African Insect Life [1953]

The author (1890-1976) was the foremost South African authority on insects of his day. He was famous for his communications with lay people, which included many radio broadcasts. Not surprisingly, therefore, his preface to this book opens as follows:

• "This book, written in language as simple as is consistent with scientific accuracy, is intended mainly for the amateur student of natural history, for the farmer, gardener and householder who wish to know something about the numerous insect friends and foes they see about them.
• "The specialist may criticize some of the omissions in the book, omissions due to the need for keeping its size within limits.
• "For example, nothing at all is said about wing venation or genitalia, subjects that are essential for an understanding of the finer details of classification but which are highly technical, require lengthy descriptions and many figures and are of little or no interest to anybody but the specialist."

This copy was awarded by St John's College, Johannesburg, to D A King for Upper V biology in 1956. Patrick King's ownership signature is in pencil on the front free endpaper.

The chapters are:

1. Primitive insects
2. Cockroaches, grasshoppers and their kin
3. Earwigs
4. Stone-flies
5. Termites
6. Book lice and their allies
7. Biting lice and sucking lice
8. May-flies
9. Dragon-flies
10. Thrips
11. Plant bugs and their kin
12. Ant lions and their kin
13. Scorpion flies
14. Caddis flies
15. Moths
16. Butterflies
17. Beetles
18. Flies
19. Fleas
20. Wasps
21. Bees
22. Ants

Black cloth-boards with gilt lettering to the spine, plain endpapers, viii + [ii] + 387 pp of prelims, b/w-illustrated text and index + 55 inserted plates, of which 5 are in colour.

The year of publication is taken from preface, which is dated July 1953.

Loosely inserted is a brief newspaper obituary of Dr Skaife.

CONDITION. The boards and spine are rubbed and the binding has softened slightly from some minor between-section cracks, but nothing reduces our binding and overall ratings from very good to good. There is a bookseller sticker on the front paste-down and the school certificate and pencil signature on the front free endpaper, but the contents are complete, otherwise unmarked and undiscoloured.