Kooperativer Bibliotheksverbund

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Umfang: 1 online resource (xi, 397 pages) : , digital, PDF file(s).

ISBN: 1-316-79862-3 , 1-316-79925-5 , 1-316-33696-4

Inhalt: The Coccinellidae are a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds or ladybugs. In Britain alone, some 46 species belong to the Coccinellidae family, although only 26 of these are recognisably ladybirds. Composed largely of Professor Michael Majerus' lifetime work, and updated by two leading experts in the field, this book reveals intriguing insights into ladybird biology from a global perspective. The popularity of this insect group has been captured through societal and cultural considerations, coupled with detailed descriptions of complex scientific processes, to provide a comprehensive and accessible overview of these charismatic insects. Bringing together many studies on ladybirds, this book has been organised into themes, ranging from anatomy and physiology to ecology and evolution. This book is suitable for interested amateur enthusiasts, and researchers involved with ladybirds, entomology and biological control.

Anmerkung: Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Dec 2016). , Cover -- Half-title -- Title page -- Copyright information -- Table of contents -- Editors' Foreword and Acknowledgements -- Chapter 1 Ladybird, Ladybird. . . -- Everyone Loves a Ladybird! -- Ladybird Names and Myths -- Luck-bringers, Match-makers and Weather-forecasters -- The Cambridge Ladybird Survey -- A Natural History of Ladybirds -- Chapter 2 The Structure of Ladybirds -- Two of a Kind -- What is a Ladybird? -- Adults -- Head -- Thorax -- Abdomen -- Reproductive System -- Eggs -- Larvae -- Pupae -- The Taxonomy of Ladybirds -- Chapter 3 Where Ladybirds Live -- Geography, Habitat and Microhabitat -- Geographic Distributions -- Ladybird Distribution Maps -- The Causes of Ladybird Geographic Distributions -- Immigration -- Population Explosions -- Habitat Favourability -- Host Plant Specialisation -- Changes in Habitat Preferences -- Habitat Categorisation -- Food Availability -- Microclimate -- Plant Species and Characteristics -- The Evolution of Habitat Preferences -- Dietary Diversity -- Factors Affecting Habitat Shifts -- The Influence of Prey Availability on Habitat Shifts -- From Generalist to Specialist or Vice Versa? -- Enemy-free Space -- Habitat Preferences in Ladybirds: Future Research -- Chapter 4 What Ladybirds Eat -- The Diversity of Ladybird Diets -- Predatory Ladybirds -- Prey Categorisation -- Accepted Prey -- Mixed Feeding -- Alternative (Substitutive) Foods -- Rejected Prey -- Toxic Prey -- Prey Recognition, Capture and Consumption -- Cannibalism -- Group and Kin Selection -- Who Eats Whom? -- Cannibalism of Immature Stages by Unrelated Larvae -- Cannibalism of Eggs by Adults -- Cannibalism of Larvae, Pupae or Adults by Adults -- Sibling Egg Consumption and Cannibalism -- The Evolution of Sibling Egg Cannibalism -- The Evolutionary Implications of Sibling Egg Cannibalism -- Non-carnivorous Ladybirds. , Chapter 5 Sex and Reproduction -- The Aim of Life -- Mating -- The Difference between Males and Females -- Mating in Adalia 2-punctata -- Courtship -- Female Rejection Behaviour -- Copulation -- Post-copulatory Behaviour -- The Mating Behaviour of Adalia 2-punctata in the Wild -- Courtship and Copulation in Other Ladybirds -- Female Promiscuity -- Multiple Ejaculation within a Single Copulation: A Waste of Sperm? -- Sexual Selection: The Case of the Choosy Female -- Sexual Selection in Adalia 2-punctata -- Mating Preferences in Other Ladybirds -- Implications of Female Choice in Ladybirds -- How Widespread is Female Choice? -- Alternative Behavioural Strategies -- Mating Preferences and Speciation -- Hybridisation in Ladybirds -- When May Hybrid Matings Occur? -- Egg-laying -- Egg Size and Clutch