A water strider darts across a pond, its feet dimpling the surface
tension; a giant water bug dives below, carrying his mate's eggs on
his back; hidden among plant roots on the silty bottom, a dragonfly
larva stalks unwary minnows. Barely skimming the surface, in the
air above the pond, swarm mayflies with diaphanous wings. Take this
walk around the pond with Gilbert Waldbauer and discover the most
amazingly diverse inhabitants of the freshwater world.
In his hallmark companionable style, Waldbauer introduces us to
the aquatic insects that have colonized ponds, lakes, streams, and
rivers, especially those in North America. Along the way we learn
about the diverse forms these arthropods take, as well as their
remarkable modes of life--how they have radiated into every
imaginable niche in the water environment, and how they cope with
the challenges such an environment poses to respiration, vision,
thermoregulation, and reproduction. We encounter the caddis fly
larva building its protective case and camouflaging it with stream
detritus; green darner dragonflies mating midair in an acrobatic
wheel formation; ants that have adapted to the tiny water
environment within a pitcher plant; and insects whose adaptations
to the aquatic lifestyle are furnishing biomaterials engineers with
ideas for future applications in industry and consumer goods.
While learning about the evolution, natural history, and
ecology of these insects, readers also discover more than a little
about the scientists who study them.
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