Extreme Insects
Insects are the most extreme organisms on Earth and, despite their diminutive size, they wield inordinate power. With the exception of the polar icecaps, every terrestrial ecosystem on earth is colonized by them, and they account for almost three-quarters of all named animals – that's one million species at the last count!This book is a celebration of the insect universe, exploring their amazing forms and functions, their fascinating behaviour and the enormous impact they have on our lives. With its lively and informative text, it looks at insects in all their extremes, from the biggest, fastest and fiercest to the best nest builder, most devious hunter and deadliest bride.Insects are extreme in numbers – a single leaf-cutter ant nest, the size of a large camper van, may contain seven million individuals working together as a single giant super-organism. Insects are extreme in their bizarre forms – the stalk-eyed fly, as its name suggests, carries its eyes on the end of two ludicrously long stalks. And insects are invariably extreme in behaviour – take for instance the giraffe-necked weevil that holds head-bobbing contests to win a mate. Yet there is always method in their apparent madness, as each strange form and function is an adaptation designed to solve the extreme pressures that arise through the struggle to survive in a world that is always dangerous, competitive and unforgiving.
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Extreme Insects
Richard Jones
This book is for my parents. My father, Alfred Jones,
from whom I acquired my love of natural history, gave me a precious gift – the thirst for knowledge. My mother, Rosamond Jones, gave me the time and her tolerance, whilst I tried to quench it.
Contents
Most sexually dimorphic insect
Most seasonally dimorphic insect
Largest overwintering congregation
Most dangerous egg-laying strategy
Most unsavoury defecation behaviour
Most bizarre reverse metamorphosis
Most useful scientific research tool
Oldest surviving insect specimen
Most unusually represented in art
Most unusual mode of range extension
Most dermatologically useful insect
Most dramatic recovery from near-extinction
Insects are the most extreme organisms on Earth, and despite their diminutive stature, they wield inordinate power. With the exception of the polar ice caps, every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth is colonised by insects and to some extent controlled by them (and they have made inroads onto the open ocean, too). They dominate the middle ground of virtually every terrestrial food chain or food web.
Insects are extreme in numbers. A single leaf-cutter ant nest, the size of a large camper van buried in the soil, may contain 8 million individuals working together as a single giant super-organism. In the tropical rainforests, termites can reach densities of 10,000 per square metre, a higher density of animal mass than in the largest wildebeest herds of the Serengeti. To produce such numbers, insects are extreme in their fecundity. Egg loads can be counted in thousands and generation times in days. If conditions are right, plagues of biblical proportions can appear as if spontaneously.
Insects are extreme in diversity. Even the experts cannot agree whether there are 3 million different species of insect on the Earth, 10 million, 30 million or 80 million. Compare that to the mere 5,400 known species of mammal. About four-fifths of all the animals yet discovered on our planet are insects: that’s over 1 million species at the last count. And there are many times that number out there awaiting discovery.
Insects are extreme in form. Evolved into the most peculiar shapes and colours, with strange structures and beautiful patterns, even the smallest of these wonderful creatures is magnificent under the microscope. Each has adapted to solve the extreme pressures that arise in the struggle to survive in a world that is dangerous, competitive and unforgiving.
Extreme Insects is divided into three chapters, exploring the nature of the insect universe and looking at some of the most extraordinary creatures in existence.
