The main purpose of this book is to complement the hitherto largely descriptive works on the order Thysanoptera, by presenting thrips as living animals, stressing the behaviour of individuals and populations, their varied and complex relationships with plants, other animals and the physical components of their abundance in undisturbed and in cultivated habitats, and in cultivated economic importance as pests and beneficia. A considerable literature on thrips has accumulated over the last one hundred years. Unifortunately much of this information is fragmentary, scattered through obscure pamphlets, journales and accsesible only with difficulty.

Thrips (fhysanoptera) are very small insects, widespread throughout the world with a preponderance of tropical species, many temperate ones, and even a few living in arctic regions. Of the approximately 5,000 species so far identified, only a few hundred are crop pests, causing serious damage or transmitting diseases to growing crops and harvestable produce in most countries. Their fringed wings confer a natural ability to disperse widely, blown by the wind. Their minute size and cryptic behavior make them difficult to detect either in the field or in fresh vegetation transported during international trade of vegetables, fruit and ornamental flowers. Many species have now spread from their original natural habitats and hosts to favorable new environments where they often reproduce rapidly to develop intense damaging infestations that are costly to control. Over the past decade there have been several spectacular examples of this. The western flower thrips has expanded its range from the North American continent to Europe, Australia and South Africa. Thrips palmi has spread from its presumed origin, the island of Sumatra, to the coast of Florida, and threatens to extend its distribution throughout North and South America. Pear thrips, a known orchard pest of Europe and the western United States and Canada has recently become a major defoliator of hardwood trees in Vermont and the neighboring states. Local outbreaks of other species are also becoming problems in field and glasshouse crops as the effectiveness of insecticides against them decline.

Field Crop Arthropod Pests of Economic Importance presents detailed descriptions of the biology and ecology of important arthropod pest of selected global field crops. Standard management options for insect pest control on crops include biological, non-chemical, and chemical approaches. However, because agricultural crops face a wide range of insect pests throughout the year, it can prove difficult to find a simple solution to insect pest control in many, if not most, cropping systems. A whole-farm or integrated pest management approach combines cultural, natural, and chemical controls to maintain insect pest populations below levels that cause economic damage to the crop. This practice requires accurate species identification and thorough knowledge of the biology and ecology of the target organism. Integration and effective use of various control components is often enhanced when the target organism is correctly identified, and its biology and ecology are known. This book provides a key resource toward that identification and understanding. Students and professionals in agronomy, insect detection and survey, and economic entomology will find the book a valuable learning aid and resource tool. - Includes insect synonyms, common names, and geographic distribution - Provides information on natural enemies - Is thoroughly referenced for future research

Arthropods are invertebrates that constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom, and their bio-ecology is closely linked with global functioning and survival. Arthropods play an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, provide livelihoods and nutrition to human communities, and are important indicators of environmental change. Yet the population trends of several arthropods species show them to be in decline. Arthropods constitute a dominant group with 1.2 million species influencing earth’s biodiversity. Among arthropods, insects are predominant, with ca. 1 million species and having evolved some 350 million years ago. Arthropods are closely associated with living and non-living entities alike, making the ecosystem services they provide crucially important. In order to be effective, plans for the conservation of arthropods and ecosystems should include a mixture of strategies like protecting key habitats and genomic studies to formulate relevant policies for in situ and ex situ conservation. This two-volume book focuses on capturing the essentials of arthropod inventories, biology, and conservation. Further, it seeks to identify the mechanisms by which arthropod populations can be sustained in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and by means of which certain problematic species be managed without producing harmful environmental side-effects. This edited compilation includes chapters contributed by over 80 biologists on a wide range of topics embracing the diversity, distribution, utility and conservation of arthropods and select groups of insect taxa. More importantly, it describes in detail the mechanisms of sustaining arthropod ecosystems, services and populations. It addresses the contribution of modern biological tools such as molecular and genetic techniques regulating gene expression, as well as conventional, indigenous practices in arthropod conservation. The contributors reiterate the importance of documenting and understanding the biology of arthropods from a holistic perspective before addressing conservation issues at large. This book offers a valuable resource for all zoologists, entomologists, ecologists, conservation biologists, policy makers, teachers and students interested in the conservation of biological resources.

Darwin famously described special difficulties in explaining social evolution in insects. More than a century later, the evolution of sociality - defined broadly as cooperative group living - remains one of the most intriguing problems in biology. Providing a unique perspective on the study of social evolution, this volume synthesizes the features of animal social life across the principle taxonomic groups in which sociality has evolved. The chapters explore sociality in a range of species, from ants to primates, highlighting key natural and life history data and providing a comparative view across animal societies. In establishing a single framework for a common, trait-based approach towards social synthesis, this volume will enable graduate students and investigators new to the field to systematically compare taxonomic groups and reinvigorate comparative approaches to studying animal social evolution.