Moths Myths And Mosquitoes

On September 26, 1924, the ground collapsed beneath a truck in a back alley in Washington, D.C., revealing a mysterious underground labyrinth. In spite of wild speculations, the tunnel was not the work of German spies, but rather an aging, eccentric Smithsonian scientist named Harrison Gray Dyar, Jr. While Dyar's covert tunneling habits may seem far-fetched, they were merely one of many oddities in Dyar's unbelievable life. For the first time, insect biosystematist Marc E. Epstein presents a complete account of Dyar's life story. Dyar, one of the most influential biologists of the twentieth century, focused his entomological career on building natural classifications of various groups of insects. His revolutionary approach to taxonomy, which examined both larval and adult stages of insects, brought about major changes in the scientific community's understanding of natural relationships and insect systematics. He was also the father of what came to be known as Dyar's Law, a pragmatic method to standardize information on insect larval stages as they grow. Over the course of his illustrious career at the U.S. National Museum, Smithsonian Institution from 1897-1929, Dyar named over 3,000 species, established the "List of North American Lepidoptera," an unrivaled catalog of moths and butterflies, and built one of the nation's premier lepidoptera and mosquito collections. However, Dyar's scientific accomplishments are a mere component of this remarkable biography. Epstein offers an account of Dyar's complicated personal life, from his feuds with fellow entomologists to the scandalous revelation that he was married to two wives at the same time. Epstein also chronicles Dyar's exploration of the Baha'i faith, his extensive travels, his innumerable works of unpublished fiction, and the loss of his wealth from bad investments. Comprehensive and engaging, Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes will delight entomologists and historians alike, as well as anyone interested in exploring the zany life of one of America's virtually unknown scientific geniuses.

This book contains seven chapters divided into two sections. The first section is "Lepidoptera Systematics." It covers introduction classification and external and internal morphology. It also includes the importance and modern approaches of Lepidoptera collection curation and data management. It also describes molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of Lepidoptera for ecological and evolutionary studies. The second section, "Lepidoptera as a Model for Research," describes eyespot color pattern formation mechanism in the peacock pansy, Junonia almana (L.). The complete mitochondrial genome of the American potato tuberworm, Tecia solanivora (Povolny), is presented to study a mitogenome in insects. Lepidoptera are sensitive to physical and climatic changes. Therefore, their taxocenotic and biocenotic study was conducted in three environments, i.e., the grassland, forest, and ecotone of Rucamanque, a forest remnant.

The human reaction to insects is neither purely biological nor simply cultural. And no one reacts to insects with indifference. Insects frighten, disgust and fascinate us. Jeff Lockwood explores this phenomenon through evolutionary science, human history, and contemporary psychology, as well as a debilitating bout with entomophobia in his work as an entomologist. Exploring the nature of anxiety and phobia, Lockwood explores the lively debate about how much of our fear of insects can be attributed to ancestral predisposition for our own survival and how much is learned through individual experiences. Drawing on vivid case studies, Lockwood explains how insects have come to infest our minds in sometimes devastating ways and supersede even the most rational understanding of the benefits these creatures provide. No one can claim to be ambivalent in the face of wasps, cockroaches or maggots but our collective entomophobia is wreaking havoc on the natural world as we soak our food, homes and gardens in powerful insecticides. Lockwood dissects our common reactions, distinguishing between disgust and fear, and invites readers to consider their own emotional and physiological reactions to insects in a new framework that he's derived from cutting-edge biological, psychological, and social science.

Originally published in 1903, this is an excellent source for an historical perspective on superstitions and folklore. Hundreds of entries are arranged alphabetically within broad subject categories. The original subtitle reads: "A comprehensive library of human belief and practice in the mysteries of life through more than six thousand years of experience and progress including the fundamental intuitions and instincts underlying the structure of civilization, theology, mythology, demonology, magic, witchcraft, esoteric philosophy, signs, omens, oracles, sorceries, auguries, divinations, prophecies, methods and means employed in revealing fortune and fate, systems and formulas for the use of psychical forces, hypnotism, clairvoyance, telepathy, spiritualism, character reading and character building with all the known powers and wonders of mind and soul, illustrated with numerous ancient and modern designs and thoroughly indexed."

The book is a comprehensive text on all aspects of the biology of aquatic insects around the world. This fauna comprises many thousands of species that previously lacked a dedicated reference text.

This balanced comprehensive account traces the alterations in body form undergone by insects as they adapt to seasonal change, exploring both theoretical aspects and practical issues. Topics explored include natural history, genetics, evolution, and management of insect adaptations.