Book Reviews

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Systematic EntomologyVolume 27, Issue 1 p. 131-138 Free Access Book Reviews First published: 06 March 2002 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3113.2002.271br.xAboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat SOLITARY WASPS, BEHAVIOUR AND NATURAL HISTORY. By Kevin M. O'Neill. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. 2001. Pp xiii + 406. £25.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8014-3721-0. Few insects inspire more fear than the wasps (although I am sure that some would argue that cockroaches hold that enviable title) and the solitary wasps, though they are usually quite harmless, garner more than their share of this enmity. They tend to be large and, to the uninitiated, bristly and frightening creatures capable of inflicting quite a sting. However, of all the creatures on earth, there can be none more fun to watch than the solitary wasp. Digging their burrows, searching for mates, carrying mud to build their nests, dragging prey several times their own weight back to the nest, and, of course, the gruesome act of stinging. Although there has never been much financial incentive to study the lives of solitary wasps, their appeal is evident in the list of dedicated observers who have spent long hours unravelling the mysteries of these animals: Jean-Henri Fabre, George and Elizabeth Peckham, Phil and Nellie Rau, John Crompton, Niko Tinbergen, Howard Ensign Evans, Robert W. Matthews, and many more. Some of these researchers or writers have had to support their solitary wasp ‘habit’ with more acceptable applied research or low-paying jobs. Fabre, for instance, was an underpaid teacher in France who spent his summers in the hot sun, observing wasps and any other insectan wildlife that happened to cross his path. As much as these researchers have added to our knowledge, there are still dramas to unfold in the field as well as in the laboratory. O'Neill's book is an up-to-date primer on the solitary aculeates (minus the solitary bees, which are more extensively represented in the literature than are the solitary wasps). O'Neill has trodden that fine line between erudite and accessible, making his book fun to read for the knowledgeable wasp biologist as well as the nature enthusiast. The book is well organized and answers just about every question on solitary wasps that current research can answer Admittedly, there have been many books dedicated to the subject of solitary wasps in the past: Iwata's (1976)Evolution of Instinct, Phil Rau's (1928)Field Studies in the Behavior of the Non-Social Wasps, Phil and Nellie Rau's (1918)Wasp Studies Afield, Olberg's (1959)Das Verhalten der Solitären Wespen Mitteleuropas, John Crompton's (1955)The Hunting Wasp, Peckham's (1898)Solitary Wasps and Howard Evan's (1963)Wasp Farm. How could we possibly benefit from yet another book on solitary wasps? For one thing, no books on solitary wasps have been published in at least 20 years and there has been much headway on the subject of solitary wasps since these books have been published. O'Neill's book is significantly different than its predecessors, which were primarily concerned with natural history and were almost all written with the quaint pen of the naturalist. O'Neill's book catalogues new knowledge on the life histories of these incredible beasts in a very orderly fashion. Furthermore, these older books are often out of print and hard to find, stuck on the dusty bookshelves. They are, every one of them, valuable and interesting, but it is time for a new book on the biology of solitary wasps. Although O'Neill's book overlaps in content with many of these older books, Solitary Wasps departs on numerous occasions, adding new material left out of previous books. The book is particularly strong in ethological information, this being O'Neill's training and, as it turns out, the bulk of research on solitary wasps has concentrated on their behaviour. The book is also well illustrated, and Cathy Seibert must be congratulated on her fine work. I recommend this book to biologists in general, and to graduate students interested in entomology in particular. The behaviours of these beasts, what we know and what we don't know, should provide several thousand eager graduate students with courses of study. David Jenkins References Crompton, J. (1955) The Hunting Wasp. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston. Google Scholar Evans, H.E. (1963) Wasp Farm. Anchor Press, Garden City, New York. Google Scholar Iwata, K. (1976) Evolution of Instinct: Comparative Ethology of the Hymenoptera. Amerind Publishing, New Delhi [translation of 1971 Japanese edition]. Google Scholar Olberg, G. (1959) Das Verhalten der Solitären Wespen Mitteleuropas. Deut, Verlag Wiss., Berlin. Web of Science®Google Scholar Peckham, G.W. & Peckham, E.G. (1898) On the instincts and habits of the solitary wasps. Bulletin of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 2, 1– 245 Google Scholar Rau, P. (1928) Field studies in the behavior of the non-social wasps. Transactions of the St Louis Academy of Sciences, 25, 325– 489. PubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Rau, P. & Rau, N. (1918) Wasp Studies Afield. Dover Publications, New York. Google Scholar ANIMAL EVOLUTION: INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF THE LIVING PHYLA. By Claus Nielsen. