{"product_id":"secret-weapons-9780674024038","title":"Secret Weapons","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart handbook, part field guide, part photo album, \u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e, the follow-up to the award-winning \u003ci\u003eFor Love of Insects\u003c\/i\u003e,  chronicles the diverse and often astonishing defensive strategies that have allowed insects, spiders, scorpions, and other many-legged creatures not just to survive, but to thrive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e will fascinate and occupy students and scientists indefinitely!  Indeed anyone interested in how nature functions -- the many special interactions that make ecosystems work  -- will thoroughly enjoy this fine volume. -- Peter Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden\u003cbr\u003eThis is by far the most beautiful and instructive book on behavioral chemical ecology I have seen. It is a book to give to your students, to your fellow scientists, and to your non-scientist friends who want to know why you study insects and other arthropods. -- Bert Holldobler, Arizona State University\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e is another triumph from the fabled Eisner laboratory -- a report on wonderful science backed up with spectacular pictures.  It will introduce you to a fascinating world that few people know but everyone should know. -- Paul R. Ehrlich, Stanford University\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e is a field guide like no other.  Well-written and splendidly illustrated, it is required reading for anyone interested in how insects avoid becoming someone's lunch. -- Ian Baldwin, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany\u003cbr\u003eA glorious collection! The fruit of a lifetime's delectable curiosity, \u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e brings the fascinating ways of insects into focus with a unique, sparkling vision. By turns smart, funny, and insightful, this book is the perfect guide to a magical, if little-known, realm. -- Diane Ackerman\u003cbr\u003eA stunning example of the interdisciplinary nature of modern science.  \u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e weaves together natural history, organic chemistry, chemical ecology, and behavior to sketch out an important field as enticing to the genomicist as to the naturalist. -- Fotis C. Kafatos, Imperial College, London\u003cbr\u003eThe arthropods--those multilegged, lowly denizens of the planet that most of us would probably like to forget--are masters at the art of defense. Outnumbering all of the other animals put together, the arthropods have survived through their mastery of a multitude of chemical weapons. In their fascinating new book, the authors, all of whom study the defensive strategies of arthropods (insects, scorpions, centipedes, etc.), provide an overview of their different methods of chemical defense...This unique guide to froth, venom, sprays, sticky coatings, and so forth will satisfy both the casual reader and the serious student and is a very worthy addition to any natural history collection. -- Nancy Bent * Booklist *\u003cbr\u003eThe present volume is a beautifully illustrated guide to the defense systems of mainly North American arthropods, especially insects... The first of its kind, this primer will prove indispensable to a broad audience, from lay naturalists to students, teachers, specialists--even medical doctors. -- Annette Aiello * Library Journal *\u003cbr\u003eThe text is technically precise but...the prose is bright and engaging...Eisner and his colleagues have skillfully captured the staggering diversity of exudates and delivery systems that arthropods possess--sights that have simply not been readily available even to the scientists who avidly peruse the chemical ecology literature. The book offers an invaluable source of illustrations for all audiences. -- May Berenbaum * Science *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e is festooned with surprising information about the chemical ecology and defense mechanisms of a variety of terrestrial arthropods...Mythology may be replete with imaginative ideas but, as Thomas Eisner and his colleagues have shown in this rewarding book, truth is often much stranger than fiction. -- J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e is a delight. Although one could consult this book piecemeal, as a reference, I read it cover-to-cover simply because each successive chapter presented a new story that simultaneously enchanted and piqued my curiosity. The result was that I continued to read on to the next chapter in anticipation of yet another surprise and more marvelous pictures. I was never disappointed. With its instantly accessible and often humorous prose, the volume's target audience could well include naturalists, high school and college teachers, graduate and undergraduate students, and, as the authors suggest, \"all those to whom nature never ceased to be a source of wonder.