Bombardier Beetles And Fever Trees: A Close-up Look At Chemical Warfare And Signals In Animals And Plants

by William C. Agosta

In their sometimes fierce, often mysterious lives, many plants and animals rely on the transmission and reception of chemicals to attack, defend, eat, and avoid being eaten. In this exciting book, Agosta tells the story of the surprising interplay between the hunters and the hunted in the gardens, fields, and forests of the world.

Genres: Biology, Science, Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 21, 1995

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was driven home quite effectively in this book is that organisms don't just evolve, they evolve together with other organisms. The war (or collaboration) between insects and plants makes fascinating reading. You don't need a background in chemistry to follow Agosta's discussions on the role of chemicals in communication, survival, and interspecies competition, either. Who ever knew there was a connection between bugs and antifreeze, for starters?

[Franz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well-written book. About half of his examples I was familiar with already, while the other half was new to me. However, he also organizes animal/plant behavior/interactions in a way that makes it easy to see the differences in the use of chemicals.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bombardier Beetles and Fever Trees: A Close Up Look at Chemical Warfare and Signals in Animals and Plants by William Agosta (Basic Books 1995)(574.5). The author explains the interaction of plants and animals as they compete with each other for dominance and control in the wild. My rating: 7/10, finished 2004.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff. The only thing I didn't like was the book's organization into short snippets; I preferred when he went into a bit more detail, such as with his elaborate description of fig wasps and figs. Neat stuff. Now I need to go find me a bombadier beetle...

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short summaries of the complex ways animals & plants interact through chemistry.

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff. I highly recommend it.