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 2001. Pp. x + 563. £59.95 (hardback), £29.50 (paperback). ISBN 0-19-850681-3. These are exciting times for biology. Technical developments are not only allowing us to ask (and answer) new questions, they are also forcing re-evaluation of long-held beliefs. The second edition of ‘Animal Evolution’ is an example of this new era. Written by one of the prominent specialists in animal morphological systematics and retaining all the qualities that made the first edition successful, it incorporates and debates results from recent numerical cladistics and molecular studies. Although the discussion is inevitably selective, it clearly marks a turning point, demonstrating that morphology-based phylogeny reconstruction can no longer ignore molecular evidence – it complements nicely the renewed interest of molecular phylogeneticists in morphological studies. The structure of the second edition is similar to the first. Each of the thirty-one phyla identified is examined separately, in the order that they branch in the proposed phylogeny. Detailed analysis is undertaken to prove that they are monophyletic and provide phylogenetically important characters for comparisons and identification of sister groups. This detailed analysis is a major strength of the book, not least because the author shows a deep knowledge of the relevant literature, both classical and contemporary, and great skill in debating the various aspects, further supported by the remarkable quality of the illustrations. Subsequently, this provides added value: I could not help thinking that even if the proposed phylogenetic theory proves to need modification, this volume would still be an excellent, informative and thought-provoking zoology textbook. For Arthropoda, Nielsen adopts the most common morphological scheme, which considers chelicerates and mandibulates monophyletic, in contrast to several molecular studies. Although myriapods and insects are considered branches of the crustacean line, the author avoids adopting Atelocerata (which included myriapods and hexapods), an assemblage not supported by most molecular and developmental studies (for extensive discussion see Deuve, 2000). The proposed phylogenetic tree itself is different from the one presented in the first edition. Most phyla have been retained, with the exception of Acanthocephala, now considered part of Rotifera, and Gnathostomulida, cautiously considered part of Annelida in the first edition, which are now seen as a separate phylum sister to Rotifera. However, the relationships between the phyla have been re-examined. The most drastic change on the tree is probably the relegation of Ctenophora outside Bilateria. In the first edition, and contrary to conventional beliefs, Nielsen proposed that ctenophores were sister to deuterostomes, a point that attracted criticism. He now considers this part of his own Trochaea theory to have very weak support, and the tree has been adjusted accordingly, making it more plausible. Another change is the removal of Rotifera and Chaetognatha from the group he previously described as Aschelminthes, which also included the six phyla he groups as Cycloneuralia. These changes, however, are nowhere near as drastic as the changes to the traditionally held beliefs about animal phylogeny proposed by several molecular studies, particularly the increasingly popular lophotrochozoan/ecdysozoan theory (Aguinaldo et al., 1997; for reviews including new evidence supporting the theory, see Adoutte et al., 2000; Graham, 2000), which Nielsen discusses without endorsing. In brief, the lophotrochozoan/ecdysozoan theory (ELT) advocates that bilateral animal phyla are organized in three major clades: the deuterostomes, and within protostomes, the Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa. This protostome split is particularly impressive as it is recovered by different analyses and because it completely reverses long-held views. Of particular interest to entomologists is the demise of the concept of Articulata, a clade uniting annelids and arthropods on the basis of shared segmentation of the body trunk. Based on molecular evidence, annelids are part of Lophotrophozoa and arthropods part of Ecdysozoa, surprisingly along with the nematodes among others. Nielsen discusses the theory but suggests that the different chemical nature of the cuticle in arthropods and nematodes does not support the ecdysozoan