About the Book
Mostly tiny, infinitely delicate, and short-lived, insects and their relatives--arthropods--nonetheless outnumber all their fellow creatures on earth. How lowly arthropods achieved this unlikely preeminence is a story deftly and colorfully told in this follow-up to the award-winning For Love of Insects. Part handbook, part field guide, part photo album, Secret Weapons chronicles the diverse and often astonishing defensive strategies that have allowed insects, spiders, scorpions, and other many-legged creatures not just to survive, but to thrive.
In sixty-nine chapters, each brilliantly illustrated with photographs culled from Thomas Eisner's legendary collection, we meet a largely North American cast of arthropods--as well as a few of their kin from Australia, Europe, and Asia--and observe at firsthand the nature and extent of the defenses that lie at the root of their evolutionary success. Here are the cockroaches and termites, the carpenter ants and honeybees, and all the miniature creatures in between, deploying their sprays and venom, froth and feces, camouflage and sticky coatings. And along with a marvelous bug's-eye view of how these secret weapons actually work, here is a close-up look at the science behind them, from taxonomy to chemical formulas, as well as an appendix with instructions for studying chemical defenses at home. Whether dipped into here and there or read cover to cover, Secret Weapons will prove invaluable to hands-on researchers and amateur naturalists alike, and will captivate any reader for whom nature is a source of wonder.
Table of Contents:
Prologue CLASS ARACHNIDA Order uropygi Family Theliphonidae 1. Mastigoproctus giganteus (the vinegaroon) Order opiliones Family Cosmetidae 2. Vonones sayi (a harvestman) Family Sclerosomatidae 3. Leiobunum nigripalpi (a daddylonglegs) Order scorpiones Family Vejovidae 4. Vejovis spinigerus (the striped tail scorpion) Order araneida Family Oxyopidae 5. Peucetia viridans (the green lynx spider) CLASS CHILOPODA Order scolopendrida Family Scolopendridae 6. Scolopendra heros (the giant Sonoran centipede) Order geophilida Family Oryidae 7. Orphnaeus brasilianus (a geophilid centipede) CLASS DIPLOPODA Order spirobolida Family Floridobolidae 8. Floridobolus penneri (the Florida scrub millipede) Order polydesmida Family Polydesmidae 9. Apheloria kleinpeteri (a polydesmid millipede) Order polyzoniida Family Polyzoniidae 10. Polyzonium rosalbum (a polyzoniid millipede) Order glomerida Family Glomeridae 11. Glomeris marginata (a pill millipede) Order polyxenida Family Polyxenidae 12. Polyxenus fasciculatus (a bristle millipede) CLASS INSECTA Order dyctioptera Family Blattidae 13. Eurycotis floridana (the Florida woods cockroach) 14. Periplaneta australasiae (the Australian cockroach) 15. Deropeltis wahlbergi (a blattid cockroach) Family Blaberidae 16. Diploptera punctata (the Pacific beetle cockroach) Order dermaptera Family Forficulidae 17. Doru taeniatum (an earwig) Order isoptera Family Termitidae 18. Nasutitermes exitiosus (a termite) Order phasmatodea Family Diapheromeridae 19. Oreophoetes peruana (a walkingstick) Family Pseudophasmatidae 20. Anisomorpha buprestoides (the two-striped walkingstick) Order orthoptera Family Romaleidae 21. Romalea guttata (the eastern lubber grasshopper) Order hemiptera Family Coreidae 22. Chelinidea vittiger (a leaf-footed bug) Family Reduviidae 23. Apiomerus flaviventris (a reduviid bug) Family