Why Every Fly Counts: A Documentation about the Value and Endangerment of Insects

by Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus

Overview

This book discusses the beneficial and harmful effects of insects and explains their development and significance for biodiversity.Threatening pests or threatened beneficials? Biting midges are wonderful insects. The animals are so tiny and uniquely shaped that they are particularly good at pollinating the small and tight flowers of the cocoa tree. Without them, there would be much less chocolate. We associate other insects more with the damage that they cause. Mosquitoes and wasps bite us. Moth larvae damage textiles and contaminate foods. Ants undermine our paths and flies are just a pain.But what exactly is our relationship with insects? Are they more beneficial or harmful? What role do they play in the world? What are the effects of climate change: Will the number of insects continue to increase?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319587653
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
Publication date:	06/14/2017
Series:	Fascinating Life Sciences
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	111
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Dr. Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus pursued his studies in business administration at the University of St. Gallen, which he completed in 1993 by receiving his Dr. oec. He has headed Reckhaus GmbH&Co KG in Bielefeld since 1995 in the second generation as the executive manager. With the quality seal „Insect Respect“ launched in 2012, Reckhaus strives for sustainable transformation in his sector. He was awarded the German Visionary Prize for this in 2014. This globally unique compensation model was triggered by a dialog with the Swiss conceptual artists Frank and Patrik Riklin. They initiated the countermovement „saving instead of killing“ and in 2012, implemented the „Saving the flies“ action together with Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus. The entrepreneur regularly gives lectures and publishes about issues regarding SME leadership and sustainability. 

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1. Insects as Beneficials

1.1 Insects Pollinate Plants

1.1.1 Pollination

1.1.2 Plants and their Pollinators

1.1.3 Flies, the Unknown Pollinators

1.1.4 The Value of Insect Pollination

1.2 Insects Accelerate Plant Growth

1.3 Insects Promote Biodiversity

1.4 Insects Connect the Food Chain

1.5 Insects as the Most Important Element of Nutrition

1.5.1 Insects as Food

1.5.2 Insects as Feed

1.6 Insects Help Considerably with Hygiene

1.7 Insects as Inexpensive Biocide Alternatives

1.8 Insects Support the Economy and Society Science, Textile Production, Medicine, Chemistry, Criminology

2. Insects as Pests

2.1 Insects as a Danger to Humans

2.1.1 Virus-Transmitting Insects

2.1.2 Causes and Trends of Virus Transmission

2.1.3 Diseases that Are Caused by Mosquitoes: Chikungunya Fever, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Leishmaniasis, Malaria, St. Louis Encephalitis, West-Nile Fever

2.1.4 Diseases that Are Caused by Ticks: Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE), Crimean-Congo-Hemorrhagic Fever, Lyme Borreliosis, Q-Fever, Rickettsia

2.1.5 Other Dangers Caused by Insects: Tsetse Fly, Sarcoptes, „Killer Bees“, Wasps and Bees, Dust Mines, Fleas, Lice, Oak Processionary Moth

2.2 Insects as a Danger to Animals

2.2.1 Nagana

2.2.2 Bluetongue Disease

2.2.3 Schmallenberg Virus

2.2.4 Louping Ill

2.3 Insects as a Danger to Plants

2.3.1 Agricultural Damage in Developing and Threshold Nations:  Danger to the Manioc Plant due to Insects, Spreading of Fruit

Flies, Locust Infestations, Storage Pests

2.3.2 Agricultural Damage in Europe: European Corn Borer, Introduced Pests, “Post-Harvest“ Damage

2.3.3 Forest Damage

3. Insects Today and in the Future

3.1 Anthropogenic Effets on Habitats

3.1.1 Climate Change

3.1.2 Urbanization and Traffic

3.1.3 Agriculture

3.1.4 Sulfur and Nitrogen Emissions

3.1.5 Forestry

3.2 Population Development

3.3 Outlook

4. Conclusion: Hated, Threatened and Worth Protecting

 List of Insects

 Glossary

 Notes

Why Every Exchange Counts (Thanks)

Editorial Reviews

Reckhaus, educated as an economist with biocide manufacturing as a vocation, offers readers a thoughtful consideration of what value they might assign to a fly. … The text is helpfully illustrated with color photographs; references are provided for each chapter, and a glossary can be found at the back. This is an excellent overview of insects by a citizen scientist. … Recommended for undergraduate collections.” (M. K. Harris, Choice, Vol. 56 (1), September, 2018)

From the Publisher