P. J. Gullan and P. S. Cranston.
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK
2005, 505 pp., hard cover
ISBN 1-4051-1113-5

In the relatively short time since I had the pleasure of reviewing the first edition of this textbook just after it appeared 10 years ago, “Gullan and Cranston” has become a standard in the field. This book is engagingly written  and packed with interesting and up-to-date entomological examples. It is often the book I recommend that graduate students read last when studying for their preliminary examinations.

This new edition, I am happy to say, lives up to its predecessors and indeed fills some gaps that remained in the first and second editions. This is simply the most thoroughly updated and appealing general entomology textbook on the market.

What makes this text so interesting? Certainly one factor is its international scope. Even a quick scan of the text boxes and excellent color plates reveals insects drawn from the Southeast Asian, Australian, South African, and North American faunas.

Students should find these diverse examples fascinating and irresistible. This book is not focused only upon the familiar local North American economically important insects (as might be preferred by some users). The authors make a cogent case that a basic familiarity with the world insect fauna is important in these days of invasive species and international commerce. I am definitely of the same opinion, but some may find this strategy less suited to their own purposes.

Retained from earlier editions are the set-aside text boxes and superb shaded line illustrations of Karina McInnes. The text boxes are the main way in which the insect orders are presented, and they feature more in-depth looks at specific topics. Seven new text boxes have been introduced since the second edition, including one on the newly discovered insect order Mantophasmatodea. Many of the text boxes focus on natural history topics that typically receive only indirect attention in general entomology texts, whereas others provide practical vignettes about important insects or useful techniques. Initially, I found the red text in these boxes a bit disconcerting, but ultimately it proved easy to read and I quickly became used to the style.

In the end, coverage is quite comprehensive, especially for a book of this reasonable length. The text should be useful for practically any serious introductory entomology course, although it does not contain comparative treatments of or keys to common insect families, so that insect courses with a strong classification component will need to supplement the text with identification manuals or field guides. An appendix in the end papers of the book provides brief comparative summaries of the insect orders, and a well-produced final chapter (introduced in the second edition) deals with insect preservation, curation, and identification methods.

A strength of the book is the excellent introductory chapter on the importance, diversity, and conservation of insects. In it the authors not only depict the major economic and ecological impacts of insects, but also show considerable sensitivity toward the conservation of threatened species for their own intrinsic values. This section provides a relatively balanced view of current estimates of biodiversity of the insect orders. It presents the current data on described species richness, but the authors make clear that it is likely that these data overemphasize the relative numbers of Coleoptera and Lepidoptera while proportionately underrepresenting those of the Diptera and Hymenoptera. Students should come away from this chapter with the correct impression that there is still a lot to do in insect taxonomy!

The third edition splits what was originally chapter 7 on insect systematics and evolution into two parts: the first is on “Insect Systematics: Phylogeny and Classification,” and the second covers “Insect Biogeography and Evolution.” The former features nicely updated and well-balanced reviews of the current phylogenetic understanding of higher taxa of insects and related arthropods. The second provides an excellent integration of fossil history, major morphological and developmental innovations, and biogeography of insects. The latter chapter is definitely a “must-read” for entomology students.

I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in the systematics chapter to see the discussion of approaches limited to the 1970s classification into phonetic, cladistic, and evolutionary systematics schools. Although these are historically important and still recognizable, many current controversies in insect phylogeny revolve around conflicts between strict cladistic and statistical phylogenetic approaches. A general entomology text is clearly not the place for a detailed critique of the competing views; however, I think it would be good for students to get a taste of what the issues are, if only to understand the literature properly. This is a small quibble concerning what is clearly one of the strong sections of the book. No other general entomology textbook really comes close to this one at representing insect classification as it is at this moment.

Also updated are aspects of insect development, incorporating the more recent views of Truman and Riddiford on comparative patterns of hemimetabolous and holometabolous metamorphosis. The discussion also features a very brief review of the roles of Hox gene expression in development—enough to get a “feel” for the concepts, but not enough to overload students who are less adept with molecular biology. I especially liked the treatment of the diverse impacts of the environment on development.

The book continues to strike a good balance between basic and applied aspects of entomology, with strong doses of natural history and fascinating tidbits, while at the same time maintaining a stringent scientific tone. The authors relentlessly enthuse about insect biology in all its manifestations. Uninspired students interested in getting a quick simplified view of “the important entomological concepts” will be perhaps frustrated by the wealth of information; the naturally curious will, however, be amply rewarded. It is a book I would have loved to have had when I began my life in entomology.

J. B. Whitfield
Department of Entomology
University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
American Entomologist
Vol. 50, No.4, Winter 2004