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Mostly tiny, infinitely delicate, and short-lived, insects and their relatives – arthropods – nonetheless outnumber all their fellow creatures on earth. How lowly arthropods achieved this unlikely preeminence is a story deftly and colourfully told in this follow-up to the award-winning For Love of Insects. Part handbook, part field guide, part photo album, Secret Weapons 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.
In 69 chapters, each brilliantly illustrated with photographs culled from Thomas Eisner's legendary collection, we meet a largely North American cast of arthropods – as well as a few of their kin from Australia, Europe, and Asia – and observe at firsthand the nature and extent of the defences that lie at the root of their evolutionary success. Here are the cockroaches and termites, the carpenter ants and honeybees, and all the miniature creatures in between, deploying their sprays and venom, froth and faeces, camouflage and sticky coatings. And along with a marvellous bug's-eye view of how these secret weapons actually work, here is a close-up look at the science behind them, from taxonomy to chemical formulas, as well as an appendix with instructions for studying chemical defences at home.
Whether dipped into here and there or read cover-to-cover, Secret Weapons will prove invaluable to hands-on researchers and amateur naturalists alike and will captivate any reader for whom nature is a source of wonder.
Prologue
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 Walking-Stick)
Family Pseudophasmatidae
20. Anisomorpha buprestoides (The Two-Striped Walking-Stick)
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 Bald Cypress 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
Thomas Eisner is J. G. Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University. In 1994 he was awarded the National Medal of Science, and in 2005 he received the Rockefeller University Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science. Maria Eisner is a Research Associate of Biology at Cornell University. Melody Siegler is an Associate Professor of Biology at Emory University.
"Secret Weapons 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, The Times Literary Supplement
"The 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
"Arranged 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, The New York Sun
"The 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 [...] Secret Weapons 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
"The 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
"The 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
"The 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
"This 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
"The 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
"Secret Weapons 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
"A glorious collection! The fruit of a lifetime's delectable curiosity, Secret Weapons 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
"Secret Weapons 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
"Secret Weapons 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
"This 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 Hölldobler, Arizona State University
"A stunning example of the interdisciplinary nature of modern science. Secret Weapons 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
"Secret Weapons 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
