In Queen Alexandra's Birdwing, young readers will meet the world's largest butterfly found exclusively in the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea. Bright, colorful photographs closely paired with age-appropriate text will engage children as they learn about this unique butterfly's natural habitat, physical characteristics, diet, life cycle, and behavior. Queen Alexandra's Birdwing includes such useful and fun learning features as a detailed diagram that compares the animal's super size to something familiar in kids' own lives.
Maxwell Eaton III's The Truth About Butterflies is another hilarious addition to this fan favorite series. A funny, informational book to what butterflies are really like. This guide to the majestic butterfly walks you through its unique life cycle and offers anything you ever wanted to know about the colorful insect... perfect for bug lovers and insect enthusiasts!
This book contains poems about animals from Asia, Australia, and Oceania, which are extinct, rare, endangered, or threatened. The text includes sections on mammals; amphibians, reptiles, and sea creatures; birds andbutterflies. The book concludes with a special section of exquisite poems on honeyeaters and honeycreepers from several Hawaiian islands. Just as the poems are suited to various reading levels, so also the artwork reflects artists of varying ages and abilities, from an eleven-year-old amateur to a retired professional. Through a variety of styles, the author engages the mind, emotions, and will of the reader, enabling him/her to see the world through the eyes of an Indian Python, Japanese Crane, Indian Rhino, Horseshoe Crab, or Long-Beaked Echidna, plus many more of your favorite creatures. As you read these aloud, consider what you can do to save the life of one species before it is gone forever.
Biodiversity and Ecology of Lepidoptera - Insights and Advances presents a comprehensive overview of the order of winged insects known as Lepidoptera. It is organized into two sections and seven chapters. Section 1, "Lepidoptera: Behavioural Diversity", explores the myriad challenges faced by Lepidoptera globally. In the twenty-first century, the most pressing issue confronting them is the decline in biodiversity, necessitating the essential restoration of ecosystems. Concurrently, Lepidoptera exhibit mastery in camouflage and mimicry, enabling them to evade detection by predators and parasites, providing a reproductive advantage. This section also delves into gynandromorphy behavior, where individuals develop a mosaic of both male and female traits, with the left and right halves of the body displaying different sexes. Additionally, it reviews recent advances in non-coding RNAs, elucidating their role in regulating gene expression through chromosomes and their significance in the overall developmental process of Lepidoptera. Section 2, "Moths: Bioecology and Genetics", commences with the mapping of flight paths for feeding, reproduction, and pollination occurrence in hawkmoths in the family Sphingidae. The section then reveals the features of invasion into various ecosystems by five invasive leafminer moth species of the family Gracillariidae). Furthermore, it discusses the degree of genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships among 13 breeds of the mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori L.).
Not everybody cares about the fate of wild animals or the state of the natural environment. I met a lady who said it wouldn't worry her if all the wild animals in the world disappeared overnight. She was a city person~ she said. There are also people who would prefer to let animals become extinct than to have them kept in captivity - no matter how progressive the zoo. There are those who, on principle, will not eat meat, let alone do the killing, and there are those who enjoy nothing so much as shooting birds. People in the last two camps may oppose each other in claiming to be con servationists. Extremists are unlikely to find their opinions being reversed by this book but, because of the scope of the subject, I believe there is a good chance that anybody with an interest in wildlife will find in it something new to think about. It may not be too much to hope that a few disagreements might also be settled because I suspect there is more common ground than is generally realized among those with opposing views.
A remarkable look at the rarest butterflies, how global changes threaten their existence, and how we can bring them back from near-extinction Most of us have heard of such popular butterflies as the Monarch or Painted Lady. But what about the Fender’s Blue? Or the St. Francis’ Satyr? Because of their extreme rarity, these butterflies are not well-known, yet they are remarkable species with important lessons to teach us. The Last Butterflies spotlights the rarest of these creatures—some numbering no more than what can be held in one hand. Drawing from his own first-hand experiences, Nick Haddad explores the challenges of tracking these vanishing butterflies, why they are disappearing, and why they are worth saving. He also provides startling insights into the effects of human activity and environmental change on the planet’s biodiversity. Weaving a vivid and personal narrative with ideas from ecology and conservation, Haddad illustrates the race against time to reverse the decline of six butterfly species. Many scientists mistakenly assume we fully understand butterflies’ natural histories. Yet, as with the Large Blue in England, we too often know too little and the conservation consequences are dire. Haddad argues that a hands-off approach is not effective and that in many instances, like for the Fender’s Blue and Bay Checkerspot, active and aggressive management is necessary. With deliberate conservation, rare butterflies can coexist with people, inhabit urban fringes, and, in the case of the St. Francis’ Satyr, even reside on bomb ranges and military land. Haddad shows that through the efforts to protect and restore butterflies, we might learn how to successfully confront conservation issues for all animals and plants. A moving account of extinction, recovery, and hope, The Last Butterflies demonstrates the great value of these beautiful insects to science, conservation, and people.
One of a series of books on drawing for beginners, this covers the drawing of a variety of birds and animals. It contains step-by-step instructions and sets out to make learning to draw as simple as possible.
The larvae (grubs) of the African palm weevil are consumed by the majority of inhabitants of the Congo Basin. These larvae are extremely rich in essential food nutrients; they contain proteins, carbohydrates, fats and energy values comparable to those of beef and fish. They are also an excellent source of a range of minerals and vitamins. The exploitation and trade of weevil grubs is an important source of income for forest dependent communities in the Congo Basin. These grubs are currently harvested from raffia and palm stems in the wild. This study evaluates the sustainability of indigenous harvesting techniques, and investigates ways in which these insect resources could be farmed in Obout and Ntoung village areas. Results show that grubs are harvested by collecting them from naturally infested raffia stems (the traditional collection method) or by cutting and preparing healthy raffia stems for grub production (the semi-farming method). Both methods are unsustainable, as thousands of raffia stems are cut down on a monthly basis. To address this situation, a grub farming system has been developed within the course of this study. It has proved to be more productive and sustainable than both the traditional collection and the semi-farming methods. This farming system could be used to produce grubs at any time of the year, thereby providing an opportunity for year-round availability of these nutritious insects, while securing their place as an important alternative to protein and a valuable income source in Cameroon.
