This is the first comprehensive book focusing on the form and function of insect mouthparts. Written by leading experts, it reviews the current knowledge on feeding types and the evolution of mouthparts and presents new research approaches. The richly illustrated articles cover topics ranging from functional morphology, biomechanics of biting and chewing, and the biophysics of fluid-feeding to the morphogenesis and genetics of mouthpart development, ecomorphology in flower-visiting insects as well as the evolution of mouthparts, including fossil records. Intended for entomologists and scientists interested in interdisciplinary approaches, Insect Mouthparts provides a solid basis for future scientific work.
Introduction - Insects feeding
Part 1. Functional types of insect mouthparts
Part 2. Form, function and biomechanics
Part 3. Fossil record of insect mouthparts
Part 4. Development and genetics of mouthpart formation
Harald W. Krenn is an Associate Professor at the Department of Integrative Zoology at the University of Vienna (Austria), where he graduated in Zoology and Botany. His current research focuses on the evolutionary morphology of insect mouthparts, integrating new methods of functional morphology with feeding behaviour and ecology under evolutionary perspectives. He is particularly interested in interdisciplinary research on flower-visiting insects, which also involves fieldwork in the Austrian Alps, Neotropical rainforests and the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa.