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Insects Through the Seasons

Insects Through the Seasons

by Gilbert Waldbauer (Author)

  • New

    Illustrated 1998

    $36.71
Synopsis

They appeared on earth 400 million years ago, long before the first reptile, bird or mammal. They make up about 75 percent of the 1.2 million currently known species of animal. As many as 30,000 of them coexist and interact in one square yard of the top inch of a forest's soil. The success of insects is the story told in this work. Gilbert Waldbauer pursues this question from hot springs and Himilayan slopes to roadsides and forests, scrutinizing insect life in its many manifestation.

$36.71

Quantity

20 in stock

More Information

Format: Illustrated
 Pages: 308
 Edition: New
 Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 31 Mar 1998
ISBN 10: 0674454898
ISBN 13: 9780674454897

Media Reviews
Insects through the Seasons is chock-a-block with insect facts, anecdotes and good, old-fashioned natural history...There are chapters on courtship, caring for offspring and finding food, which Waldbauer manages to keep fresh by resisting the use of well-trodden examples. There are also more unusual chapters on, for example, insects' use of silk and the problems faced (and solved) by parasitic insects. Throughout, Waldbauer places his insects in the wider context of the natural world as a whole...[An] inspirational book.--Stuart Blackman BBC Wildlife
[Waldbauer's] style is lively and light, and he manages to explain scientific evidence behind the ideas he presents without lapsing into jargon. His passages describing insect life can be poetic...The book delivers a sophisticated view of ecology, evolution and animal behavior...Sure, Insects through the Seasons has more sex and violence than prime-time TV, but this is the real birds and the bees, and Waldbauer tells it like it is.--Faye Flam Philadelphia Inquirer
Insects through the Seasons...is a joyous romp through amazing-but-true natural history stories of what makes insects tick...Waldbauer's clear prose is full of fascinating detail, and it is a pleasure to read. His enthusiasm for his subject comes through loud and clear, a vital ingredient for interesting readers in what he has to say...Even for the professional entomologist, there is plenty that may well be new. There are vignettes here to delight any reader, including a great deal from Waldbauer's research naturally.--Francis Gilbert New Scientist
Gilbert Waldbauer is one of those few lucky people paid to pursue their hobby. Reading Insects Through the Seasons, one discovers why he finds entomology endlessly fascinating...And as if his words, a blend of science and sentiment, were not enough to bring the subject to life, a cecropia moth flies across the bottom corner of the book as one flicks the pages. Here readers will discover strange stories and fantastic facts about the lives of insects and the many ways in which millions of years of evolution have equipped these organisms, arguably the most successful on our planet.--George C. McGavin Nature
These excellent books [Gilbert Waldbauer's Insects through the Seasons and Bernd Heinrich's Thermal Warriors] are best read fully and carefully, and in the order just listed. Each summarizes a wealth of intriguing information about a group often and justifiably characterized as the most successful of living creatures. Waldbauer, in the more general of the two books, has hit on the clever scheme of following insect life through the changing demands of seasonal changes, thus giving structure to a wealth of information. Heinrich, by contrast, provides a dazzling account of a particular and little-known aspect of insect life--thermoregulation.--Russell Stevens, Phi Beta Kappa Key Reporter
Author Bio
Gilbert Waldbauer is Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.