Belostomatidae 24. Abedus herberti (a giant water bug) Family Aphididae 25. Aphis nerii (the oleander aphid) 26. Prociphilus tessellatus (the woolly alder aphid) Family Flatidae 27. Ormenaria rufifascia (a flatid planthopper) Family Cercopidae 28. Prosapia bicincta (the two-lined spittlebug) Family Dactylopiidae 29. Dactylopius confusus (a cochineal bug) Family Aleyrodidae 30. Metaleurodicus griseus (a whitefly) Order neuroptera Family Chrysopidae 31. Ceraeochrysa cubana (a green lacewing) 32. Ceraeochrysa smithi (a green lacewing) 33. Chrysopa slossonae (a green lacewing) Order coleoptera Family Carabidae 34. Galerita lecontei (a ground beetle) 35. Brachinus (many species) (bombardier beetles) Family Gyrinidae 36. Dineutus hornii (a whirligig beetle) Family Dytiscidae 37. Thermonectus marmoratus (a predaceous diving beetle) Family Silphidae 38. Necrodes surinamensis (the red-lined carrion beetle) Family Staphylinidae 39. Creophilus maxillosus (the hairy rove beetle) Family Cantharidae 40. Chauliognathus lecontei (a soldier beetle) Family Lampyridae 41. Photinus ignitus and Photuris versicolor (fireflies) Family Lycidae 42. Calopteron reticulatum (the banded net-winged beetle) Family Elateridae 43. Alaus myops (the eyed elater) Family Buprestidae 44. Acmaeodera pulchella (the flat-headed baldcypress sapwood borer) Family Coccinellidae 45. Cycloneda sanguinea (a ladybird beetle) 46. Epilachna varivestis (the Mexican bean beetle) Family Meloidae 47. Epicauta (an unidentified species) (a blister beetle) Family Pyrochroidae 48. Neopyrochroa flabellata (a fire-colored beetle) Family Tenebrionidae 49. Adelium percatum (a darkling beetle) 50. Bolitotherus cornutus (the forked fungus beetle) 51. Eleodes longicollis (a darkling beetle) Family Scarabaeidae 52. Trichiotinus rufobrunneus (a scarab beetle) Family Chrysomelidae 53. Hemisphaerota cyanea (a tortoise beetle) 54. Gratiana pallidula (a tortoise beetle) 55. Plagiodera versicolora (the imported willow leaf beetle) Order lepidoptera Family Dalceridae 56. Dalcerides ingenita (a dalcerid moth) Family Noctuidae 57. Litoprosopus futilis (the palmetto borer moth) Family Notodontidae 58. Schizura unicornis (the unicorn caterpillar moth) Family Thyrididae 59. Calindoea trifascialis (a thyridid moth) Family Yponomeutidae 60. Ypsolopha dentella (the European honeysuckle leaf roller) Family Geometridae 61. Nemoria outina (a geometrid moth) Family Arctiidae 62. Utetheisa ornatrix (the rattlebox moth) Family Saturniidae 63. Automeris io (the io moth) Family Papilionidae 64. Eurytides marcellus (the zebra swallowtail butterfly) Family Pieridae 65. Pieris rapae (the cabbage butterfly) Family Nymphalidae 66. Danaus plexippus (the monarch butterfly) Order hymenoptera Family Pergidae 67. Perga affinis (a pergine sawfly) Family Formicidae 68. Camponotus floridanus (a carpenter ant) Family Apidae 69. Apis mellifera (the honey bee) Epilogue How to Study Insects and Their Kin Acknowledgments Illustration Credits Index
About the Author :
Thomas Eisner is J. G. Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University. In 1994 he was awarded the National Medal of Science. His film Secret Weapons won the Grand Award at the New York Film Festival and was named Best Science Film by the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Maria Eisner is Research Associate of Biology at Cornell University. Melody Siegler is Associate Professor of Biology at Emory University.
