Incluye bibliografía: páginas 191-213 e índice: páginas 214-218

Preface.. Acknowledgements.. 1 Introducing Hymenoptera and their Conservation.. Perspective.. Classification and diversity.. Importance for conservation.. Social life and conservation.. 2 Alien Hymenoptera in Classical Biological Control.. Introducing a dilemma.. Conservation concerns.. 3 The Junction of Biological Control and Conservation: Conservation Biological Control and Cultural Control.. 4 Introduced Bees: Threats or Benefits?.. 5 Social Wasps and Ants as Aliens.. Social wasps.. Ants.. Current perspective.. 6 Pollinator Declines.. Introducing the concerns.. Threats to pollinators.. Pathogens and parasites.. Pesticides.. Pollution.. 7 Levels of Conservation Concern and the Shortcomings of Current Practice.. Foci for conservation.. Species focus.. Biotope and habitat focus.. 8 Habitat Parameters and Manipulation.. Defining and assessing habitats in the landscape.. Habitat manipulations for conservation.. Natural and agricultural environments.. Urban environments.. Practical conservation.. 9 Species Case Histories.. Franklin's bumblebee (Bombus franklini.. The great yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus.. Wallace's bee (Chalicodoma pluto.. Neopasiphae simplicior in Western Australia.. The antennal-waving wasp (Tachysphex pechumani.. The dinosaur ant (Nothomyrmecia macrops.. The red-barbed ant (Formica rufi barbis in Britain.. 10 Assessing Conservation Progress and Priorities for the Future.. Introduction: The basic need.. Monitoring.. The milieux of concern.. References.. Index

"Hymenoptera, the bees, wasps and ant, are one of the largest insect orders, and have massive ecological importance as pollinators and as predators or parasitoids of other insects. These roles have brought them forcefully to human notice , as governors of some key ecological services that strongly influence human food supply. Recent declines of pollinators and introductions of alien pests or biological control agents are only part of the current concerns for conservation of Hymenoptera, and of the interactions in which they participate in almost all terrestrial ecosystems. Both pests and beneficial species abound within the order, sometimes closely related within the same families. Many taxa are both difficult to identify, and very poorly known. This global overview, the first such account for the whole of the Hymenoptera, discusses a broad range of themes to introduce the insects and their conservation roles and needs, and how their wellbeing may be approached. The book is intended as a source of information for research workers, students, conservation managers and naturalists as an introduction to the importance of this dominant insect order." Inglés