascinating behaviour and the enormous impact they have on our lives. It looks at insects in all their extremes, from the biggest, fastest and fiercest to the best nest builder, most devious hunter and deadliest bride. |
| biggest insect in history: Smithsonian Handbook of Interesting Insects Gavin R. Broad, Blanca Huertas, Ashley K. Kirk-Spriggs, Dmitry Telnov, 2020-03-20 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. |
| biggest insect in history: Encyclopedia of Insects Vincent H. Resh, Ring T. Cardé, 2009-07-22 Awarded Best Reference by the New York Public Library (2004), Outstanding Academic Title by CHOICE (2003), and AAP/PSP 2003 Best Single Volume Reference/Sciences by Association of American Publishers' Professional Scholarly Publishing Division, the first edition of Encyclopedia of Insects was acclaimed as the most comprehensive work devoted to insects. Covering all aspects of insect anatomy, physiology, evolution, behavior, reproduction, ecology, and disease, as well as issues of exploitation, conservation, and management, this book sets the standard in entomology. The second edition of this reference will continue the tradition by providing the most comprehensive, useful, and up-to-date resource for professionals. Expanded sections in forensic entomology, biotechnology and Drosphila, reflect the full update of over 300 topics. Articles contributed by over 260 high profile and internationally recognized entomologists provide definitive facts regarding all insects from ants, beetles, and butterflies to yellow jackets, zoraptera, and zygentoma. - 66% NEW and revised content by over 200 international experts - New chapters on Bedbugs, Ekbom Syndrome, Human History, Genomics, Vinegaroons - Expanded sections on insect-human interactions, genomics, biotechnology, and ecology - Each of the 273 articles updated to reflect the advances which have taken place in entomology research since the previous edition - Features 1,000 full-color photographs, figures and tables - A full glossary, 1,700 cross-references, 3,000 bibliographic entries, and online access save research time - Updated with online access |
| biggest insect in history: The Photo Ark Joel Sartore, 2017 This book of photography represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major cross-platform initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals -- especially those that are endangered. His message: to know these animals is to save them. Sartore intends to photograph every animal in captivity in the world. He is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. He has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, this book presents an argument for saving all the species of our planet. |
| biggest insect in history: Insect Dreams Marc Estrin, 2003-02-04 The metamorphosis of Kafka’s Gregor Samsa from fabric salesman to cockroach was surely one of the momentous transformations of the modern world. Now, in Marc Estrin’s astounding debut, Gregor undergoes yet another metamorphosis—one that propels him across the rocky and often ridiculous landscape of the early twentieth century. In these continuously surprising pages, Estrin’s Gregor—secretly sold to a Viennese sideshow by the Samsas’ chambermaid—comes to sharpen his mind against those of Wittgenstein, Spengler and Einstein; dance to the crazy rhythm of American Prohibition; appear as a surprise witness at the Scopes trial; become intimately involved in Alice Paul’s feminist movement (and with Alice Paul); encounter the KKK; and confer with FDR, and Robert Oppenheimer—and emerge from it all as the very essence of modern conscience. |
| biggest insect in history: The Sting of the Wild Justin O. Schmidt, 2018-02-01 The “King of Sting” describes his adventures with insects and the pain scale that’s made him a scientific celebrity. Silver, Science (Adult Non-Fiction) Foreword INDIES Award 2017 Entomologist Justin O. Schmidt is on a mission. Some say it’s a brave exploration, others shake their heads in disbelief. His goal? To compare the impacts of stinging insects on humans, mainly using himself as the test case. In The Sting of the Wild, the colorful Dr. Schmidt takes us on a journey inside the lives of stinging insects. He explains how and why they attack and reveals the powerful punch they can deliver with a small venom gland and a “sting,” the name for the apparatus that delivers the venom. We learn which insects are the worst to encounter and why some are barely worth considering. The Sting of the Wild includes the complete Schmidt Sting Pain Index, published here for the first time. In addition to a numerical ranking of the agony of each of the eighty-three stings he’s sampled so far, Schmidt describes them in prose worthy of a professional wine critic: “Looks deceive. Rich and full-bodied in appearance, but flavorless” and “Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel.” Schmidt explains that, for some insects, stinging is used for hunting: small wasps, for example, can paralyze huge caterpillars for long enough to lay eggs inside them, so that their larvae emerge within a living feast. Others are used to kill competing insects, even members of their own species. Humans usually experience stings as defensive maneuvers used by insects to protect their nest mates. With colorful descriptions of each venom’s sensation and a story that leaves you tingling with awe, The Sting of the Wild’s one-of-a-kind style will fire your imagination. |
