The Principles of Insect Physiology
INSECTS PROVIDE an ideal medium in which to study all the problems of physiology. But if this medium is to be used to the best advantage, the principles and peculiarities of the insect's organization must be first appreciated. It is the purpose of this bo
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INSECT PHYSIOLOGY
THE PRINCIPLES OF
INSECT PHYSIOLOGY by
V. B. WIGGLESWORTH C.B.E., M.D., F.R.S. EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE; FORMERL Y DIRECTOR, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COUNCIL UNIT OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY
Seventh Edition
With
412
LONDON
illustrations
NEW YORK
CHAPMAN AND HALL
First published in 1939 by Methuen and Co. Ltd Second edition 1944 Third edition 1947 Fourth edition, revised, 1951 Fifth edition, with addenda, 1953 Sixth edition, revised, 1965 Reprinted once Seventh edition 1972 published by Chapman and Hall Ltd 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE First published as a Science Paperback 1!]82 Published in the USA by Chapman and Hall 733 Third Avenue New rork Nr 10017 © 1972 V. B. Wigglesworth
ISBN-13: 978-0-412-24660-9 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-5973-6 DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-5973-6
This paperback edition is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.
PREFACE INSECTS PROVIDE an ideal medium in which to study all the problems of physiology. But if this medium is to be used to the best advantage, the principles and peculiarities of the insect's organization must be first appreciated. It is the purpose of this book to set forth these principles so far as they are understood at the present day. There exist already many excellent text-books of general entomology; notably those of Imms, Weber, and Snodgrass, to mention only the more recent. But these authors have necessarily been preoccupied chiefly with describing the diversity of form among insects; discussions on function being correspondingly condensed. In the present work the emphasis is reversed. Structure is described only to an extent sufficient to make the physiological argument intelligible. Every anatomical peculiarity, every ecological specialization, has indeed its physiological counterpart. In that sense, anatomy, physiology and ecology are not separable. But regarded from the standpoint from which the present work is written, the endless modifications that are met with among insects are but illustrations of the general principles of their physiology, which it is the aim of this book to set forth. Completeness in such a work is not possible, or desirable; but an endeavour has been made to illustrate each physiological characteristic by a few concrete examples, and to include sufficient references to guide the student to the more important sources. The physiology of insects is to some the handmaid of Eco
