Sunday, September 9, 2018

Hic Rhodus, hic salta



A faux review of "Taxonomy and Ecology of the Jumping Plant-Lice of Panama (Homoptera, Psylloidea)" 

OK, I admit it. The book has a funny title. That's the only reason why I picked it up. The *what* of Panama?! There are 2000 species of jumping plant-lice all over the world, so why concentrate on Panama? Those who want further information on this rapidly growing global peril better consult Hodkinson 1974 or White & Hodkinson 1985. As for this book, it's an identification guide for advanced students of entomology, i.e. people who actually plan to study jumping plant-lice for a living. The line drawings only show those parts of the lice which are interesting for identification purposes, making each plate look like a gigantic autopsy table. Trust me, these specimens *can't* jump! Probably a good book if your main interest in life is Homoptera: Psylloidea, but otherwise I think you might want to give it a pass. Or jump somewhere else.

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