Basics
Backyard Insects
From aphids to flies, ladybirds to wasps, insects of all shapes and sizes share our homes and gardens. Now in an updated edition, the bestselling Backyard Insects explores the secrets and habits of more than one hundred little critters that are common to backyard Australia. Crawling with full-colour, larger-than-life photographs for easy identification, Backyard Insects is an indispensable guide for nature lovers, gardeners and kids of all ages.
Insects of South-Eastern Australia
A walk in the bush reveals insects visiting flowers, patrolling the air, burrowing under bark and even biting your skin. Every insect has characteristic feeding preferences and behaviours. Insects of South-Eastern Australia is a unique field guide that uses host plants and behavioural attributes as the starting point for identifying insects. Richly illustrated with colour photographs, the different species of insects found in Australia’s temperate south-east, including plant feeders, predators, parasites and decomposers, are presented.
The guide is complemented by an introduction to the insects of the region, including their environment, classification, life history, feeding strategies and behaviour. Fascinating boxes on camouflage, mimicry and many other topics are also included throughout. Whether you are a field naturalist, entomologist or just want to know what’s in your backyard, Insects of South-Eastern Australia will help you to identify the insects most likely to be encountered, as well as understand the basics of their ecology and behaviour.
A Field Guide to Insects in Australia
Whether you’re an amateur insect enthusiast, a student or an entomologist, this completely revised edition of A Field Guide to Insects in Australia will help you identify insects from all the major groups.
Miniature Lives
Miniature Lives provides a range of simple strategies that people can use to identify and learn more about the insects in their homes and gardens. Featuring a step-by-step, illustrated identification key and detailed illustrations and colour photographs, the book guides the reader through the basics of entomology (the study of insects). Simple explanations, amusing analogies and quirky facts describe where insects live, how they grow and protect themselves, the clues they leave behind and their status as friend or foe in a way that is both interesting and easy to understand.
Gardeners, nature lovers, students, teachers, and parents and grandparents of bug-crazed kids will love this comprehensive guide to the marvellous diversity of insects that surrounds us and the miniature lives they lead.
Garden Pests, Diseases and Good Bugs: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide for Australian Gardeners
The most comprehensive illustrated book on pests and diseases – and beneficial insects – for Australian gardeners. This is the book that Australian gardeners have been waiting for! Packed with more than 750 stunning and detailed photographs, and a wealth of easy-to-follow, comprehensive and reliable advice, Garden Pests, Diseases and Good Bugs is the ultimate illustrated guide for anyone who wants to encourage a healthy, thriving garden.
Species Guides:
A Guide to the Beetles of Australia
A Guide to the Beetles of Australia provides a comprehensive introduction to the Coleoptera – a huge and diverse group of insects. Beetles make up 40 per cent of all insects known to science. The number of described beetle species in the world – around 350 000 – is more than six times the number of all vertebrate species.
A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia
A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia uses photographs of living animals to help people identify many of the spiders they encounter. Featuring over 1300 colour photographs, it is the most comprehensive account of Australian spiders ever published. With more than two-thirds of Australian spiders yet to be scientifically described, this book sets the scene for future explorations of our extraordinary Australian fauna.
This field guide will be enjoyed by naturalists and anyone with an interest in learning more about Australia’s incredible arachnids.
The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia
Written by one of Australia’s leading lepidopterists, the book is stunningly illustrated with colour photographs, many of which are new, of each of the 435 currently recognised species. There is also a distribution map and flight chart for each species on the Australian mainland, together with information on similar species, variation, behaviour, habitat, status and larval food plants.
The introduction to the book covers adult structure, higher classification, distribution and habitats, as well as life cycle and behaviour. A new chapter on collecting and preserving butterflies is included. There is also an updated checklist of all species, a glossary, a bibliography and indexes of common and scientific names.
A Guide to Native Bees of Australia
A Guide to Native Bees of Australia provides a detailed introduction to the estimated 2000 species of Australian bees. Illustrated with stunning photographs, it describes the form and function of bees, their life-cycle stages, nest architecture, sociality and relationships with plants.
It also contains systematic accounts of the five families and 58 genera of Australian bees. Photomicrographs of morphological characters and identification keys allow identification of bees to genus level. Natural history enthusiasts, professional and amateur entomologists and beekeepers will find this an essential guide.
The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia
The book includes identification keys not only for adults but also for their larvae, commonly known as ‘mud eyes’ and often used as bait for freshwater fish. With stunning full-colour images and distribution maps, the book covers all 30 families, 110 genera and 324 species found in Australia.
Dragonflies are valuable indicators of environmental well-being. A detailed knowledge of the dragonfly fauna and its changes is therefore an important basis for decisions about environmental protection and management. Their extraordinary diversity will interest entomologists and amateur naturalists alike.
The Waterbug Book
Full of practical tips about where to find various animals, and what their presence can tell about their environment.
The Waterbug Book provides a comprehensive and accurate identification guide for both professionals and non-professionals. It contains an easy-to-use key to all the macroinvertebrate groups and, for the first time, high quality colour photographs of live specimens. It provides a wealth of basic information on the biology of macroinvertebrates, and describes the SIGNAL method for assessing river health. The Waterbug Book is full of practical tips about where to find various animals, and what their presence can tell about their environment.
Other
A Guide to Mosquitoes of Australia
Mosquitoes are annoying, and can be deadly, but they can also be beautiful. A Guide to Mosquitoes of Australia explores the biodiversity of this fascinating group of insects. It provides a pictorial guide to almost 100 mosquito species and includes notes on their biology, habitats and association with disease. They are found in almost every type of environment, from pristine wetlands to polluted drains and from coastal saltmarshes to snow melt streams.
A Guide to the Cockroaches of Australia
Reveals the diversity and beauty of most of the 550 species of Australian cockroaches, with illustrated keys.
A Guide to the Katydids of Australia
Katydids are among the most commonly seen Australian insects. They range in size from about 5 mm to well over 90 mm and occur in many habitats all over Australia. Katydids are masters of deception, imitating twigs, bark, leaves and stems, as well as other insects. A few are brightly coloured and are distasteful to predators. They continue to be research subjects in many university curricula, where students study their behaviour, acoustical physiology and ecology.
The Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia
Australia has a rich diversity of phasmids – otherwise known as stick and leaf insects. Most of them are endemic, few have been studied and new species continue to be found. Stick insects are, by far, Australia’s longest insects – some of them reach up to 300 mm in body length, or more than half a metre if you include their outstretched legs. Many stick insects are very colourful, and some have quite elaborate, defensive behaviour. Increasingly they are being kept as pets.