Ladybird Beetles of the Australo-Pacific Region

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Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Coccinellini

By: Adam Slipinski, Jiahui Li, Hong Pang

eBook - March 2020 - eRetailers

A comprehensive account of the Ladybird beetles from Australia, New Guinea and the Pacific.

True ladybirds, classified in the tribe Coccinellini, are easily recognisable by their relatively large and shiny bodies and contrasting colour patterns. They are one of the most widely studied groups of beetles, being of economic importance and used as model organisms in biological and ecological research. + Full description

Ladybird Beetles of the Australo-Pacific Region covers 22 genera and 95 valid species, including 12 new species, of ladybird beetles from Australia, New Guinea and the Pacific area. For each species, descriptions, illustrations and keys will assist with the correct identification of ladybirds from this large but practically unknown fauna.

This book is a valuable contribution to the taxonomy of the ladybirds and to the knowledge of the biodiversity of this unique biogeographic region. It will be of use to entomologists, biologists, ecologists, quarantine officers, natural history museum curators, and students.

- Short description

News

This title is no longer available in print format, but can still be purchased as an eBook.

Sales in Australia and New Zealand only. Elsewhere, this title is available through Bloomsbury (external link).

Produced with the assistance of the Australian Biological Resources Study (external link).

Reviews

"A fabulous book on these important beetles."
Vivian Sandoval, Entomological Society of Queensland News

"Highly recommended for anyone working with ladybirds belonging to the Coccinellini, and anyone who just really likes these most likeable of insects."
Dinah Hales, General and Applied Entomology Vol 48, 2020

"The quality of descriptions and documentation (illustrations and maps) provides a new standard for future taxonomic publications."
Karol Szawaryn, Austral Entomology, May 2021

Features

Colour plates with illustration of dorsal pattern and variable colour forms of all species.
Well-illustrated identification key which allows the reader to identify all species of the region.
Separate key to the Australian genera and species.
Detailed descriptions and colour photographs of all diagnostic features of each species, particularly male and female reproductive tracks that are critical for recognition of closely related species.
Complete bibliography.

Abstract
Preface and acknowledgments

I. Material and methods
II. Introduction
III. The Coccinellini
1. Morphology
2. Biology
3. Economic importance
IV. Classification of Australo-Pacific Coccinellini
V. Keys to identification of Australo-Pacific genera of Coccinellini
VI. Keys to identification of Australian species of Coccinellini
VII. Review of the Australo-Pacific Coccinellini

Bibliography
Colour plates
Index of scientific names

Authors

Adam Slipinski completed his PhD and DSc in Poland, where he worked for 20 years at the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw; he also held a joint appointment as Professor of Biology at the University of Zielona Gora. He is currently working as a Senior Principal Research Scientist and curator at the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO. He is the author of nearly 200 research publications and multiple book chapters, and author of four books on the phylogeny and classification of various beetles.

Jiahui Li earned his PhD in Zoology from Sun Yat-sen University in 2010. He worked on the systematics of true ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae: Coccinellini) at the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, as a visiting student from 2008 to 2010. He has been a Lecturer at the Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry of Hainan University, China, since 2011, where he has continued his research on ladybird beetles in collaboration with Adam Slipinski.

Hong Pang holds a PhD in Entomology from the South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou. In the last 20 years, she has worked at the State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, and held positions of Professor of Entomology in the School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, and Director at the Museum of Biology. She is the author of about 200 research publications on the taxonomy and systematics of insects and population genomics of ladybird beetles and two books on Chinese Coccinellidae.