How not to be eaten : the insects fight back / Gilbert Waldbauer ; with illustrations by James Nardi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Waldbauer, Gilbert.

Contributor:

Nardi, James.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Insects--Defenses.

Insects.

Insects--Predators of.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (237 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

All animals must eat. But who eats who, and why, or why not? Because insects outnumber and collectively outweigh all other animals combined, they comprise the largest amount of animal food available for potential consumption. How do they avoid being eaten? From masterful disguises to physical and chemical lures and traps, predatory insects have devised ingenious and bizarre methods of finding food. Equally ingenious are the means of hiding, mimicry, escape, and defense waged by prospective prey in order to stay alive. This absorbing book demonstrates that the relationship between the eaten and the eater is a central-perhaps the central-aspect of what goes on in the community of organisms. By explaining the many ways in which insects avoid becoming a meal for a predator, and the ways in which predators evade their defensive strategies, Gilbert Waldbauer conveys an essential understanding of the unrelenting coevolutionary forces at work in the world around us.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Prologue

Acknowledgments

1. Insects in the Web of Life

2. The Eaters of Insects

3. Fleeing and Staying under Cover

4. Hiding in Plain Sight

5. Bird Dropping Mimicry and Other Disguises

6. Flash Colors and Eyespots

7. Safety in Numbers

8. Defensive Weapons and Warning Signals

9. The Predators' Countermeasures

10. Protection by Deception

Epilogue

Selected References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613373540

9781283373548

1283373548

9780520952461

0520952464

OCLC:

769343146