\" -- Fredric V. Venci * Quarterly Review of Biology *\u003cbr\u003eArranged as a series of case studies of arthropods, together with a few noninsectans, this extraordinary book lays bare the almost incredible array of chemical stratagems these otherwise vulnerable creatures have adapted for their survival. If the case studies are astonishing, the numerous color photographs are even more so...It's impossible to read this beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated book without feeling a heightened sense of wonder. -- Eric Ormsby * New York Sun *\u003cbr\u003eThe world of arthropod defenses is delightfully introduced in this new book coauthored by one of the experts in the field, Tom Eisner, and two colleagues, his wife, Maria Eisner, and Melody Siegler. This volume is a series of fascinating vignettes (69 in all) about the multitudinous defenses used by arthropods, ranging from a variety of defensive sprays and secretions, to barbed hairs, to stings and venoms, to cryptic coloration. While the concentration is certainly on chemical defenses, there are others included as well, such as the \"spittle\" of spittle bugs, the trash heaps that lacewing larvae pile on their backs, and the click of the click beetle. The authors write in an engaging and very readable style, making the sometimes complex anatomy and chemistry accessible to all those interested in behavior, ecology, chemistry, and evolution, whether from a professional or a personal perspective. The fascinating biology and chemistry of these animals provide examples that can be used to excite students about science at many levels...In sum, this was a thoroughly delightful introduction into the fascinating world of arthropod defenses...\u003ci\u003eSecret Weapons\u003c\/i\u003e brings together the fields of natural history, chemistry, behavior, ecology, and evolution and has appeal for professional scientists, students, and anyone fascinated with the natural world. This volume will be a wonderful resource for many years to come. -- M. Deane Bowers * Ecology *\u003cbr\u003eThe secret weapons of a collection of 69 insects and their kin are revealed in this fascinating collection of essays. Each essay focuses on a single species and is beautifully illustrated with clear and revealing photographs of the creature's defenses. * Northeastern Naturalist *\u003cbr\u003eThe book is a collection of fascinating stories, a useful field guide, a rich textbook and will be appreciated by scientists as well as naturalists. It provides an insight into a small pan of the hidden and fascinating world of small creatures that few people know, but which is worthy of study. -- O. Nedved * European Journal of Entomology *\u003cbr\u003eThis book is eloquent. It concludes with a short section on \"How to study insects and their kin\" and a useful index. Throughout, it is eminently readable, and replete with ideas for future work. It is also very well produced, and should be of wide interest to entomologists and more general readers alike. -- T. R. New * Journal of Insect Conservation *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrologue    CLASS ARACHNIDA   Order uropygi   Family Theliphonidae   1. Mastigoproctus giganteus (the vinegaroon)   Order opiliones   Family Cosmetidae   2. Vonones sayi (a harvestman)   Family Sclerosomatidae   3. Leiobunum nigripalpi (a daddylonglegs)   Order scorpiones   Family Vejovidae   4. Vejovis spinigerus (the striped tail scorpion)   Order araneida   Family Oxyopidae   5. Peucetia viridans (the green lynx spider)    CLASS CHILOPODA   Order scolopendrida   Family Scolopendridae   6. Scolopendra heros (the giant Sonoran centipede)   Order geophilida   Family Oryidae   7. Orphnaeus brasilianus (a geophilid centipede)    CLASS DIPLOPODA   Order spirobolida   Family Floridobolidae   8. Floridobolus penneri (the Florida scrub millipede)   Order polydesmida   Family Polydesmidae   9. Apheloria kleinpeteri (a polydesmid millipede)   Order polyzoniida   Family Polyzoniidae   10. Polyzonium rosalbum (a polyzoniid millipede)   Order