Page 27 - Irene Farm Village Issue 10 2021

Book Review

honey bee. It is native to Africa and Europe
from where it was introduced to the Americas,
Asia and Oceania. Worldwide studies are
revealing serious declines in its population
yet the insect is critical to human survival for
it pollinates most of the crops on which we
depend. Its numbers are dropping because of
various factors and not just the indiscriminate
use of insecticides as farming becomes
industrialised.
In a sense, this is an encyclopaedic book,
though, understand, it is far from being an
encyclopaedia. It is designed to flow as it
intricately explores southern Africa’s various
habitats and their insect dynamics, biome by
biome.
As I burrowed through Pollinators,
Predators & Parasites, I felt strongly it
should be in every school and university
library for it must rate among the top half-
a-dozen important books on South Africa’s
biological wonderland and by far the most
comprehensive book we have on insects.
Nature could not function without insects.
Just as South Africa‘s variety of plants,
mammals and birds is among the richest in
the world so is our variety of insects. Without
that variety, the Cape’s world-renowned floral
kingdom would not exist. And that’s just
one incidental aspect. Our beautiful variety
of butterflies, the second most important Sample page from “Pollinators, Predators and Parasites”
pollinators after the bees, is among the world’s
most diverse.
The book’s 40-page introductory section on
the anatomy and ecological role of insects is
helpful in understanding insect diversity, their
anatomy, their habitats and their individual
ecological significance. The chapters that
follow examine, separately and in detail, the
insect populations in each of our nine biomes
from coastal forest in the east to our desert in Dung Beetles generally improve the soil for plant growth
the west. The region covered goes right up to PHOTO BY MEAGEN MANSELL
the Cunene/Zambezi line.
It took the three authors 10 years just to
assemble the material in an orderly and
appealing way. They are Clarke Scholtz,
professor of entomology at Pretoria; Jenny
Scholz who, for years, has been associated
with nature conservation; and Hennie de
Klerk a metallurgist with a life-long interest
in insects and wildlife photography. Between
them, they have produced a landmark book Ladybirds, all predators . . . but useful ones The citrus swallowtail butterfly‘s larvae is 'designed' to
merge with citrus leaves
on the natural history of southern Africa. PHOTO BY HENNIE DE KLERK PHOTO BY HENNIE DE KLERK

The Villager • Issue 10 2021 • 25