Overview

"Bernd Heinrich's widely praised Bumblebee Economics (Harvard, 1979) set a high standard for scientifically accurate yet gracefully articulate writing about nature's ingenious patterns, specifically thermoregulation. His Hot-Blooded Insects takes a giant step forward by presenting an overview of what is now known about thermoregulation in all of the major insect groups, offering new insights on physiology, ecology, and evolution. The book is richly illustrated by the author's exquisite sketches. By describing the environmental opportunities and challenges faced by moths and butterflies, grasshoppers and locusts, dungball rollers and other beetles, a wide range of bees, and other insects, Heinrich explains their dazzling variety of physiological and behavioral adaptations to what, for them, is a world of violent extremes in temperature. These mechanisms are apparent only through precise observations, but the small body size of insects poses large technical difficulties in whole-animal experiments, engendering controversy about the reliability of the data thus derived. Emphasizing an experimental approach, Heinrich pinpoints where he believes studies have gone astray, describing in detail both groundbreaking experiments and those which leave a reasonable doubt"" about the mechanism being interpreted. He reviews relevant work on the major taxa to show the underlying patterns that draw diversity together, opines on current controversies, and identifies questions that call for further study. Physiologists, ecologists, entomologists, and zoologists - in fact, all biologists - will be stimulated and challenged to further research by this masterly synthesis of a new field; it will also appeal toinformed readers interested in general science."

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9780674408388

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Reviews

In this, his latest in a string of impressive books, Bernd Heinrich succeeds nobly in interpreting insect thermoregulation. As huge endotherms, we humans have little appreciation for the temperature challenges that confront a small-bodied insect. As an insect moves from shade to sunshine and back again, the temperature of his small body can swing wildly in just a few minutes. When it's too cold, shivering may be required to generate heat for flight, but at other times the challenge is too much heat and how to dissipate it quickly. These are the types of problems that the book addresses. An impressive literature on insect thermoregulation has accumulated over the past 20 years, thanks in large part to the author's own keen observations and experiments. However, this book is not a mere compilation of data extracted from the literature, but a thought-provoking and critical evaluation of articles published on this subject. Heinrich's intellectual savvy is apparent as he carefully identifies the key issues and skillfully debunks and number of ideas that pervade the literature...The book is written in a style that makes it easy for a nonspecialist to comprehend, yet contains enough depth for the most serious of scholars. Heinrich conveys the type of intense excitement that thrust many of us into entomological careers in the first place. Hot-Blooded Insects comes alive with the identification of key workers and their institutions; it is replete with splendid illustrations, including many of the author's own sketches. -- David L. Denlinger American Entomologist

Author Information

Bernd Heinrich is Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Vermont. He has written several memoirs of his life in science and nature, including One Man's Owl, and Ravens in Winter. Bumblebee Economics was twice a nominee for the American Book Award in Science, and A Year in the Maine Woods won the 1995 Rutstrum Authors' Award for Literary Excellence.

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