Les insectes et apparentes occupent une place considerable dans la vie de l'homme et les liens tisses entre ces deux partenaires depuis plusieurs millions d'annees se sont traduits en une multitude de dires, de techniques, de representations, d'attitudes culturelles, de comportements sociaux, de faits politiques, de pratiques rituelles, de conduites religieuses.Cet ouvrage aborde la relation homme - "insectes" dans le monde, depuis les premiers hominides jusqu'a l'epoque actuelle. Les contributions sont regroupees en six parties qui permettent d'aborder une grande diversite de societes "traditionnelles" mais aussi "occidentales", de langues et de cultures, de taxons scientifiques, de zones geographiques, de milieux naturels, de temps et lieux de vie, de problematiques, etc.: 1: Lexiques, taxonomies; 2. "Insectes" utiles: art, agrement, agriculture, etc.; 3. "Insectes" comestibles; 4. Les "insectes" en therapeutique; 5. Les "insectes" dans la vie sociale; 6. Contes et mythes.A travers ces etudes sont proposees de nouvelles perspectives de reflexion sur de nombreux problemes concrets, actuels et mondiaux touchant la gestion de l'environnement, le developpement durable, la propriete intellectuelle ou encore l'evaluation des savoirs et les paradigmes scientifiques determinant la conception de la "realite".

Omniprésents dans la nature, les insectes et apparentés occupent une place considérable dans la vie de l'homme. Les liens tissés entre ces deux partenaires depuis plusieurs millions d'années se sont traduits en une multitude de dires, de techniques, d'attitudes culturelles, de comportements sociaux, de faits politiques, de pratiques rituelles, de conduites religieuses. A partir de recherches originales, menées selon des approches et démarches méthodologiques profondément différentes, les auteurs nous proposent un voyage dans le temps (des premiers hominidés au monde contemporain) et dans l'espace (chez les sociétés traditionnelles du monde entier mais aussi dans les pays occidentaux) à la découverte du comportement humain face aux "insectes". Ils nous montrent comment, entre intérêt et dégoût, peur panique et fascination, l'homme vit les "insectes" au quotidien, comment il les utilise, s'en protège ou les anéantit, mais aussi comment il en parle, les nomme, les décrit, se les représente et en fait les supports d'un imaginaire qui fonde sa symbolique. Au-delà d'un simple état des lieux sur des conceptions et comportements exotiques, ce volume offre de nouvelles perspectives de réflexion sur de nombreux problèmes concrets, actuels et mondiaux touchant la gestion de l'environnement, le développement durable, la propriété intellectuelle ou encore l'évaluation des savoirs et les paradigmes scientifiques déterminant la conception de la "réalité".

The first book on entomophagy written in this manner, Edible Insects of the World is an enumeration of 2,141 species of edible insects. For the reader’s convenience, insect names are arranged much like a dictionary, first by taxonomic group and then by country. In addition to taxonomic and location information, entries contain applicable details about the history of entomophagy, collecting, cooking, and medicinal uses.

This book overviews the role of insects in providing various human, environmental, recreational, aesthetic, and cultural services. It presents a comprehensive account of insect service providers to show different aspects of insects and cultivate the appreciation of insects. Insects are beneficial to humans as ecofriendly tools, as parasitoids and predators in the biological control of insect pests and vectors, reducing the use of agrochemicals in modern agriculture and protecting the environment. Insects facilitate crop pollination and increase the agricultural yield. They are farmers’ friends, and serve as food for the human population worldwide, provide pharmaceuticals, take part in ecosystem services, and work as scavengers. Insects are used in disease therapy and wound healing. They are also helpful in criminal investigations and are the best models for research and technology innovations. Insects also yield various silks, lac, honey, propolis, wax, etc., promoting insect tourism, recreations, and culture. This contributed volume focuses on these different beneficial aspects of insects in human life. This book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of entomology, agricultural zoology, researchers, and anyone interested in insects, including policy planners.

An insight into the booming industry of insect leisure and tourism, using case studies and examples from around the world.

Despite being the biggest group of organisms inhabiting Earth in both diversity and sheer numbers, insects are barely commercialized. Most of the standard textbooks of applied entomology talk about insect pest management, and when it comes to commercial aspects of insects, only apiculture, sericulture, and lac culture are talked about. This book will help bring other commercial uses of insects and their economic potential to the fore. This will generate interest in further research on the commercial potential of insects, thereby harnessing a much-found resource. The book has the following salient features: 1. Encompasses all major aspects of beneficial and commercial insects. 2. Deals with edible insects and mass culture of natural enemies and beneficial insects. 3. Emphasis on the mass cultivation of beneficial insects for obtaining yields. 4. Discusses stingless bees and their products. 5. Helps to solve the problem of food scarcity and improve food security.

Ethnozoology: Animals In Our Lives represents the first book about this discipline, providing a discussion on key themes on human-animal interactions and their implications, along with recent major advances in research. Humans share the world with a bewildering variety of other animals, and have interacted with them in different ways. This variety of interactions (both past and present) is investigated through ethnozoology, which is a hybrid discipline structured with elements from both the natural and social sciences, as it seeks to understand how humans have perceived and interacted with faunal resources throughout history. In a broader context, ethnozoology, and its companion discipline, ethnobotany, form part of the larger body of the science of ethnobiology. In recent years, the importance of ethnozoological/ethnobiological studies has increasingly been recognized, unsurprisingly given the strong human influence on biodiversity. From the perspective of ethnozoology, the book addresses all aspects of human connection, animals and health, from its use in traditional medicine, to bioprospecting derivatives of fauna for pharmaceuticals, with expert contributions from leading researchers in the field. - Draws on editors' and contributors' extensive research, experience and studies covering ethnozoology and ethnobiology - Covers all aspects of human-animal interaction through the lens of this emerging discipline, with coverage of both domestic and wild animal topics - Presents topics of great interest to a variety of researchers including those in wildlife/conservation (biologists, ecologists, conservationists) and domestic-related disciplines (psychologists, sociologists)