Feb. 5, 2010
 |
This is the cover of the fourth edition. Clink to link to the publisher's Web site. |
DAVIS--Look for “The Insects” in March.
The fourth edition of The Insects: An Outline of Entomology, the newly published work of professors Penny Gullan and Peter Cranston of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, will be available in the United States beginning in early March.
The 584-page textbook, published by Wiley-Blackwell, was released in the United Kingdom in late January.
Gullan and Cranston, both systematic entomologists, teach and research insect identification, distribution, evolution and ecology.
The Insects is considered the gold standard of entomology textbooks. Since the first edition was published (Chapman and Hall) in 1994, the book quickly became established as the world’s major general textbook of entomology, with translations in Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and Italian.
The third edition was published five years ago. The authors updated all chapters with the latest results from international studies, and added accompanying Web site with downloadable illustrations and links to video clips. In addition, they included new text boxes on topical issues and studies, and did a major revision of the chapter on systematics (phylogeny and taxonomy).
 |
Penny Gullan |
 |
Pete Cranston |
Updates include the Africanized honey bee and colony collapse disorder in the sphere of the apiary; the use of bed nets and the resurgence of bed bugs; dengue fever and West Nile virus in relation to human health; and case studies in emergent plant pests, including the emerald ash borer that is destroying North American landscape trees. Artist Karina H. McInnes has added new drawings.
The fourth edition “provides a stimulating and comprehensive introduction to the insects, the animals that represent over half of the planet's biological diversity,” according to Wiley-Blackwell. “In this new fourth edition, the authors introduce the key features of insect structure, function, behavior, ecology and classification, placed within the latest ideas on insect evolution. Much of the book is organized around major biological themes - living on the ground, in water, on plants, in colonies, and as predators, parasites/parasitoids and prey.”
“A strong evolutionary theme is maintained throughout,” the publishers noted. “The ever-growing economic importance of insects is emphasized in new boxes on insect pests, and in chapters on medical and veterinary entomology, and pest management. Updated “taxoboxes” provide concise information on all aspects of each of the 27 major groupings (orders) of insects.”
The Gullan-Cranston textbook was mentioned in the "Bugs, Brains and Trivia" article in the Smithsonian (Nov. 17, 2008) featuring the Linnaean Games, a national insect trivia contest conducted at the Entomological Society of America meeting. In the Linnaean Games, teams of entomology students vie for top honors in a college-bowl-like competition.
(Editor's Note: For details about he book and excerpts, along with links to the images, access the publishers' Web site.)
Back to News
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
