Research Catalog

Title

Insects through the seasons / Gilbert Waldbauer.

Author

Waldbauer, Gilbert.

Publication

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiii, 289 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

• The remarkable success story of insects, unparalleled in evolution, is the story told in this delightful and eminently readable book.
• How do these often tiny but indefatigable creatures do it? In a nontechnical style that will appeal to readers young and old, to amateur naturalists as well as curious browsers, Gilbert Waldbauer pursues this question from hot springs to Himalayan slopes, from lightless caves to the Great Salt Lake, from roadsides to forests, scrutinizing insect life in its many manifestations.
• As we pass through the seasons, we learn of the incredible diversity of mechanisms by which insects attract and court their mates (and ensure their fidelity!), provide for their offspring, satisfy their often highly particular food requirements, and avoid becoming food themselves. We see the sexy side of a mosquito's buzz, the unexpected meaning of a tiger moth's chirp, the antics of a butterfly besotted with fermenting fruit.

Subjects

• Cecropia moth > Behavior
• Seasons
• Insects > Life cycles
• Insects > Behavior
• Cecropia moth > Life cycles

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [265]-277) and index.

Contents

First Things -- The Most Successful Animals on Earth -- Finding and Courting a Mate -- After the Courtship's Over -- Caring for Offspring -- Defense against Predators -- The Parasitic Way of Life -- Recognizing Food -- Taking Nourishment -- Coping with the Seasons -- Silken Cocoons -- Winter.

ISBN

067445488X (hardcover : alk. paper)

LCCN

95035171

OCLC

• 32893542
• ocm32893542

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries