Insects

Contents Preface Why this book Features of world domination References Chapter 1 An Introduction to Insects: Busting the Myths, Lies and Urban Legends Overview Key Concepts No better time than now to find out what an insect actually is! Who cares about insects, or why study them damn bugs? Insects are the most successful animals on the planet Insects are bad, bad, bad! What I have learned on my own: Insects are way cool How do you know it is not a spider? "Bugs" vs. insects. The importance of knowing what you are talking about Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 2 History of Entomology: a discipline founded on death Overview Key Concepts Unwelcomed guests since the beginning of the human 'party' Insect plagues and deities in ancient and modern civilizations Naturalists, physicians and the clergy: An intriguing new pinup calendar or prominent figures in entomology? Politicians at work: two acts of congress established entomology in North America War anyone? Insects have been the true victors of most wars Evolution of entomology: insects as tools for biology, agriculture and war Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 3 Insects are not all bad: beneficial aspects of insect-human interactions Overview Key Concepts Insects as our 'friends' From bee puke to scale poop: useful insect products Oh the wonderful things that insects does! Insects got class: cultural influences of six-legged creatures A religious experience Laws, litigation, and insects as evidence Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 4 Insects shaping human civilization: turns out they might be bad after all Overview Key Concepts You're making it tough to be friends! What does it mean to be an insect pest? Why are they so good at being bad? Where has all the food gone? Agricultural pests Lets live together: Household pests They just 'bug' me: Annoying insects Insects, disease and human civilizations: Medically important pests Implications for modern societies Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 5 'Dressed' for success: the insect body plan Overview Key Concepts Jointed, boneless, and proud of it: An introduction to the Phylum Arthropoda Arthropods are old! Insects and their kin Phylogenetic surf 'n' turf: Arthropods dominate land and sea Less is more: Characteristics of the Insecta Why have insects been so successful? Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 6 The insect's new cloths: growing by shedding Overview Key Concepts Crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside Eat, grow, shed: the development plan The insect's new clothes: exoskeleton What to do when your pants don't fit: molt To metamorphose, or not metamorphose, that is the question Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 7 Insect Facebook: the basics of insect classification Overview Key Concepts Why should I care how to identify an insect? Thank you Linnaeus! binomial classification Insect crib notes: key features used to identify adult insects Insect diversity Classification by taste: Seriously? Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 8 Insects are phat but not fat: diet, nutrition, and food assimilation Overview Key Concepts What's on the menu? Nutrient requirements of insects Tools of the trade: Structures used for food collection Why insects don't get fat but people do Eating 'crap' makes sense! Food processing depends on what was eaten It is only efficient if you can use it: Food assimilation Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 9 Sex in the city and everywhere else: insect reproductive strategies Overview Key Concepts Sex or no sex: methods of reproduction used by insects Evolving sex: adaptive tradeoffs of sexual reproductive strategies Insects are sexually dimorphic inside and out CCC: Calling, courting and copulation The kings (queens) of fertilization Get me out of here: methods of egg dispersal And know for something completely different: novelty behaviors Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 10 You can teach an insect new tricks: learning and memory in six- legged beasts Overview Key Concepts Darwin and insect behavior Ganglionic architecture: new age building designs or the key to insect neurological functions? The genetic basis for learning, memory, and innateness Born to do it: innate behaviors Learning in insects: there is no remedial class! How insects can tell its raining and other environmental fun facts Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 11 Instant messaging in the insect world: communication with kin and non-kin Overview Key Concepts Communication is the key to every successful relationship The basics of insect communication Visual displays, camouflage, and mimicry Insect phonics: auditory messages in the insect world. Whiff this! Chemical communication Chemical dependency: on being a social insect Interspecies chemical communication Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 12 Small but fortified: insects are not defenseless Overview Key Concepts What are insects afraid of? Predatory and parasitic threats. Hide and seek: the use of camouflage and mimicry to stay alive. Behavioral tactics to combat predators and parasites. Chemicals to the rescue: allelochemicals. Keep out! The role of the exoskeleton in protection from parasites. Oh those wonderful hemocytes! Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 13 Life on the edge: coping with stress Overview Key Concepts Talk about stressed: 24/7, 365 days a year Dealing with stress on a typical day: general stress responses Environmental tokens tell the tale of impending changes Seasonality and insect life history traits Genetic regulation of seasonal survival Coping with the unknown: aseasonality Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 14 Revenge of the humans: insects as the hunted Overview Key Concepts A few bad apples: insects that are pests Insect control before the advent of electricity The golden age of killing: insecticides and death Silent Spring and the end to the eradication dream Sustainability and management: a new way of proceeding Towers of death, scents of love, and recombinant weapons: tools of the 21st Century Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 15 Forensic Entomology: insects as tools in legal investigations Overview Key Concepts Murder, termites and weevils: the many faces of forensic entomology There's a fly in my soup: should I sue? Home invasion: matters for urban entomology Maggots, murder and men The fly who loved me: myiasis and cases of neglect Maggots on crack: agents of toxicology Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 16 Insect mercenaries: weapons for human warfare and national security Overview Key Concepts Historical perspectives of entomological weaponry Insects as agents of terror Whiff this: insect sniffer systems Insect espionage: cyborgs and surveillance An insect for an insect: entomological counterterrorism Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Chapter 17 Invasive and elusive: new insect threats to the human condition Overview Key Concepts How can there be new threats today? Same old story: accidental introduction Impact of human interference: non-accidental introductions Insect activity following natural disasters Global warming, climate change, and insects Chapter Review Mushroom Farming (Self test) References The Entomologist Bookshelf Additional Resources Appendix Sources of insects Sources of insect materials Sources of insect-related paraphernalia