clade. Furthermore, he presents several characters that in his opinion support the notion that phoronides and brachiostomes belong to the deuterostomes sensu lato and not, as molecular data suggest, to a lophotrochozoan clade within the protostomes. It is probably too early to draw final conclusions about which phylogeny, the molecular or the morphological, is the best. Admittedly, however, the results of studies on different molecular datasets that support ELT appear consistent. Nielsen suggests that there are scenarios compatible with both views, although in that case it is clear that further compromises and modifications will have to be made. The very fact that he is competently debating the major points of the different theories makes his work attractive, whether one agrees with the conclusions of the argument or not. Ultimately, this is one of the reasons why this book is such a pleasure to read: the author has created a new synthesis, reformatting his own views based on his expertise on morphology and what he sees as the most acceptable of the molecular/cladistic studies, while debating the parts that he finds unacceptable. In that light, nobody with an interest in animal phylogeny can afford to ignore this volume. It is an overall fascinating book and a great source of ‘food for thought’ for all biologists. Kosmas Theodorides References Adoutte, A., Balavoine, G., Lartillot, N., Lespinet, O., Prud'homme, B. & de Rosa, R. (2000) The new animal phylogeny: reliability and implications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97, 4453– 4456.CrossrefCASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Aguinaldo, A.M., Turbeville, J.M., Linford, L.S., Rivera, M.C., Garey, J.R., Raff, R.A. & Lake, J.A. (1997) Evidence for a clade of nematodes, arthropods and other moulting animals. Nature, 387, 489– 493.CrossrefCASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Deuve, T. (ed) 2001) Origin of the Hexapoda. Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.), 37, 1– 304.Google Scholar Graham, A. (2000) Animal phylogeny: root and branch surgery. Current Biology, 10, R36– R38.DOI: 10.1016/S0960-9822(99)00255-9CrossrefCASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar INSECTS ON PALMS. By F. W. Howard, D. Moore, R. M. Giblin-Davis and R. G. Abad. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, U.K. 2001. Pp. 400 + 16 colour plates. £65.00, (US$120) (hardback). ISBN 0-85199-326-5. The plant family Palmae or Arecaceae is one of the largest botanical families, containing approximately 2800 species. Palms are extremely useful sources of food, construction materials, clothing, fuel, starch, oils and additional products in the tropics. Many species grow very tall, can be extremely attractive, and are therefore planted as ornamentals. Linnaeus termed them the ‘princes of the plant kingdom’. About three-quarters of the known species are found in tropical rain forests (over 500 species occur in Brazil alone), and even where they occur in desert regions they are restricted to oases. The species of greatest economic importance to man are the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) and the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), and both are sources of vegetable oil and fat. Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) is grown for sugar and alcohol, and sago, a type of starch, is produced from the pith of both the sugar palm and the sago palm (Caryota urens). The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has been grown for its fruit for 8000 years. All of these, and many other species of economic importance, are attacked by a diversity of insects. The authors of this book have attempted, for the most part successfully, to review and summarize what is known about the major groups of insects occurring on this important family of plants. Although the volume is credited to four authors, it is largely the work of Forrest W. Howard, an associate professor at the University of Florida, with major contributions from the other three named authors, and additional input from Mike Wilson, James Amrine and Eric Erickson. The book starts with an introduction to the Insecta and Palmae, the latter being especially useful, and very readable. The following four chapters deal with various guilds of palm-feeding insects: defoliators (Howard, Abad and Moore), sap-feeders (Howard, Wilson and Moore), insects on flowers and fruit (Moore) and borers (Giblin-Davis). The defoliator category contains mostly Lepidoptera, in particular psychids (bagworms), oecophorids (e.g. Opisina arenosella, the coconut leaf-eating caterpillar of India and Sri Lanka), coleophorids (case-bearers), zygaenids, pyralids, hesperiids (skippers), nymphalids and saturniids. Among the zygaenids, the case of Levuana iridescens, the Fiji coconut moth, is given special attention. This is one of the classic stories of successful biological control, involving the