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Nvenom8

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I am doing a huge college project and I am looking for some good books and articles on mantids and sticks. Thanks very much for your time. I already have the praying mantids: keeping aliens.

 
It might be helpful to know what type of info you are looking for. I have several articles from journels that I can scan and send to you if they are on topic.

I bought my copy of The Praying Mantids used and still stunned that I got it for only $35!! You just need to check for the used copies on Amazon each week. You might get lucky and find someone who is offering it cheap.

 
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Hypoponera said:
It might be helpful to know what type of info you are looking for. I have several articles from journels that I can scan and send to you if they are on topic.
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Yes, I wondered what "huge project" you might be involved in that did not require setting up a reading list until you were six weeks or more into the semester/quarter, and how it could include both mantises and phasmids. I am sure that your explanation will make everything clear. Having access to a university library gives you a huge advantage over most of us. Have you done a library computer search yet? I am sure that you have and would be interested in hearing what you have come up with on mantids, since we are only able to recommend Prete. Also bear in mind that if you have passable German or French, you might find something there, particularly in German.

Please let us know of your progress!

 
I also have the Praying Mantids Prete one. I guess it is not really a huge project. It was given to us on the first day and now I am first getting around to it. Really all I need is a bunch of article and book sources, I asked if I could do it on mantids and sticks, because I am interested in these subjects the most. I could do this very easily, like everyone else and just find any sources, and there are a lot, but I want to get good sources and actually read them. I would like to know more about the nervous system and factors that control color. I have not gone through the above mentioned book, and have not gotten the keeping aliens one yet. Any sort of experiements done with mantids whould be great as well. Thanks for all your help.

 
Sorry to say, most of my articles are on taxonomy. For the most part, mantis organs and systems are rather generic. They are very much like grasshoppers when seen on the inside. As such, I recommend you read something along the lines of:

"The Insects, structure and function" By R.F. Chapman

"An Introduction to the Study of Insects" by Borror, Triplehorn and Johnson.

The first text will provide every detail regarding the internal and external anatomy in mind-numbing detail. Very expensive!!

The second text covers anatomy in detail, just not as much. But more then enough to have you nodding off by the end. Also rather expensive.

Both texts are often found in University libraries. If yours doesn't have a copy, try to find a used copy on Amazom or ebay. Good luck though!

 
Hypoponera said:
"The Insects, structure and function" By R.F. Chapman"An Introduction to the Study of Insects" by Borror, Triplehorn and Johnson.

The first text will provide every detail regarding the internal and external anatomy in mind-numbing detail. Very expensive!!

The second text covers anatomy in detail, just not as much. But more then enough to have you nodding off by the end. Also rather expensive.
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Yeah, these are both standard texts, though the second, now a revision of Borror and DeLong's's text is called Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects by Norman F. Johnson and Charles A. Triplehorn and is principally on North American insect taxonomy. A now disregarded book that you should find in your stacks is The Principles of Insect Physiology by V.B. Wigglesworth. The first edition is nearly as old as I (i.e. Very Old) but it was still current when I was doing my B.S. in the sixties, and I doubt if insect physiology has changed much in the meantime.

Good luck!

 
I did not know they had done a title change. Guess they lost both "Boring" and "Too Long"! While it does mainly deal with taxonomy, it does have the first few chapters that deal with generic anatomy, physiology, and behaviour. And it is easier on the brain the the first book! In fact, I took Fundamentals of Ento taugh by R.F. Chapman. Though his book was "required", he recommended that we NOT buy the book and he provided a much more managable, hand done, text. I ended up having to buy the book the next semester for Morphology.

 
Most stuff was done in articles and books are usually merely a review. You should find articles, in case you have access to an University Library, by searching databases. For Zoology, try "Biosis" and "Zoological record". Both should be available at your library. I would focus on one group, though, mantids and phasmids are not closely related.

Taxonomical papers, if freely available (most aren't), are generally older, although there are still many published. Physiological and some ecological stuff was done much later and should be better available.

 
Christian said:
Most stuff was done in articles and books are usually merely a review. You should find articles, in case you have access to an University Library, by searching databases. For Zoology, try "Biosis" and "Zoological record". Both should be available at your library. I would focus on one group, though, mantids and phasmids are not closely related.Taxonomical papers, if freely available (most aren't), are generally older, although there are still many published. Physiological and some ecological stuff was done much later and should be better available.
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Thank you for starting this post because I am also doing a project for class about mantids. It's going to be in Second Life, a 3D virtual world environment where my school has a presence. I'm working on a entomological display that when selected would supply the user with information about mantids, and keeping them as pets. I am a library science student and this chart would be part of an insect themed display in one of the virtual libraries. I am not a formal student of insect science, as I mentioned I am studying to be a librarian, so I'm more interested in finding relevant, informative sites online. Virtual libraries are run by volunteers, and do not generally have the funds to purchase their own books to lend. They also cannot offer articles from scholarly journals because they don't own subscriptions. I can refer people to online books, but they would need to be in the public domain, or have a creative common license. Anyhoo, below is a picture of what I think my display may look like:

My Chart

My Second Life avatar name is Andredesz Halfpint should anyone wish to add me as a friend online. Second Life is free to join, so if anyone is interested in becoming part of the community, I can meet you online and help you get acclimated. It's fascinating really, it requires rather an advanced computer system, its graphics intensive, but it's certainly neat.

Sincerely,

Carol A

 

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