"Two of North America's most prolific and respected specialists on moths--particularly those of the West--have combined over a century of experience and scholarship to introduce western moths of all families authoritatively to both the amateur and the experienced professional entomologist. This biologically oriented and beautifully illustrated treatment of a quarter of all known western moth species fills a long-needed void, and does it superbly."--Charles V. Covell Jr., author of A Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America "This work sets a new high water mark for North American lepidopterology. Considering the authors' century of combined studies of western Lepidoptera, it is clear from the outset that no other team could have delivered a work so rich in taxonomic and life history information, much of it being original and appearing in the literature for the first time. I will read my copy more like a novel than a reference work, casting about the accounts and repeatedly flipping through the 2300 color images to better familiarize myself with our continent's rich and handsome diversity of moths. Moths of Western North America will serve as both gateway and catalyst for the study of moths for decades, and especially for microlepidopterans--for whom no like work exists in the New World."--David L. Wagner, author of Caterpillars of Eastern North America "Recent years have seen a surge of interest in moths, with growing appreciation of their amazing diversity and their great ecological importance. Information on western moths has been scattered and scarce, however, so this new volume is a tremendous step forward. Jerry Powell and Paul Opler bring a vast amount of knowledge and experience to the subject, and their Moths of Western North America is a landmark publication, instantly indispensable to anyone with a serious interest in Lepidoptera."--Kenn Kaufman, coauthor of Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America
Beautifully illustrated and approachable, this is the only California-specific, statewide book devoted to all groups of insects. Completely revised for the first time in over 40 years, Field Guide to California Insects now includes over 600 insect species, each beautifully illustrated with color photographs. Engaging accounts focus on distinguishing features, remarkable aspects of biology, and geographical distribution in the state. An accessible and compact introduction to identifying, understanding, and appreciating these often unfamiliar and fascinating creatures, this guide covers insects that readers are likely to encounter in homes and natural areas, cities and suburbs, rural lands and wilderness. It also addresses exotic and invasive species and their impact on native plants and animals. Field Guide to California Insects remains the definitive portable reference and a captivating read for beginners as well as avid naturalists.
What is that creature that just landed on my arm? What will that funny-looking caterpillar turn into? What do lady-bugs eat? This book will help you to answer such questions (and many more) about your local insects. - From inside cover.
The authors examine relationships within the Chrysoxena group of the tortricid tribe Euliini. They define 54 species among six genera: Chrysoxena Meyrick; Vulpoxena Brown, new genus; Thoridia Brown, new genus; Dorithia Powell; Cuproxena Powell and Brown, new genus; and Bidorpitia Brown, new genus. Using cladistic methods, the authors develop a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genera and species groups of Dorithia and Cuproxena. A systematic treatment of the included species provides appropriate generic assignment for several previously misplaced species and describes many taxa as new.
Heliodinids are tiny, brightly colored dayflying moths. Phylogenetic relationships among genera of Heliodinidae are proposed using parsimony and character compatibility. We describe and illustrate 45 North and Central species (25 newly named) assigned to five genera (two new, two exhumed from synonymy). Larval host plants are recorded for 33 species (14 newly discovered), about 45% of the known fauna; 90% of these are specialists on Caryophyllales, primarliy Nyctaginaceae.
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The authors revise the genus Anopina of the leafroller family, Tortricidae (Lepidoptera). This genus ranges from southern Canada to Costa Rica, with its greatest species richness in the higher elevations of Mexico. The larvae are suspected to be leaf-litter feeders. Sixty-two species are treated, of which forty-nine are described as new to science. The authors provide a hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships of the species, propose a classification, supply a key to species groups based primarily on features of the genitalia, and include illustrations of adults, larvae, and male and female genitalia.
This work provides a hypothesis of evolutionary relationships within the Neotropical genus Sparganothina and between this genus and other lineages of Sparganothini (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Nineteen species are considered to belong to Sparganothina. Ten additional species are placed in "Sparganothina" and five in "Coelostathma" pending a better phylogenetic understanding of Coelostathma and related genera. Thirty species are described as new.