Planet Insect
How insects conquered the Earth
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- 12,99 €
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- 12,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
An ambitious and beautifully illustrated account of the evolution and biology of insects.
Insects are the busy, teeming arthropods on whose activities much of life on earth depends, and whose global populations are currently under the gravest of threats – with unimaginable consequences for us all.
In Alien Worlds, Steve Nicholls explores nothing less than a complete natural history of insects, bringing us on a journey through a world of a million species and their phenomenal and extraordinary diversity.
A fantastically authoritative and congenial guide, led by a fluent and entertaining writer with the ability to make complex ideas comprehensible, it is not only a feast for the curious mind but also contains beautiful and visually arresting imagery of the tiny beasts whom we depend on greatly.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"We live in a world dominated by insects," according to this stunning survey. Nicholls (Flowers of the Field), a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, explains that insects evolved from ancient marine arthropods (segmented invertebrates) that crawled onto land more than 400 million years ago. Soon after, some grew wings that gave them an edge against predators and helped them rapidly spread throughout the globe. Digging into the adaptations of insects mundane and exotic, Nicholls explains that the American cockroach has sense organs able to "detect the slightest air movement" and that glacier stoneflies produce "their own brand of antifreeze to survive" on the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina. He delves into the surprisingly complex social worlds of aphids, ants, bees, and grasshoppers, observing that Chromacris psittacus grasshoppers coordinate their feeding frenzies to maximize how much of a given leaf they can ingest before the poisonous plants they prey on deploy chemical defenses. Surprises abound, and gorgeous color photos provide intimate views of the species discussed. The result is an eye-popping tour of the weird and wild world of bugs. Photos.