Description
Book SynopsisHave you ever wondered how plants attract certain insects, or how insects communicate with each other? This book explains the natural chemical compounds that determine the fascinating interactions between plants and insects providing a gentle and absorbing introduction to organic chemistry that is highly relevant to everyday life and to the natural world. Specific organic compounds and intriguing chemistry determine whether insects are keen on feeding on plants or avoid certain plants altogether. Some insects have learned to use plant compounds as their own defences, and some plants use digestive processes to use insects as nutritional supplements. Plant-insect interactions are vital for our food supply, for pollination of orchards or detrimentally in insect infestations of crops, as well as in applications like silk production. By the author of the popular book, The Chemistry of Plants: Perfumes, Pigments, and Poisons, this book benefits from Margareta Séquin’s vast experience leading field trips and seminars to botanical gardens and nature reserves, and teaching chemistry to beginners. Organic chemistry is often seen as a challenging, sometimes abstract field. This book makes chemistry exciting and accessible for readers interested in a deeper understanding of the natural world. The book is organized according to the increasing complexity of compounds introduced, and so it also serves as a useful teaching aid for undergraduate chemistry or biology courses, and as a supplementary text for students in plant sciences, ecology, and entomology, and in horticultural programs.
Trade ReviewThis fluently written book is illustrated by well-chosen colour photos and numerous chemical formulae as well as some tabulation of data such as one showing the composition of the synthetic medium used to feed pea aphids. This involves having a detailed knowledge of insects’ dietary needs, which are surprisingly complex. I found it interesting to read that the reason that pheromones have odd numbers of carbon atoms in each molecule is because of the mechanism by which insects synthesise them. After reading this book one comes away with the feeling that there is a lot more to be learned from this topic, particularly by those who would like to move away from using environmentally unfriendly sprays in favour of more targeted approaches. -- John Edmondson, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK * Chromatographia, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-019-03787-w *
Table of ContentsThe Chemistry of Plants and Insects; Plants Attracting Insects; Plants That Eat Insects; Plants' Defence Against Insects; Insects and Their Chemistry; Insects Feeding on Plants; Plant Galls: Protection and Food for the Young; Insects That Use Plant Defenses for Their Own Protection; Insects That Provide Protection for Plants; Human Uses; Plant-Insect Interactions and the Human Role
