Miniature Lives : Identifying Insects in Your Home and Garden

Miniature Lives......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
Foreword......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 10
About the author......Page 11
Why I wrote this book......Page 12
Approaches to identifying insects......Page 13
How to use this book......Page 14
What is an insect?......Page 16
Insect body parts......Page 18
Taxonomy – how insects are named......Page 22
Insect Orders – how insects are grouped......Page 23
Insect growth and lifecycles......Page 31
Using this chapter......Page 36
Tools of the trade......Page 38
The identification key......Page 40
Maggots, grubs and caterpillars......Page 75
Using this chapter......Page 82
Tips for getting started......Page 83
Kitchen and pantry......Page 85
Living room......Page 89
Bathroom......Page 94
Bedroom......Page 95
Around lights......Page 97
In water......Page 104
Soil, leaf litter and compost......Page 113
On trees and shrubs......Page 117
On citrus trees......Page 127
In the vegetable garden......Page 131
On native trees and shrubs......Page 136
In and around the lawn......Page 139
In and around flowers......Page 143
On the bodies of animals – the bloodsuckers......Page 146
In large groups – masses and migrations......Page 149
Tips for getting started......Page 156
Markings on leaves and bark......Page 157
Lumps and bumps on plants......Page 161
Nests and hideouts......Page 164
Cocoons, cases and eggs......Page 166
How to use this chapter......Page 172
Bees, wasps, ants and sawflies – Order Hymenoptera......Page 173
Beetles – Order Coleoptera......Page 197
Booklice – Order Psocoptera......Page 205
Butterflies and moths – Order Lepidoptera......Page 208
Cockroaches – Order Blattodea......Page 218
Dragonflies and damselflies – Order Odonata......Page 223
Earwigs – Order Dermaptera......Page 230
Fleas – Order Siphonaptera......Page 232
Flies – Order Diptera......Page 236
Grasshoppers and crickets – Order Orthoptera......Page 244
Lacewings – Order Neuroptera......Page 252
Lice – Order Phthiraptera......Page 257
Praying mantids – Order Mantodea......Page 261
Silverfish – Order Thysanura......Page 267
Stick and leaf insects – Order Phasmatodea......Page 270
Termites – Order Isoptera......Page 276
Thrips – Order Thysanoptera......Page 281
True bugs – Order Hemiptera......Page 285
Non-insect arthropods......Page 308
Glossary......Page 315
Pronunciation guide......Page 324
Bibliography......Page 327
Further reading......Page 332
Index......Page 336