transportation in 1925 of the tachinid fly Bessa remota from Malaysia to Fiji by train and boat, necessitating the maintenance of cultures of both the fly and its host throughout the long voyage. The control campaign was eventually completed successfully, despite a number of serious setbacks (Tothill et al., 1930). The accounts of lepidopterous and other defoliators in this chapter are extremely thorough, and the section is slightly marred only by aspects of the book that occur throughout, which are discussed below. The sap-feeders on palms consist almost entirely of Hemiptera, as well as a thrips and a few mite species. It is unfortunate that the use of the obsolete taxon Homoptera is perpetuated here, long after having been proven paraphyletic (Dolling, 1991; von Dohlen & Moran, 1995). Otherwise, this is a good account of Hemiptera that either attack palms directly or infect them with phytoplasmas such as the notorious lethal yellowing disease. The next chapter, by Dave Moore, concerning insects of palm flowers and fruit, begins with a useful review of entomophilic pollination in palms, concluding that it predominates over anemophily in this family. Herbivores of palm flowers are then covered, concentrating on Tirathaba species (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), the spike moths. Fruit-feeders among Acari, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera are then treated, and finally seed ‘predators’ are reviewed. The last chapter in this section, dealing with borers of palms (Giblin-Davis) provides a thorough review of the species (mostly Coleoptera and Lepidoptera) whose larvae bore into various parts of palm plants, in particular the diversity of weevils. The following, and final, three chapters are brief, dealing with population regulation of palm pests (Moore), principles of insect pest control on palms and field techniques for studying palm insects (Howard). The former chapter briefly reviews natural enemies of palm pests, the second covers the main categories of pest control: natural, physical, cultural, host-plant resistance, biological, chemical and IPM. The final chapter gives various suggestions for field practice when working with palm insects. Overall, there is no doubt that this book is a very useful synthesis of what is known about insect pests of palms. The introduction and the subsequent chapters dealing with the various pest guilds are well written and very accessible. Throughout the book there are separate boxes within the chapters, dealing with particular aspects of palm entomology. Examples include the Fiji coconut moth episode, events surrounding the discovery of the whitefly Aleurodicus cocois halfway through the nineteenth century, and techniques of climbing palm trees. These serve to lighten the text somewhat, and are very readable. Preparing such a work is an immense task, and some of the information presented, particularly much of that dealing with natural enemies, has simply been uncritically repeated from previous publications. So not only are the wrong names of taxa cited (e.g. Physcus instead of its senior synonym Coccobius, p. 227; Euderomphale vittata instead of Aleuroctonus vittatus, p.173), but also the correct names of taxa are wrongly cited as parasitoids of hosts that they never attack (e.g. Coccophagus and Tetrastichus as parasitoids of Aleyrodidae, p. 171). It should surely be possible for the publisher to check the validity of the taxonomic names therein? A second criticism also concerns resources that ought to be available both to the authors and to the publishers. The quality of some the illustrations falls well below the standards that one should expect today. Many of the line drawings, mostly by the senior author, are not up to the required standard (e.g. Fig. 6.2 – entirely unacceptable). The sixteen pages of colour plates have not only been very poorly composed but the quality of many of the photographs is again unacceptable. With the widespread availability of graphics software to improve and enhance photographic quality, there is no excuse for this. Many of the black and white SEM images throughout the book are obviously excellent in the original, but have been reproduced here to look very flat, i.e. without sufficient contrast. In summary, this book is a very useful synthesis of palm entomology, and essential for tropical entomologists and palm growers. Some aspects of the content and presentation should have been subject to greater quality control. Andrew Polaszek References von Dohlen, C.D. & Moran, N.A. (1995) Molecular phylogeny of the Homoptera: a paraphyletic taxon. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 41, 211– 223.CrossrefPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Dolling, W.D. (1991) The Hemiptera. Oxford University Press/The Natural History Museum, London. Google Scholar Tothill, J.D., Taylor, T.H.C. & Paine, R.W. (1930) The Coconut Moth in Fiji. Imperial Bureau of Entomology, London. Google Scholar THE GEOMETRID MOTHS OF EUROPE: VOLUME 1: INTRODUCTION, ARCHIEARINAE, ORTHOSTIXINAE, DESMOBATHRINAE, ALSOPHILINAE, GEOMETRINAE. By Axel Hausmann. Apollo Books, Stenstrup. 