Previous edition: published as by George C. McGavin. 2001.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ESSENTIAL ENTOMOLOGY - Second Edition
Copyright Page
Preface
Acknowledgements
Figure Acknowledgments
Contents
Biographies
Glossary
Section 1 Introduction to insect evolution and biology
The evolution of the arthropods
Features that characterize arthropods
Pancrustacea (crustaceans and hexapods)
Hexapoda
The origins of insects and other hexapods
Five factors in a winning formula
Five factors contributing to the success of insects
Size
Cuticle
The nervous system and the blood–brain barrier
Flight
Reproduction
Interactions with other organisms
Insect structure
Sense organs
Circulatory system
Digestive system
Respiratory system
Reproductive system
Conclusion
Further reading
Section 2 The insect orders
Insect groups that predate the evolution of wings
Archaeognatha (bristletails—alternative name: Microcoryphia)
Key features
Key reading
Zygentoma (silverfish and firebrats—alternative name: Thysanura)
Key features
Key reading
The winged insects
Division Palaeoptera
Ephemeroptera (mayflies)
Key features
Key reading
Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)
Key features
Key reading
Division Neoptera
Key reading
Superorder Exopterygota (= Hemimetabola)
Polyneoptera
Haplocercata
Dermaptera (earwigs)
Key reading
Zoraptera (angel insects)
Key features
Key reading
Plecoptera (stoneflies)
Key features
Key reading
Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets)
Key features
Key reading
Dictyoptera
Blattodea (cockroaches and termites—alternative name: Blattaria)
Key features
Cockroaches
Termites
Key reading
Mantodea (praying mantids)
Key features
Key reading
Xenonomia
Grylloblattodea (ice crawlers—alternative name: Notoptera)
Key features
Key reading
Mantophasmatodea (heel walkers—alternative name: Notoptera)
Key features
Key reading
Eukinolabia
Phasmatodea (stick insects and leaf insects)
Key features
Key reading
Embioptera (webspinners—alternative name: Embiidina)
Key features
Key reading
Paraneoptera (= Acercaria)
Psocodea (barklice, booklice, and true lice)
Key features
Key reading
Hemiptera (true bugs)
Key features
Key reading
Thysanoptera (thrips)
Key features
Key reading
Division Endopterygota (= Holometabola)
Neuropterida
Division Endopterygota (= Holometabola)
Neuropterida
Raphidioptera (snakeflies)
Key features
Key reading
Megaloptera (alderflies, dobsonflies, and fishflies)
Key features
Key reading
Neuroptera (lacewings, antlions, and mantidflies)
Key features
Key reading
Coleopterida
Coleoptera (beetles)
Key features
Key reading
Strepsiptera (strepsipterans)
Key features
Key reading
Antliophora
Mecoptera (scorpionflies)
Key features
Key reading
Siphonaptera (fleas)
Key features
Key reading
Diptera (flies)
Key features
Key reading
Amphiesmenoptera
Trichoptera (caddisflies)
Key features
Key reading
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)
Key features
Key reading
Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants)
Key features
Key reading
Section 3 Fieldwork
Collecting
Relative collecting techniques
Absolute collecting techniques
Aquatic and taxa-specific sampling techniques
Killing methods and data recording
Killing methods
Data recording
Specimen preservation
Long-term preservation
Key reading
Subject-Index

Comprising well over half of all known animal species, insects are the most successful organisms on the planet. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that one cannot study agriculture, biology, and the environment, without a basic understanding of entomology. Furthermore, insects are indispensable to advances in molecular biology and genetics, and their ongoing decline in many parts of the world has stimulated much research in the crucial roles they play in global ecosystems.However, the sheer diversity of insects can be a challenge to every newcomer to entomology. Most entomology textbooks tend to focus on insect biology, leaving readers with only a superficial idea of insect diversity and evolution, while others delve into too much detail that will deter the novice. In contrast, Essential Entomology has a clear taxonomic structure that provides readers with the necessary framework to understand the diversity, life history, and taxonomy of insects in a new light. This fully revised edition provides the most up-to-date guide to insects and includes all the major developments in molecular biology and palaeontology of the last 20 years.This textbook is an essential read for undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in entomology, agriculture, and forestry. It will also appeal to a broad academic audience of ecologists, conservationists, natural resource managers, as well as to the far more numerous general readers who are interested in wildlife, nature, and the environment. With these diverse audiences in mind, the straightforward and accessible style of the first edition has been maintained, technical jargon has been kept to a minimum, and sufficient background information is provided to enable the reader to follow the text with ease. --