Size -- How Eggs are Laid -- Why Lay Eggs in Clutches? -- Oviposition Sites -- The Effect of Reproduction -- Chapter 6 Ladybird Dormancy -- Ladybirds in Unfavourable Conditions -- Dormancy, Diapause and Quiescence -- Pre-dormancy Behaviour -- To Sleep or Not to Sleep? -- Preparation for Dormancy -- Where to Sleep? -- Are Ladybirds Weather-forecasters? -- Dormancy Aggregations -- Dormancy -- The Biochemistry of Dormancy -- Survival Through Dormancy -- Waking Up -- Termination of Diapause -- Summer Dormancy and Aestivation -- Chapter 7 Ladybird Death -- The Struggle for Survival -- Vertebrate Predators -- Birds -- Other Vertebrates -- Invertebrate Predators -- Ants -- Competition between Ants and Ladybirds -- Non-competitive Interactions between Ants and Ladybirds -- Ladybird Defences Against Ants -- Behavioural Defences -- Physical Defences -- Chemical Defences -- Myrmecophilous Ladybirds -- Coccinella magnifica -- Platynaspis luteorubra -- Parasitoids and Parasites -- Diptera -- Hymenoptera -- Mites. , Coccipolipus: A Sexually Transmitted Disease-causing Agent of Ladybirds -- Worms -- Microbial Pathogens -- Protozoa -- Fungi -- Bacteria and Viruses -- Male-killing Bacteria -- The Sex Ratio -- The Case of the Feminist Bacterium -- What is Male-killing? -- When Suicide is Painless -- The Vertical Transmission Efficiency and Cost of Male-killers -- How Do Male-killers Kill? -- Arms Races and the Red Queen -- The Crucial Last Two -- Chapter 8 Ladybird Colouration -- Colour: A First Line of Defence -- Chemical Defences -- The Evolution of True Warning Colour Patterns -- First Unpalatable, Then Conspicuous -- Conspicuous First, Then Chemical Defence -- Bright Colouration and Unpalatable Simultaneously -- Why Are Ladybirds Not All Alike? -- The Theory of Müllerian Mimicry -- Different Influences on Ladybird Colour Patterns -- The Colour Patterns of Smaller Coccinellids -- Host Plant Generalists -- Host Plant Specialists -- Chapter 9 Variation and Evolution in Ladybirds -- Heredity and the Environment -- Colour and Pattern Variation -- Variation: Nature or Nurture? -- Heritability -- Non-heritable Variation -- Quantifying Colour and Pattern Variation -- Geographic Spotting Variation -- Rare Varieties -- Colour Pattern Polymorphism in Ladybirds -- The Problem of Polymorphism in Ladybirds -- Types of Melanic Forms in Ladybirds -- The Genetics of Melanic Polymorphism in Ladybirds -- The Maintenance of Melanic Polymorphism in Ladybirds -- Mimicry and Polymorphism -- Thermal Melanism -- Female Mating Preferences and Negative Frequency Dependent Selection -- The Recurrence of Rare Phenotypes -- Male-killers and Host Evolution -- The Limiting Sex and Sex Role Reversal -- Sex Ratio Distortion and Male Investment in Copulation -- Male-killers and Sexually Transmitted Diseases -- Intragenomic Conflict and Population Sex Ratios -- Male-killers and Mitochondrial DNA. , Aposematic Polymorphism and Male-killing -- Chapter 10 Ladybirds and People -- Biological Control -- The Ladybird that Began Biological Control -- Types of Biological Control -- Classical Biological Control -- What Factors Make for a Successful Biological Control Agent? -- Augmentative Biological Control -- Husbandry of Native Predator Populations -- Alien versus Native Species -- Coccinella 7-punctata in North America -- The Case of Harmonia axyridis -- Negative Effects of Harmonia axyridis on Non-target Prey -- Negative Effects of Harmonia axyridis on Other Aphidophages -- Negative Effects of Harmonia axyridis on Humans -- Harmonia axyridis in the United Kingdom -- Harmonia axyridis: A High-Risk, Invasive Alien Species -- Conservation -- Why Conserve Ladybirds? -- Ladybirds in the Garden -- The Conservation of Rare Species -- The Best That We Can Do -- References -- Index.

Weitere Ausg.: ISBN 1-107-11607-4

Sprache: Englisch

URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316336960