2001. Pp. 282, 8 colour plates. 490 Danish Kroner (hardcover). ISBN 87-88757-35-8. Europe is the cradle of taxonomy and, unsurprisingly, boasts the best documented fauna and flora of any large area. However, a long history of observation on the organisms of the region has led to a fragmented literature, written by systematists of many nations in a variety of languages. Furthermore, the longer that taxonomists study their taxa, the greater is the period for errors to accumulate: misidentifications, for example, can lead to great confusion once they become established. Axel Hausmann, from the Zoologische Staatsammlung, München, has done lepidopterists a considerable favour by embarking upon a series entitled The Geometrid Moths of Europe, in which he plans, as editor, to facilitate, or write himself, a treatment of all the species of this family occurring in this large and diverse region. This is an ambitious undertaking, yet such an opus is much needed both to collate the complex and scattered literature, and to assess critically the classification of species documented previously in largely national or subregional studies, or comprehensive works that need to be updated (such as those by L. B. Prout and J. Culot written in the early to mid-twentieth century). A pan-European approach in terms of taxonomic and geographical coverage in a synthetic work such as this increases its value immeasurably. The success of the Hausmann venture will be judged largely by the quality and timely delivery of the entire series rather than just the first volume, but a study of the first instalment suggests that careful thought has gone into the aims and structure of the remaining five proposed, so the prognosis is encouraging. The author, as series editor, points out that strict homogeneity in style and content is not expected, but there is a clear implication that readers will enjoy comparable coverage across the whole endeavour. The first volume launches the series admirably. Its content is likely to differ from the others in that the first eighty pages are devoted to introductory matter covering the purpose of the series and the habits, structure and taxonomic history of Geometridae. Four aims for the series are stated. The first is to facilitate identification to the species and subspecies of European Geometridae. Users will welcome this functional and highly necessary approach to dealing with a large group of insects. The second and third aims, on which effective identifications are predicated, are to summarize current information on European Geometridae, and to assess critically the taxonomic status and nomenclature of the species. Finally, Hausmann expresses the hope that the project will stimulate a collaborative network of geometrid moth taxonomists so that constant updating will be achieved as our knowledge of these insects progresses. Volume 1 of The Geometrid Moths of Europe covers the five smallest subfamilies: Archiearinae, Orthostixinae, Desmobathrinae, Alsophilinae and Geometrinae. Hausmann adopts the classification proposed by Jeremy Holloway in treating Orthostixinae, Desmobathrinae and Alsophilinae, typically subsumed into the polyphyletic Oenochrominae, as subfamilies. Brief summaries, diagnoses and key references are provided for each of these main groups and for each genus. The species treatments include an extensive synonymic list with references. Important misidentifications are also listed, which is a helpful addition. Synonyms, homonyms and misidentifications are frequently encountered in European Lepidoptera, which is unsurprising given the long taxonomic study of these popular insects. A descriptive diagnosis follows, including details of male and female genitalia. The illustrations that accompany these species-group treatments are admirably extensive. For each species, colour photographs of cabinet-set males and females from across its range, and line drawings of the genitalia are provided at the back of the book. Several black and white text figures of species that are potentially confused have been added with arrows indicating diagnostic features, and a few photographs of immature stages have also been included. The section on distribution is enhanced by a map combining locality dots representing actual records on a background shaded to represent the likely distribution, thus clearly distinguishing the actual and anticipated range. These maps are a great attribute of the book. The introductory matter (‘Part I: Introduction to the series’), included, not unreasonably, for the first part of a multi-volume series, is somewhat uneven in its value and in the relevance to the aims of the project, although readers will doubtless differ in their views as to what they