Review :
The arthropods--those multilegged, lowly denizens of the planet that most of us would probably like to forget--are masters at the art of defense. Outnumbering all of the other animals put together, the arthropods have survived through their mastery of a multitude of chemical weapons. In their fascinating new book, the authors, all of whom study the defensive strategies of arthropods (insects, scorpions, centipedes, etc.), provide an overview of their different methods of chemical defense...This unique guide to froth, venom, sprays, sticky coatings, and so forth will satisfy both the casual reader and the serious student and is a very worthy addition to any natural history collection. -- Nancy Bent Booklist 20051001 The present volume is a beautifully illustrated guide to the defense systems of mainly North American arthropods, especially insects... The first of its kind, this primer will prove indispensable to a broad audience, from lay naturalists to students, teachers, specialists--even medical doctors. -- Annette Aiello Library Journal 20051115 The text is technically precise but...the prose is bright and engaging...Eisner and his colleagues have skillfully captured the staggering diversity of exudates and delivery systems that arthropods possess--sights that have simply not been readily available even to the scientists who avidly peruse the chemical ecology literature. The book offers an invaluable source of illustrations for all audiences. -- May Berenbaum Science 20060113 Secret Weapons is festooned with surprising information about the chemical ecology and defense mechanisms of a variety of terrestrial arthropods...Mythology may be replete with imaginative ideas but, as Thomas Eisner and his colleagues have shown in this rewarding book, truth is often much stranger than fiction. -- J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson Times Literary Supplement 20060428 Secret Weapons is a delight. Although one could consult this book piecemeal, as a reference, I read it cover-to-cover simply because each successive chapter presented a new story that simultaneously enchanted and piqued my curiosity. The result was that I continued to read on to the next chapter in anticipation of yet another surprise and more marvelous pictures. I was never disappointed. With its instantly accessible and often humorous prose, the volume's target audience could well include naturalists, high school and college teachers, graduate and undergraduate students, and, as the authors suggest, "all those to whom nature never ceased to be a source of wonder." -- Fredric V. Venci Quarterly Review of Biology Arranged as a series of case studies of arthropods, together with a few noninsectans, this extraordinary book lays bare the almost incredible array of chemical stratagems these otherwise vulnerable creatures have adapted for their survival. If the case studies are astonishing, the numerous color photographs are even more so...It's impossible to read this beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated book without feeling a heightened sense of wonder. -- Eric Ormsby New York Sun 20060712 The world of arthropod defenses is delightfully introduced in this new book coauthored by one of the experts in the field, Tom Eisner, and two colleagues, his wife, Maria Eisner, and Melody Siegler. This volume is a series of fascinating vignettes (69 in all) about the multitudinous defenses used by arthropods, ranging from a variety of defensive sprays and secretions, to barbed hairs, to stings and venoms, to cryptic coloration. While the concentration is certainly on chemical defenses, there are others included as well, such as the "spittle" of spittle bugs, the trash heaps that lacewing larvae pile on their backs, and the click of the click beetle. The authors write in an engaging and very readable style, making the sometimes complex anatomy and chemistry accessible to all those interested in behavior, ecology, chemistry, and evolution, whether from a professional or a personal perspective. The fascinating biology and chemistry of these animals provide examples that can be used to excite students about science at many levels...In sum, this was a thoroughly delightful introduction into the fascinating world of arthropod defenses...Secret Weapons brings together the fields of natural history, chemistry, behavior, ecology, and evolution and has appeal for professional scientists, students, and anyone fascinated with the natural world. This volume will be a wonderful resource for many years to come. -- M. Deane Bowers Ecology The secret weapons of a collection of 69 insects and their kin are revealed in this fascinating collection of essays. Each essay focuses on a single species and is beautifully illustrated with clear and revealing photographs of the creature's defenses. Northeastern Naturalist The book is a collection of fascinating stories, a useful field guide, a rich textbook and will be appreciated by scientists as well as naturalists. It provides an insight into a small pan of the hidden and fascinating world of small creatures that few people know, but which is worthy of study. -- O. Nedved European Journal of Entomology 20070101 This book is eloquent. It concludes with a short section on "How to study insects and their kin" and a useful index. Throughout, it is eminently readable, and replete with ideas for future work. It is also very well produced, and should be of wide interest to entomologists and more general readers alike. -- T. R. New Journal of Insect Conservation 20061005
