Prof Michael Samways with his new book.

Stellenbosch University’s Prof Michael Samways has penned a new 600-page book that provides both academic insights and practical guidelines on why and how insects are to be conserved globally.

Prof Samways, respected by many as one of the founding fathers of the discipline of insect conservation, is a distinguished professor in the Stellenbosch University Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology in the Faculty of AgriSciences.

Insect Conservation: A Global Synthesis is published by the UK-based publishing house FABI. They describe the book as “a landmark, field-defining work”. It presents a state-of-the-art, comprehensive review of the entire field of insect conservation, from caring for a single species to all those found in a whole ecosystem. The book includes sections on how it can be done in both natural and urban landscape.

Prof Samways says he wrote the book with students of conservation biology and ecology in mind, as well as professional entomologists with an interest in conservation, and conservationists with a passion for insects. He adds that chapters on the conservation of insects within towns and cities and agriculture might appeal to members of the public, as it also includes practical notes on how it can be achieved and how diminishing insect populations can be restored. Separate chapters are also dedicated to insect conservation within freshwater systems, in forests, grasslands and caves.

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