Secret Weapons: Defenses of Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-Legged Creatures.SECRET WEAPONS: Defenses of Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-Legged Creatures THOMAS EISNER Thomas Eisner is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University, and Director of the Cornell Institute for Research in Chemical Ecology (CIRCE). , MARIA EISNER Maria Eisner (Maria Eisner Lehfeldt, 1908/1909?-March 8, 1991) was a photographer, photo editor and photo agent. Active in Europe in her early years, later moved to the US. She was one of the founders of Magnum Photos. , AND MELODY SIEGLER Though small, insects and their relatives dominate Earth in sheer number. Over time, insects and other arthropods have employed various means of defense that have allowed for their evolutionary success. This guide focuses on 69 arthropods, mostly from North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , and investigates their defense mechanisms, be they chemical, behavioral, or morphologic Each chapter is devoted to a different creature, from the aptly named vinegaroon to the stinging honeybee honeybee Broadly, any bee that makes honey (any insect of the tribe Apini, family Apidae); more strictly, one of the four species constituting the genus Apis. The term is usually applied to one species, the domestic honeybee (A. , and includes both the common and scientific names, an in-depth description of their weapons of choice, and color photos of the arthropod arthropod Any member of the largest phylum, Arthropoda, in the animal kingdom. Arthropoda consists of more than one million known invertebrate species in four subphyla: Uniramia (five classes, including insects), Chelicerata (three classes, including arachnids and horseshoe in action. The authors, professors at Cornell and Emory Universities, also provide detailed advice on how to study insect defenses. The book is a useful guide for both students and experts. Harvard, 2005, 384 p., color photos, hardcover, $29.95. |
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