Site of the Week
Introducing Insects http://collections.ic.gc.ca/biodiversity/about_insects_what.html
This week, a site which aims (you guessed it) to introduce the world of insects to the world at large. Produced in Canada by a team of students and museum scientists, Introducing Insects offers a quick crash course in basic taxonomy, and then takes you through the main points of insect biology. Sections range from summaries of insect origins and diversity to development, anatomy and physiology.
As well as the reading material, there’s an extensive searchable database of insect species, complete with good quality pictures to browse and marvel at. Navigate through the menus and you’ll quickly see just how much work has gone into arranging the collection - many similar database sites simply have a section on ‘flies’ or ‘beetles’, with no deeper taxonomic levels to peruse. Here, though, you’ll find well-written information on all the major groups of insects, and you can follow links all the way down to the smaller families of species. If you’re interested in seeing the entire collection, head for the slideshow, which will parade all the insect images before you, along with a brief description of what you’re seeing.
Richard Northover
Info-content ** Readability ** Appearance ** User friendliness ** Kids *** Plug-ins none