03803nam 22005774a 450 991045467020332120200520144314.00-674-04474-610.4159/9780674044746(CKB)1000000000786828(StDuBDS)AH23050939(SSID)ssj0000270605(PQKBManifestationID)12063881(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000270605(PQKBWorkID)10279651(PQKB)10855135(MiAaPQ)EBC3300436(Au-PeEL)EBL3300436(CaPaEBR)ebr10318429(OCoLC)923111288(DE-B1597)586084(DE-B1597)9780674044746(EXLCZ)99100000000078682820020710d2003 uy 0engur|||||||||||txtccrWhat good are bugs?[electronic resource] insects in the web of life /Gilbert WaldbauerCambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press20031 online resource (384 p. ) illOriginally published: 2003.0-674-01027-2 0-674-01632-7 Includes bibliographical references (p. 317-342) and index.Macrocosm Helping Plants 1. Pollinating 2. Dispersing Seeds 3. Supplying Food 4. Providing Defense Helping Animals 5. Giving Sustenance 6. Giving Protection Limiting Population Growth 7. Controlling Plant Populations 8. Controlling Insect Populations 9. Controlling Vertebrate Populations Cleaning Up 10. Recycling Dead Animals 11. Recycling Dung 12. Recycling Dead Plants Microcosm Selected Readings Acknowledgments IndexThis volume catalogues important insects by their roles, providing an enlightening look at how insects work in ecosystems - what they do, how they live and how they make life as we know it possible.We shriek about them, slap and spray them, and generally think of insects (when we think of them at all) as pests. Yet, if all insects, or even a critical few, were to disappear--if there were none to pollinate plants, serve as food for other animals, dispose of dead organisms, and perform other ecologically essential tasks--virtually all the ecosystems on earth, the webs of life, would unravel. This book, the first to catalogue ecologically important insects by their roles, gives us an enlightening look at how insects work in ecosystems--what they do, how they live, and how they make life as we know it possible. 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.InsectsEcologyElectronic books.InsectsEcology.595.717Waldbauer Gilbert908444MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910454670203321What good are bugs2031910UNINA