Insects As Service Providers

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.

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.

Insects do not live in isolation. They interact with the abiotic environment and are major components of the terrestrial and freshwater biotic milieus. They are crucial to so many ecosystem processes and are the warp and weft of all terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems that are not permanently frozen. This means that insect conservation is a two-way process: insects as the subjects of conservation, while also they are useful tools for conserving the environment. This book overviews strategic ways forward for insect conservation. It is a general view of what has worked and what has not for the maintenance of insect diversity across the world, as well as what might be the right approaches for the future.

This handbook presents a comprehensive overview of insect conservation and provides practical solutions to counteract insect declines, at a time where insects are facing serious threats across the world from habitat destruction to invasive species and climate change. The Routledge Handbook of Insect Conservation consist of six sections, covering all aspects of insect conservation, containing contributions from academics, researchers and practitioners from across the globe. Section I addresses the fundamentals of insect conservation and outlines the reason why insects are important and discusses the greatest drivers of insect decline. The chapters in Section II examine the approaches that can be used for insect conservation globally, such as protected areas and agroecology, while highlighting the importance of insects in the composition and function of ecosystems. The chapters in Section III focus on insect populations in the major biomes around the world, from temperate and tropical forests to savannas and grasslands, with the chapters in Section IV focusing on natural and manmade ecosystems of the world, including mountain, soil, urban, island and agricultural habitats. They discuss the unique pressures and challenges for each biome and ecosystem and offer practical solutions for conserving their insect populations. Section V focuses on the assessment and monitoring of insects for conservation, discussing how we can implement practical monitoring protocols and what options are available. A wide variety of methods and tools are examined, including citizen science, bioindication, the role of taxonomy, drones and eDNA. The book concludes by examining policy and education strategies for insect conservation in Section VI. The chapters discuss key issues around social and policy strategies and conservation legislation for ensuring the long-term protection of insects. This book is essential reading for students and scholars of biodiversity conservation and entomology as well as professionals and policymakers involved in conservation looking for real-world solutions to the threats facing insects across the globe.

This volume offers extensive information on insect life in dying and dead wood. Written and reviewed by leading experts from around the world, the twenty-five chapters included here provide the most global coverage possible and specifically address less-studied taxa and topics. An overarching goal of this work is to unite literature that has become fragmented along taxonomic and geographic lines. A particular effort was made to recognize the dominant roles that social insects (e.g., termites, ants and passalid beetles) play in saproxylic assemblages in many parts of the world without overlooking the non-social members of these communities. The book is divided into four parts: · Part I “Diversity” includes chapters addressing the major orders of saproxylic insects (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Blattodea), broadly organized in decreasing order of estimated global saproxylic diversity. In addition to order-level treatments, some chapters in this part discuss groups of particular interest, including pollinators, hymenopteran parasitoids, ants, stag and passalid beetles, and wood-feeding termites. · Part II “Ecology” discusses insect-fungal and insect-insect interactions, nutritional ecology, dispersal, seasonality, and vertical stratification. · Part III “Conservation” focuses on the importance of primary forests for saproxylic insects, offers recommendations for conserving these organisms in managed forests, discusses the relationships between saproxylic insects and fire, and addresses the value of tree hollows and highly-decomposed wood for saproxylic insects. Utilization of non-native wood by saproxylic insects and the suitability of urban environments for these organisms are also covered. · Lastly, Part IV “Methodological Advancements” highlights molecular tools for assessing saproxylic diversity. The book offers an accessible and insightful resource for natural historians of all kinds and will especially appeal to entomologists, ecologists, conservationists and foresters.

This new innovative work on insects and their impact on the ecosystem covers the role of insects in environmental pollution, their use in sustainable agricultural services, and the industrial, forensic, and medical applications of insects and their pure products. The book also covers the entomological and molecular aspects of insects, identifies the gaps in the research, and looks at integrated management strategies for pests. Volume 1: Importance, Threats, Conservation, and Economic Perspectives, reviews the different insect orders regarding their diversity and importance in providing free ecological services and discusses the diversity patterns of world biogeographic zones and how insects contribute to maintaining ecological diversity. Volume 2: Environmental Indicators, Molecular Approaches, and Management Strategies discusses the roleof insects environmental indicators, the effect of pesticides on insect diversity, strategies to control the diversity of insects, medical and forensic importance of insects, exploring new insect species through DNA barcoding, integrated pest management, the role of insect population in agriculture, and eco-friendly pest management approaches, etc. Some topics covered in the book include: Role of insects for the sustainable agricultural development Commercial importance of insects and their products Food additive roles of insects and formulation of remedies for the reduction of disease pathogenesis Management strategies for pest control Some specific topics include colony collapse disorder of managed honey bee (Apis mellifera l.) populations, insects as strong crime indicator tools in forensic sciences, insect-based value-added products, and more. Together, these two volumes offer important information for researchers, academicians, scientists, industrialists, teachers, entomologists, and students for understanding the contribution of insects towards the sustainability of the ecosystem.

The history of interest and practice in insect conservation is summarised and traced through contributions from many of the leaders in the discipline, to provide the first broad global account of how insects have become incorporated into considerations of conservation. The essays collectively cover the genesis and development of insect conservation, emphasising its strong foundation within the northern temperate regions and the contrasts with much of the rest of the world. Major present-day scenarios are discussed, together with possible developments and priorities in insect conservation for the future.

Ideal for city residents, developers, designers, and officials looking for ways to bring urban environments into harmony with the natural world and make cities more sustainable, Urban Ecology for Citizens and Planners offers a wealth of information and examples that will answer fundamental scientific questions, guide green initiatives, and inform environmental policies and decision-making processes. This book provides an overview of the synergistic relationships between humans and nature that shape the ecology of urban green spaces. It also emphasizes the social and cultural value of nature in cities for human health and well-being. Chapters describe the basic science of natural components and ecosystems in urban areas and explore the idea of biophilic urbanism, the philosophy of building nature into the framework of cities. To illustrate these topics, chapters include projects, case studies, expert insights, and successful citizen science programs from urban areas around the world. Authors Gail Hansen and Joseli Macedo argue that citizens have increasingly important roles to play in the environmental future of the cities they live in. A valuable resource for real-world solutions, this volume encourages citizens and planners to actively engage and collaborate in improving their communities and quality of life.