| biggest insect in history: Edible Insects Arnold van Huis, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013 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. |
| biggest insect in history: Life Cycle and Development of Diptera Muhammad Sarwar, 2020-09-23 Diptera, or true flies, are of considerable economic importance, as these flies have a valuable role as scavengers, parasitoids and predators of other insects, pollinators, food for predators, bio-indicators of water quality, and tools for scientific research. In nine chapters, this book examines various aspects of flies of the order Diptera as well as some types of mosquitos and midges. Topics covered include taxonomy, phylogeny, life cycle, feeding habits, population control strategies, and more. A unique chapter on forensic entomology is particularly interesting. Beautifully illustrated and expertly researched, this volume will appeal to entomologists, biologists, and naturalists. |
| biggest insect in history: International Wildlife Encyclopedia Maurice Burton, Robert Burton, 2002 This twenty-two volume set presents the appearance and behavior of thousands of species of animals along with species population and prospects for survival in a arranged alphabetically and easy-to-read format. |
| biggest insect in history: The World's Biggest Insects Mari C. Schuh, 2015-06-15 In The World's Biggest Insects, early fluent readers learn about insects as they explore the lives of two of its largest members, stick insects and the goliath beetle. Vibrant, full-color photos and carefully leveled text will engage early readers as they learn about the physical features and behaviors of these supersized animals.An infographic compares the animals' size with that of familiar items, and an activity offers kids the opportunity to extend discovery. Children can learn more about the world's biggest insects using our safe search engine that provides relevant, age-appropriate websites. The World's Biggest Insects also features reading tips for teachers and parents, a table of contents, a glossary, and an index.The World's Biggest Insects is part of Jump!'s The World's Biggest Animals series. |
| biggest insect in history: Mosquito Andrew Spielman, Michael D'Antonio, 2001 'Consider the most common mosquito on Earth. This soft, little, dusty-brown insect is Culex Pipiens. You've seen her land on your arm. You have caught her just at the end of her feeding, her translucent belly swelling red with your very own blood. At such a moment, you can be forgiven for failing to notice what an elegant and hardy thing she is. But she is . . . ' No creature has touched directly the lives of more human beings than the mosquito. She has been a nuisance, a pollinator of plants and an angel of death all over the globe. And throughout history, much of our trouble with the mosquito has been caused by man himself. Professor Andrew Spielman has dedicated his life to understanding this insect. In Mosquito he tells the story of man's struggle to live with the mosquito, from the defeat of Sir Francis Drake's fleet, to the death of thousands of Frenchmen working on the Panama Canal and to the recent panic over the West Nile Virus in New York. And he shows us how we have accelerated the spread of disease, describing the catastrophic failures of mosquito control which have ensured that - even now - one person dies of malaria every twelve seconds. |
| biggest insect in history: The Complete Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Insects Martin Walters, 2018-02-06 A visual directory featuring every order of the insect world, with a natural history introduction. |
| biggest insect in history: The Amazing World of Stick and Leaf-insects Paul D. Brock, Reg Fry, 1999 This book covers species information and all aspects of collecting, breeding, preserving and photographing |
| biggest insect in history: Bugs Andrea Mills, Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff, 2017-07-03 Find out how different bugs from ants to butterflies sense the world around them, learn about how bugs help humans via pollination and pest control, and discover extreme bug survivors, such as the tardigrade and locusts. |
| biggest insect in history: Folklore of the Dragonfly Eden Emanuel Sarot, 1958 |
| biggest insect in history: Encyclopedia of the World's Zoos Catharine E. Bell, 2001 First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company. |
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PROD - Version: 3.7.0 9/30/2024, 1:18:42 PM. All Content © 2025 BiggestBook. All Rights Reserved.
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VISION ELITE BLX Series Hybrid Gel Pen, Stick, Bold 0.8 mm, Assorted Ink and Barrel Colors, 5/Pack
Biggestbook Web
Anti-Viral Facial Tissue, 3-Ply, White, 55 Sheets/Box, 27 Boxes/Carton
biggestbook.com
Moved Permanently. The document has moved here.
