The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar
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- 3,99 €
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- 3,99 €
Descrizione dell’editore
For fans of WHAT IF? and NEW SCIENTIST comes this brilliantly funny and informative look at the stranger side of evolution.
Featuring:
The Zombie ants mind-controlled by a fungus
Beautiful salamanders that can regenerate any part of their bodies, including their brains
The mantis shrimp, which fires its club-like appendage so fast that the surrounding water becomes as hot as the surface of the sun
The Antechinus, whose runaway testosterone levels cause them to have so much sex during their three-week mating season that they bleed internally, go blind, and drop dead...
Featuring quirky illustrations and the signature blend of science smarts and humour that make Matt Simon's Wired column so entertaining, this is an ideal stocking-filler for every popular science aficionado...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Simon, a science writer at Wired magazine, lays out an entertaining look at evolution's frightening billion-year arms race. All species must adapt to changing environments to survive; many do it in strange ways, and Simon delivers a well-written, if light, recitation of some of the weirdest. There are camouflage creatures: the spider-tailed horned viper, whose accurately named tail lures prey; the orb weaver spider, which spins a web to mimic "bird turds"; a "satanic" gecko that's shaped like a leaf; and the cuttlefish, which is capable of imitating any background. Simon also profiles some mind controllers, including Glyptapanteles wasps, which inject their eggs into caterpillars so that the resulting larvae can puppet them into being their bodyguards, and the Ophiocordyceps fungus that "invades ants' brains and mind-controls them up into trees." Many animals live in odd places such as the gonads of sea cucumbers or the tongues of fish and others wield bizarre weapons (heated hammer hands, intoxicants, glue). This is not an in-depth look at evolutionary processes; each entry in the parade of creatures is brief. Simon's wit, combined with the genuine eccentricity of his subjects, make this a fun and accessible book.