find of value. The list of annotated key works, with which the book starts, and the three pages of related text that follows, give a most useful summary of how our knowledge of the 940 or so species of Geometridae in Europe has been built and shaped. Taxonomy, more than most scientific subjects, evolves gradually, and understanding the foundations of any modern classification is a prerequisite to an effective modern synthesis. Other useful sections of Part I are those that cite key collections and illustrate the taxonomic characters encountered in Part II where the substance of the volume is provided. I am less enthusiastic about those pages on ‘The importance of Geometridae to man’ and those covering general biology. I think it would have been better to focus the introductory matter on the primary aim of the series – that of identification. How far does the first volume succeed in fulfilling at least its first three aims, and are there improvements that might be made in subsequent volumes? Certainly the essential purpose of the work, that of facilitating identification, has been met extremely effectively for the groups covered, and both the author and the publisher have produced a work that is an attractive and useful guide and synthesis. The colour plates are helpful, but could have been improved by reducing the amount of shadow. Some of the images look somewhat washed out, a problem always difficult to solve with light coloured moths on a pale background. Several specimens of the same species are usually illustrated in colour. However, it is unclear if the selection published was intended to cover variation across the range of any given species. In a number of species, significant variation is not apparent, in which case one wonders if the relevant specimens might have been omitted to leave more space to include larger illustrations of the smaller species. The fact that the figure numbers for species illustrated in the colour plates are not cited in the text suggests that the selection of specimens has not entirely been co-ordinated with the preparation of the text. In summary, this is a sound and very valuable start to a most worthwhile series, benefiting from having an enthusiastic and knowledgeable author/editor and an involved and supportive publisher. It is to be hoped that the series will be driven forward and that all six volumes will appear by 2006, the year indicated on the publisher's web site http://www.apollobooks.com/geometrid_moths.htm. If editor and publisher succeed in their task, the product will be a landmark for a readership interested in the identification and diversity of geometrid moths. Malcolm J. Scoble THE FLAT-FOOTED FLIES (DIPTERA: OPETIIDAE AND PLATYPEZIDAE) OF EUROPE. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica, Volume 36. By Peter J. Chandler. Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, the Netherlands. 2001. Pp. 276. EUR 87.00; US$ 107.00 (hardback). ISBN 90-04-12023-8. This is the latest in this series of taxonomic monographs dealing with European insects. Most works in the series have dealt only with the fauna of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Although this book deals mainly with the fauna of that area, it also covers the other European species of this small group of flies. This now includes a total of forty-four species, two of which are newly described: a species of Lindneromyia from Hungary and a species of Microsania from Belgium and England. There is only one European species of Opetiidae, this being included here as it is regarded as a sister group of Platypezidae. Another group formerly included in Platypezidae, Atelestidae, is not included as these flies are now considered to be more closely related to Empididae. Peter Chandler has over 30 years of experience in working on this group, and he is by far the best qualified person to write this book. During his career, he has studied platypezid collections from many European taxonomic institutions, including type material. These studies form the basis for this book. As well as the standard ingredients for this series, such as identification keys, morphological descriptions and distribution data, there is also a detailed discussion on phylogeny of the group and its relationship with other families of Aschiza. As Chandler is also a highly experienced field dipterist, he provides many first-hand observations on behaviour, with additional observations from other dipterists. The immature stages are described and illustrated for species where they are known (sixteen species). The larvae are fungus feeders and a list of fungus genera and their associated platypezid genera are included. Many adult platypezids are attractively patterned with black, silver and orange markings. Not surprisingly, these patterns vary from species to species and can therefore provide excellent characters for identification. Where this is the case, conventional black and