INSECTS and SPIDERS

Spectacularly diverse, often colorful
classes of animals, some much beloved,
that play such significant, but often
overlooked roles in our lives. Presented in
magnificent closeups with detailed texts.

SOCIAL INSECTS: WASPS, ANTS and BEES
A close look at these important social insects and their life styles. Beekeeping is presented in detail. 4 programs. 80 slides and detailed guides.
EP #479X SLIDES
$129.95

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SAVE OVER $40.00 ON 4 SLIDE SET BUNDLE ORDER EP #479X.......$129.95
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WASPS AND THEIR RELATIVES Order #479..........$42.50

Behavior and classification of Hymenoptera, exclusive of the ants and bees.
Coverage includes stem and common sawflies, sawfly larva, braconid (adult and
parasitic larvae), ichneumon, chalcid leucospidid, gall wasp, oak apples, cuckoo wasp,
tarantula hawk, paper wasp (adults and nest with larvae), yellowjacket, hornets' nest,
potter wasp (adult and nest). Ammophila wasp with tool, mud-dauber (adult and larvae in
nest), and velvet ant. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 21832 Cuckoo wasps (family Chrysididae) are noted for their
brilliant metallic green and blue coloration. These small creatures are distinguished from most
other Hymenoptera by the fact that their abdomen consists of only three or four visible segments.
The abdomen is also quite concave ventrally, a characteristic which allows the cuckoo wasp to
roll up into a ball when alarmed, with the ventral surface of the abdomen pressed against the
ventral surface of the thorax--a very “cuckoo” behavior for a wasp!

Actually the term cuckoo alludes to the behavior of a European bird, the cuckoo
(Cuculus canorus), which builds no nest of its own, but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other
birds, a form of parasitism. The juvenile cuckoos are subsequently raised by the foster parents.
Similar to the cuckoo bird, female cuckoo wasps lay their eggs in the nests of various bees and
wasps and the larvae are parasites of the host’s larvae.

The cuckoo wasps, as well as the other Hymenoptera previously discussed, are unable
to inflict any sort of sting. The females of the remaining families, however, are quite capable of
stinging.

REVIEWS: “Good for biology students.” Booklist.
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INTRODUCTION TO ANTS AND BEES Order #480..........$42.50

Covers the habits and importance of these industrious creatures. Special
emphasis on native bees. Presents carpenter ants (queen, workers and pupae),
harvester ants (adult and nests), thief ant, Argentine ant (workers and larvae), velvety
tree ants (examination of habits), honey bee (workers and hive), bumble bee, halictid
bees, cuckoo bee, digger bee, large and small carpenter bees (adults and nests) and
leafcutting bee. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 21984 Ants are well-known for their ability to lift objects weighing
several times their own weight. Indeed, some ants have been observed lifting objects weighing as
much as 400 times what they do. This ant is leisurely lifting a blade of grass, only a third of
which is visible in this picture. Theoretically, we could compare this feat to a man lifting a 4" x
12" timber some 10 to 15 times his own length. However, such an analogy would be grossly
unfair. If the ant were as large as a human, it is unlikely that the basic laws of physics would
allow it to lift much more than a human. It is the ant's small size that renders its strength so
impressive. As an animal increases in size, its strength simply does not increase in the same
proportion. Thus ants as well as other insects appear to be stronger than they really are.

REVIEWS: “...lucid and presents a wide-ranging representation of characteristic
species.” Booklist.
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HONEY BEE BEHAVIOR AND BIOLOGY Order #450..........$42.50

An extensive text and striking close-up photographs provide a very detailed
account of honey bee behavior and biology. The life cycle, details of reproduction,
behavior in the hive, the search for food, "dance language,” swarming, chemical
communication through pheromones and stinging behavior are all presented in very
comprehensive detail. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 20638 Food transfer takes place when one bee either “begs” for
food or “offers” it to another. The queen, workers and drones all beg for food, but only workers offer
it. This transfer is initiated by one bee approaching another (face to face) and rapidly tapping the
other bee’s antennae with its own. The front legs are often involved in this begging or offering
behavior, too, with short, quick brushing strokes to the sides of the other bee’s head. This contact
between the two bees is a form of communication and apparently also aids them in orienting to
each other.

A bee which is begging for food will extend its proboscis to the other. If the other bee is
receptive and has food to offer, she will open her mandibles and regurgitate a small droplet of
liquid onto her proboscis, which is curved back under her chin. The begging bee will then feed
until satisfied, or until the offering bee terminates the feeding.

In the case of a bee offering food to another, the opposite routine is followed once the
initial antennal contact is established. The bee offering food is usually a forager which has
returned to the hive with a load of nectar in her honey stomach (a sac at the anterior end of her
abdomen equivalent to the crop of other insects, but used by honey bees to carry nectar or
honey). She will approach the other bee, establish antennal contact, and then regurgitate a
droplet of liquid onto her proboscis and offer it to the other bee. If that bee does not already have
a full honey stomach and is receptive to the offering bee, she will extend her proboscis and take
up some of the liquid. The forager usually will have to offer her load to several receptive bees
before being able to completely dispose of it.

REVIEWS: “The quality of the slides and the accuracy and excellence of the
descriptive materials is vastly superior to much of the material available. “Gleanings in Bee
Culture. “ ...well organized informative highly recommended.” Previews.
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BEEKEEPING AND SOME OF ITS PROBLEMS Order #451..........$42.50

Companion to H0NEY BEE BEHAVIOR, of interest to the biologist and the
amateur beekeeper. Extensive text and fine close-up photos detail the manipulation and
management of honeybee colonies, honey harvesting and potential problems which
could arise from colony mismanagement. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: Early man led a nomadic life, obtaining food from the land as he
traveled, and the honey and brood (the immature stages in the development of the honey bee) he
gathered from bee nests during his wanderings were an important part of his diet. When he
returned to familiar territories, curiosity may have prompted him to look in trees or caves where
he had previously found bee nests, and he discovered that some of the sites had been reoc-
cupied by bees and he could rob them again. This reoccupation occurred, unknown to him at
the time, because swarms (groups of bees made up of a queen and approximately half of the
adult bees from the old nest which leave and establish a new nest in another location) were often
attracted by the odors of the sites (such as the odors from the remnants of the beeswax combs).
By remembering where he had obtained honey before, man could periodically revisit these sites,
finally learning about swarms and their affinity for certain nest sites.

REVIEWS “....an outstanding publication. We hope to see wide distribution.”
Gleanings in Bee Culture.
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~0072-060~ Honeybees. photo by K. Lorenzen.

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