Hawaiian Insects and Their Kin

9780824814694

082481469X

Insects hardly need an introduction; they are everywhere and familiar to everyone. Here in the Hawaiian Islands, whether in young caves by the ocean or on the cold, stone desert of active volcanoes, the spectacular array of insects has long astonished scientists. A steady stream of biologists has come to the islands from all over the world to study what they recognize as one of the most exciting natural laboratories anywhere. The Hawaiian Islands support a remarkable number of different habitats due to their diverse topography and climate. Unique communities of organisms developed independ-ently on each island, in pools, lakes, and streams, and even on unvegetated lava flows and in lava tubes. Hawaiian Insects and Their Kin is superbly illustrated with 200 vibrant color photographs, including such marvels as carnivorous moth caterpillars, predatory happyface spiders, and "singing" tree snails whose "songs" charmed and intrigued scientists for more than 50 years before their secret was discovered. From sandhoppers, centipedes, and crickets to beetles, bugs, and butterflies, Howarth and Mull describe characteristics and habitats, and how each creature came to be in the islands. This book makes known some of the dominant groups of one of the most unique insect faunas anywhere on earth, shows how the study of these insects improves our general understanding of entomology and ecology, dispels the fear of meeting an unknown animal, and shows the excitement of studying insects and their relatives. Book jacket.