What good are bugs?
Subtitle: insects in the web of life
By: Gilbert Waldbauer
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 366
ISBN-13: 9780674010277; 9780674016323
Subjects: Tierökologie; Insectes; Ecology; Insekten; Insects; Écologie
Description: "In What Good Are Bugs? Gilbert Waldbauer combines anecdotes from entomological history with insights into the intimate workings of the natural world, describing the intriguing and sometimes amazing behavior of these tiny creatures. He weaves a colorful, richly textured picture of beneficial insect life on earth, from ants sowing their "hanging gardens" on Amazonian shrubs and trees to the sacred scarab of ancient Egypt burying balls of cattle dung full of undigested seeds, from the cactus-eating caterpillar (aptly called Cactoblastis) controlling the spread of the prickly pear to the prodigious honey bee and the "sanitary officers of the field"--The fly maggots, ants, beetles, and caterpillars that help decompose and recycle dung, carrion, and dead plants. As entertaining as it is informative, this charmingly illustrated volume captures the full sweep of insects' integral place in the web of life."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 317-342) and index.
Table of contents: title: Macrocosm; title: Pollinating; title: Dispersing seeds; title: Supplying food; title: Providing defense; title: Giving sustenance; title: Giving protection; title: Controlling plant populations; title: Controlling insect populations; title: Controlling vertebrate populations; title: Recycling dead animals; title: Recycling dung; title: Recycling dead plants; title: Microcosm.