Extensively revised and reorganized, the second edition of Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity serves as an ideal text for courses in general entomology with laboratory sections. Written for students who have completed an introductory course in biology, it provides an in-depth treatment of both the biology of insects and their classification, including keys for identification for over four hundred families. The common insects of North America are discussed as well as species found elsewhere in the world.
Parts I and II provide reading material for lectures: Part I: Insects as Organisms, covers morphology, physiology, and behavior, including social behavior. Part II: Insect Ecology, begins with population biology and includes chapters on insects in relation to their environments and pest management. Part III, Insect Diversity, provides source material for the laboratory. The classification of insects, their evolution, and fossil record are discussed first, followed by coverage of each order in terms of general biology and ecology, keys for identification of families, and, in some chapters, discussion of the biologies of families. All insect orders and over four hundred families of insects are treated.
This second edition features new chapters on population biology, insects and microbes, pest management, and methods for making an insect collection. It is illustrated with new line drawings by Barbara Boole Daly and many new photographs, including 48 in color, by Edward S. Ross. A unique feature in a text of this kind, these color photographs allow students to witness a variety of life forms and habits that they normally would not have the opportunity to observe in nature.