Monika Hilker and Torsten Meiners, Eds.
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK
2002, 390 pp.
ISBN: 1-4051-0694-8
Numerous books have examined various aspects of insect
chemical ecology, but none have focused on the chemoecology of insect eggs—a
highly vulnerable, yet important stage of the insect life cycle. This edited
volume fills that gap by collecting and organizing many of the relevant papers
on insect egg chemoecology. As its title suggests, this volume has a relatively
narrow focus and will appeal to professionals and graduate students in the field
of insect chemical ecology as a useful reference and/or as a text for a graduate
seminar. With 13 chapters citing more than 500 references, this body of work
covers a range of topics, from molecular events in egg formation to the
evolutionary ecology of oviposition pheromones.
The book is organized into two sections, which is reflected
in its two-part title. The first six chapters examine the chemoecology of the
eggs themselves; and the remaining seven chapters address intra- and
interspecific interactions governing egg deposition. Although most of the book’s
chapters are nicely organized into these two themes, some chapters seem
misplaced. For example, in Chapter 4, Eisner et al. discuss the paternal role in
egg defense in a somewhat disjointed fashion, which seems misplaced when
compared with the first three succinct chapters focusing on the biochemistry and
physiology of eggs. Chapter 5 (Ayasse and Paxton) is an engaging review of brood
protection in social insects, but it appears to belong in some other volume
because it has very little discussion about the chemical aspect of this
behavior. Despite the shortcomings and/or misplacement of Chapters 4 and 5, the
rest of the book contains useful, novel information. Below are some of the
highlights.
In Chapter 6, Kellner reviews the role of microorganisms for
eggs and progeny and covers topics ranging from the beneficial effects of
microorganisms for eggs and progeny to female oviposition mediated by cues from
microorganisms. Chapters 7 (Stadler) and 8 (Hilker et al.) make important
contributions to our understanding of interactions between insect eggs and
plants. Between these two chapters, the reader gains a better understanding of
the plant chemical cues that are important for egg deposition and of how plants
then change physically and chemically once oviposition has occurred.
In Chapter 10, McCall examines chemoecology of oviposition in
insects of medical and veterinary importance; this is a well-written chapter
with a more applied flavor. Although many volumes have been written on
chemoecology of parasitoids, in Chapter 11 Steidle and van Loon present a
succinct review of theoretical and experimental research on oviposition in
parasitoids. This chapter also makes some novel comparisons between oviposition
of parasitoids and predators. Finally, Chapters 12 (Hoffmeister and Roitberg)
and 13 (Janz) review the evolutionary questions and problems associated with
insect oviposition. The former chapter focuses on the evolutionary ecology of
marking pheromones with a discussion of how natural selection might affect the
chemistry of these pheromones. In Chapter 13, Janz reviews the behavioral
strategies of oviposition, but unfortunately spends little time discussing the
chemical aspects of this behavior.
Considering that information on insect oviposition is
scattered throughout the second half of the book, it would have been very useful
for the editors to write a synthetic chapter on this topic that specifically
addressed the conservation and pest control implications of this topic. In fact,
a synthetic overview seems to be the one key chapter missing from this volume.
The editors briefly discuss the implications and future directions of insect egg
chemoecology in their introduction, but it would have been more helpful to have
a comprehensive chapter of this type at the end of the volume, especially
addressing oviposition chemoecology.
Despite its few shortcomings, this edited volume will be a
worthwhile addition to anyone interested in insect chemoecology. The editors did
an excellent job of ensuring that each chapter followed a similar format, and
the photos are superb throughout the text. This book will be more valuable to
research efforts than to teaching needs and will undoubtedly spark discussion
about its implications for pest control at extension, agricultural, and park
facilities.
