- Email: [email protected]
Comprehensive insect physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology
achievable? The situation may get worse. rather than better. if a comparable division of the insect knowledge pie continues to be adopted. Each special sense can be smglcd out for descriptive convenience. but none can, and perhilps should not. be separated from others. In any natural beha%inur several senses co-operate to guide the motor output. and evolution can only operate via the overall behaviour produced. We ma> eventually see physioiogic:ti hurvcys dividing the material by way of hchabiours. Meanwhile. this volume offer5 the best that I\ available. The chapters arc all extcnslvely illustrated and provide lnvaluahle summar~cs of current knowledee. The authors have done thclr fellow ncuroscientlsts a &c service. and ezch has been at paim to keep the newcomer in mind. providing both critical background informatIon and perspectives. some of which relate to vcrtchrstes. others bang confined to contra<& between insect orders. Houevcr. regardless of personal prejudices and background the reader is unlikely to bc bored. The quality of recent research on insect vense organs has been extremely high. as well as intense. Lacking ;I single “dominant” speacs matching the role of ~~~~~7~) ,s~r@t.\ among vertebrates. the sensory biology of insects can be approached in the pure spirit ot inquiry which IS refresblngly cxemplifcd in this volume. insect sensory sc~encc iy revealed a\ fascinating no matter what ones perspective niny be.
Volume 7. Gltkrc,~irro/o~pl, i. 565 + xvi pp. Rcvlcw m prop;tration. Volume
8. E,~tk,r.rirfo/o,~~, II. 595 + xvi pp.
This volume. devoted to the actions of hormones in insects. complements Vol. 7 which is concerned with the prod~iction and chemistry of insect hormones. The I5 chapters, mostlq by authors who have pcrsonaliy been actively involved in the development of their topics, cover the lield both broadly and deeply. In general. the standard of scholarship and production is high, documentation is thorough. and there IS little redundancy between chapters and few serious areas of omission. More information on diverse aspects ofin\ect hormone action is brought together here than in any previous single work, and this will clearly be a valuable reference source for many years to come. It is regrettable in such a rapidly developing subject, that most of the literature rcvlews closed in 1982 so that. at its publication. the hook is almost three years out of date with respect to current research papers. However. by thoroughly reviewing the previous 30 years and more. a solid fourrdatton IS laid for others to follow. Only the very first fruits from recombinant DNA methods find their way into this work, and the apphcatlon of this powerful technology to analysis of insect hormone action will mark a starting point for future review?. So great IS the diversity of insects that, despite the mass of information here assembled and, so far as possible, digested, there is often a groping for common themes. In the stimul~iting chapter on “lnteg~~tion in the Insect Endocrine System” (C. Steel and K. Davey). the “classical scheme” for control of moulting and metamorphosis by brain, prothoracic glands and corpora allata. which developed from Wiggelsworth’s pioneering studies in the 1930’s and was completed by C. Williams and others by the mid-1950’s. is accepted and the authors discuss a variety of feedbacks and other regulatory mechanisms that create a subtle and dynamically interacting system. Five chapters deal mainly with aspects of the actions of the two trpoidal developmental hormones. ecdysteroid and Juvenile hormone. Riddiford has done an excellent chapter on hormone action at the cellular level. chiefly in the control of postembryonic growth and development. a subject to
uhlch her o\*n studies with ,Urr&~c~r .x(‘.\-((Ihn\e contributed much. The chapter on “Control of Dopa-Decarboxclnsc” (C. Sekcris and E. Fragouhs), though specialized, treats a subJect that has contributed historlcally to concepts ol ccdysteroid action. “The Role of Ecdystcroids in Reproduction” (H. Hagcdorn). hring out the distinction (and also similarity) between endocrmc mechanisms used h> certain Diptera and by most other insect groups for control 01 oogenesis. Female reproducttvc development and function In selected species provides good matcrlal for an;rlq
R. WYATT
The volume on behavior in this series draws authors from many different countries. including some writers who have not previously been given an opportumty to review their research topic. The result is that the ideas and viewpoints raised by some of the authors are new and diRerent from those expressed in other books on insect behavior. At 672 pages there is much to be gained from this volume. including some valuable data compilations that hnve not previously been assembled. Some contributions are much too long, however. and some lack that final polish that usually accompanies space restriction. For example. thcrc is incredible overlap among chapters. such that most chapters
Volume 7. Gltkrc,~irro/o~pl, i. 565 + xvi pp. Rcvlcw m prop;tration. Volume
8. E,~tk,r.rirfo/o,~~, II. 595 + xvi pp.
This volume. devoted to the actions of hormones in insects. complements Vol. 7 which is concerned with the prod~iction and chemistry of insect hormones. The I5 chapters, mostlq by authors who have pcrsonaliy been actively involved in the development of their topics, cover the lield both broadly and deeply. In general. the standard of scholarship and production is high, documentation is thorough. and there IS little redundancy between chapters and few serious areas of omission. More information on diverse aspects ofin\ect hormone action is brought together here than in any previous single work, and this will clearly be a valuable reference source for many years to come. It is regrettable in such a rapidly developing subject, that most of the literature rcvlews closed in 1982 so that. at its publication. the hook is almost three years out of date with respect to current research papers. However. by thoroughly reviewing the previous 30 years and more. a solid fourrdatton IS laid for others to follow. Only the very first fruits from recombinant DNA methods find their way into this work, and the apphcatlon of this powerful technology to analysis of insect hormone action will mark a starting point for future review?. So great IS the diversity of insects that, despite the mass of information here assembled and, so far as possible, digested, there is often a groping for common themes. In the stimul~iting chapter on “lnteg~~tion in the Insect Endocrine System” (C. Steel and K. Davey). the “classical scheme” for control of moulting and metamorphosis by brain, prothoracic glands and corpora allata. which developed from Wiggelsworth’s pioneering studies in the 1930’s and was completed by C. Williams and others by the mid-1950’s. is accepted and the authors discuss a variety of feedbacks and other regulatory mechanisms that create a subtle and dynamically interacting system. Five chapters deal mainly with aspects of the actions of the two trpoidal developmental hormones. ecdysteroid and Juvenile hormone. Riddiford has done an excellent chapter on hormone action at the cellular level. chiefly in the control of postembryonic growth and development. a subject to
uhlch her o\*n studies with ,Urr&~c~r .x(‘.\-((Ihn\e contributed much. The chapter on “Control of Dopa-Decarboxclnsc” (C. Sekcris and E. Fragouhs), though specialized, treats a subJect that has contributed historlcally to concepts ol ccdysteroid action. “The Role of Ecdystcroids in Reproduction” (H. Hagcdorn). hring out the distinction (and also similarity) between endocrmc mechanisms used h> certain Diptera and by most other insect groups for control 01 oogenesis. Female reproducttvc development and function In selected species provides good matcrlal for an;rlq
R. WYATT
The volume on behavior in this series draws authors from many different countries. including some writers who have not previously been given an opportumty to review their research topic. The result is that the ideas and viewpoints raised by some of the authors are new and diRerent from those expressed in other books on insect behavior. At 672 pages there is much to be gained from this volume. including some valuable data compilations that hnve not previously been assembled. Some contributions are much too long, however. and some lack that final polish that usually accompanies space restriction. For example. thcrc is incredible overlap among chapters. such that most chapters