The Thermal Warriors

All bodily activity is the result of the interplay of vastly complex physiological processes, and all of these processes depend on temperature. For insects, the struggle to keep body temperature within a suitable range for activity and competition is often a matter of life and death. A few studies of temperature regulation in butterflies can be found dating back to the late 1800s, but only recently have scientists begun to study the phenomenon in other insects. In The Thermal Warriors Bernd Heinrich explains how, when, and in general what insects regulate their body temperature and what it means to them. As he shows us, the ingenuity of the survival strategies insects have evolved in the irreducible crucible of temperature is astonishing: from shivering and basking, the construction of turrets (certain tiger beetles), and cooling with liquid feces to stilting (some desert ants and beetles), "panting" in grasshoppers and "sweating cicada," and counter- and alternating-currents of blood flow for heat retention and heat loss. In The Thermal Warriors Heinrich distills his great reference work, The Hot-Blooded Insects, to its essence: the most significant and fascinating stories that illustrate general principles, all conveyed in the always engaging prose we have come to expect from this author.

All bodily activity is the result of the interplay of vastly complex physiological processes, and all of these processes depend on temperature. For insects, the struggle to keep body temperature within a suitable range for activity and competition is often a matter of life and death. A few studies of temperature regulation in butterflies can be found dating back to the late 1800s, but only recently have scientists begun to study the phenomenon in other insects. In The Thermal Warriors Bernd Heinrich explains how, when, and in general what insects regulate their body temperature and what it means to them. As he shows us, the ingenuity of the survival strategies insects have evolved in the irreducible crucible of temperature is astonishing: from shivering and basking, the construction of turrets (certain tiger beetles), and cooling with liquid feces to stilting (some desert ants and beetles), "panting" in grasshoppers and "sweating cicada," and counter- and alternating-currents of blood flow for heat retention and heat loss. In The Thermal Warriors Heinrich distills his great reference work, The Hot-Blooded Insects, to its essence: the most significant and fascinating stories that illustrate general principles, all conveyed in the always engaging prose we have come to expect from this author.

**This is a boxed set of the first four Warriors of the Lathar books. If you own these titles individually, DO NOT purchase this book.** Earth girls might be popular...but they're definitely not easy. Alien Lord’s Captive - Sergeant Cat Moore has a big problem. Namely a big, sexy alien lord she’s give a bad case of the mating marks… Claiming her Alien Warrior - In a race against the clock, Major Jane Allen must betray Karryl’s trust to achieve her mission… But fooling an alien warrior comes with a price. Pregnant by the Alien Healer - Jess is pregnant without nookie. Worse, there’s a bunch of fanatics loose in the palace trying to kill her and her baby… Not. Happening. Alien Healer’s Baby - Laarn’s about to become a daddy. The first female child born for a generation. He’s studied childbirth, he’s confident that he has everything planned. Unfortunately, as any human woman could tell him, having a baby doesn’t always go to plan…

The cockroach could not have scuttled along, almost unchanged, for two hundred and fifty million years – some two hundred and forty-nine before man evolved – unless it was doing something right. It would be fascinating as well as instructive to have access to the cockroach’s own record of its life on earth, to know its point of view on evolution and species domination over the millennia. Such chronicles would perhaps radically alter our perceptions of the dinosaur’s span and importance – and that of our own development and significance. We might learn that throughout all these aeons, the dominant life form has been, if not the cockroach itself, then certainly the insect. Attempts to chronicle the cockroach’s intellectual and emotional life have been made only within the last century when a scientist titled his essay on the cockroach "The Intellectual and Emotional World of the Cockroach", and artists as radically different as Franz Kafka and Don Marquis created equally memorable cockroach protagonists. At least since Classical Greece, authors have brought cockroach characters into the foreground to speak for the weak and downtrodden, the outsiders, those forced to survive on the underside of dominant human cultures. Cockroaches have become the subjects of songs (La Cucaracha), have competed in "roachraces" and have even ended up in recipes. In this accessible, sympathetic and often humorous book, Marion Copeland examines the natural history, symbolism and cultural significance of this poorly understood and much-maligned insect.

X-Men meets Beast Quest at the school for superheroes! An epic new adventure series from bestselling author Adam Blade - with amazing comic-book style illustrations. Team Hero Vs the world! Jack, Danny and Ruby must stop a powerful foe from regaining an ancient sceptre and unleashing its dark magic. But on their quest, they discover some new, unexpected enemies ... There are FOUR thrilling adventures to collect in this series - don't miss out!

In Her Name: Red Legion picks up the story of Reza Gard and Eustus Camden after their graduation from Marine training at the end of chapter ten of In Her Name: Confederation, when they’re assigned to the infamous Red Legion, the dumping ground for the Confederation Marine Corps’ misfits and criminals. But sorting out friend from foe among their new companions is the least of their worries as they’re thrown into combat against not only the warriors of the Kreelan Empire, but terrifying forces of nature that nearly cost them their lives. As Reza fights for both honor and survival, he is confronted with the bitter consequences of being of two worlds and having to choose only one.

Twenty elegant essays examine animal behavior--from hummingbirds to bumblebees, thatcher ants to wrens, owls to woodrats to wasps.