Tiger beetles are one of the most obvious and ubiquitous families of any insect taxon--some 2300 species are found on nearly all the land surfaces of the earth. Their frequently showy colors, brazen behavior, and ability to live in habitats ranging from dry, alkaline lakebeds to tropical rain forests have captured the interest of amateur and professional entomologists alike. Although tiger beetles have been widely studied, the wealth of knowledge has been synthesized only briefly in a few sources.In Tiger Beetles, David L. Pearson and Alfried P. Vogler provide for the first time a detailed integration and summary of all that is known about the family Cicindelidae. The book's early chapters cover anatomy, distribution, and natural history. Pearson and Vogler build from these basics to show the usefulness of tiger beetles for exploring questions in genetics, biogeography, ecology, behavior, and conservation. As bioindicators, the tiger beetles present in an area may allow biologists to pinpoint places with the richest diversity of animal and plant life. The use of tiger beetles as model organisms has made possible or greatly enhanced many areas of research, including molecular phylogeny, the function of acute hearing, spatial modeling, and physiology of vision.

Annotation Since the 1960s, American and Canadian fisheries have been introducing salmonines such as rainbow trout and chinook and coho salmon to the Great Lakes in order to develop new recreational fisheries. In this study, Crawford (ichthyology, U. of Guelph) examines the effects of non-native fish populations on the Great Lakes ecosystem. He contends that the ongoing introduction of non-native salmonines poses an ecologically- significant risk and that the practice should be terminated. The volume is not indexed. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.

Northeastern Tiger Beetles: A Field Guide to Tiger Beetles of New England and Eastern Canada is the first book to draw together information about adult and larvae of tiger beetles of New England and Eastern Canada. Details are provided about key characteristics of adults and larvae; habitat; range; and life history information of the various species, including notes on conservation status of rare or endangered species.

More than 2600 species of tiger beetles are found all over the world. In North America there are 116 species of tiger beetle, divided into 153 geographically distinct races. Detailed studies of their natural history, population dynamics, communities, patterns of worldwide species richness, and taxonomy of particular subgroups have produced much information. Tiger beetles are among the most widely investigated groups of insects, especially in terms of their ecology and geographic distribution. The first edition of A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada, published in 2005, has served as a field and natural-history guide to all known species of tiger beetles found in North America above the Mexican border. The 2nd edition is a pleasant and comprehensible handbook of the identification, distribution, natural history, and habitat details of the 116 species of tiger beetles in North America. The updated handbook provides new information including observations of seasonality, range extensions and biology, a newly developed list of common names, and twenty-five artistically pleasing identification color plates. The second edition of A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada provides essential information to recognize and easily identify tiger beetles for established naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts alike.