glomerida   Family Glomeridae   11. Glomeris marginata (a pill millipede)   Order polyxenida   Family Polyxenidae   12. Polyxenus fasciculatus (a bristle millipede)    CLASS INSECTA   Order dyctioptera   Family Blattidae   13. Eurycotis floridana (the Florida woods cockroach)   14. Periplaneta australasiae (the Australian cockroach)   15. Deropeltis wahlbergi (a blattid cockroach)   Family Blaberidae   16. Diploptera punctata (the Pacific beetle cockroach)   Order dermaptera   Family Forficulidae   17. Doru taeniatum (an earwig)   Order isoptera   Family Termitidae   18. Nasutitermes exitiosus (a termite)   Order phasmatodea   Family Diapheromeridae 19. Oreophoetes peruana (a walkingstick)   Family Pseudophasmatidae   20. Anisomorpha buprestoides (the two-striped walkingstick)   Order orthoptera   Family Romaleidae   21. Romalea guttata (the eastern lubber grasshopper)   Order hemiptera   Family Coreidae   22. Chelinidea vittiger (a leaf-footed bug)   Family Reduviidae   23. Apiomerus flaviventris (a reduviid bug)   Family Belostomatidae   24. Abedus herberti (a giant water bug)   Family Aphididae   25. Aphis nerii (the oleander aphid)   26. Prociphilus tessellatus (the woolly alder aphid)   Family Flatidae   27. Ormenaria rufifascia (a flatid planthopper)   Family Cercopidae   28. Prosapia bicincta (the two-lined spittlebug)   Family Dactylopiidae   29. Dactylopius confusus (a cochineal bug)   Family Aleyrodidae   30. Metaleurodicus griseus (a whitefly)   Order neuroptera   Family Chrysopidae   31. Ceraeochrysa cubana (a green lacewing)   32. Ceraeochrysa smithi (a green lacewing)   33. Chrysopa slossonae (a green lacewing)   Order coleoptera   Family Carabidae   34. Galerita lecontei (a ground beetle)   35. Brachinus (many species) (bombardier beetles)   Family Gyrinidae   36. Dineutus hornii (a whirligig beetle)   Family Dytiscidae   37. Thermonectus marmoratus (a predaceous diving beetle)   Family Silphidae   38. Necrodes surinamensis (the red-lined carrion beetle)   Family Staphylinidae   39. Creophilus maxillosus (the hairy rove beetle)   Family Cantharidae   40. Chauliognathus lecontei (a soldier beetle)   Family Lampyridae   41. Photinus ignitus and Photuris versicolor (fireflies)   Family Lycidae   42. Calopteron reticulatum (the banded net-winged beetle)   Family Elateridae   43. Alaus myops (the eyed elater)   Family Buprestidae   44. Acmaeodera pulchella (the flat-headed baldcypress sapwood borer)   Family Coccinellidae   45. Cycloneda sanguinea (a ladybird beetle)   46. Epilachna varivestis (the Mexican bean beetle)   Family Meloidae   47. Epicauta (an unidentified species) (a blister beetle)   Family Pyrochroidae   48. Neopyrochroa flabellata (a fire-colored beetle)   Family Tenebrionidae   49. Adelium percatum (a darkling beetle)   50. Bolitotherus cornutus (the forked fungus beetle)   51. Eleodes longicollis (a darkling beetle)   Family Scarabaeidae   52. Trichiotinus rufobrunneus (a scarab beetle)   Family Chrysomelidae   53. Hemisphaerota cyanea (a tortoise beetle)   54. Gratiana pallidula (a tortoise beetle)   55. Plagiodera versicolora (the imported willow leaf beetle)   Order lepidoptera   Family Dalceridae   56. Dalcerides ingenita (a dalcerid moth)   Family Noctuidae   57. Litoprosopus futilis (the palmetto borer moth)   Family Notodontidae   58. Schizura unicornis (the unicorn caterpillar moth)   Family Thyrididae   59. Calindoea trifascialis (a thyridid moth)   Family Yponomeutidae   60. Ypsolopha dentella (the European honeysuckle leaf roller)   Family Geometridae   61. Nemoria outina (a geometrid moth)   Family Arctiidae   62. Utetheisa ornatrix (the rattlebox moth)   Family Saturniidae   63. Automeris io (the io moth)   Family Papilionidae   64. Eurytides marcellus (the zebra swallowtail butterfly)   Family Pieridae   65. Pieris rapae (the cabbage butterfly)   Family Nymphalidae   66. Danaus plexippus (the monarch butterfly)   Order hymenoptera   Family Pergidae   67. Perga affinis (a pergine sawfly)   Family Formicidae   68. Camponotus floridanus (a carpenter ant)   Family Apidae   69. Apis mellifera (the honey bee)    Epilogue   How to Study Insects and Their Kin   Acknowledgments   Illustration Credits   Index","brand":"Harvard University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49403529560407,"sku":"9780674024038","price":23.36,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780674024038.jpg?v=1730483740","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/secret-weapons-9780674024038","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}