Plants and insects together

By Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823402746
• ISBN13: 9780823402748
• Release Date: January 1976
• Publisher: Holiday House
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Age Range: 9 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 6

Customer Reviews

The ever fascinating world of plants and insects together

Plants and insects together by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent Binding: 128 pages Publisher: Holiday House (1976) ISBN: 0823402746 It is sometimes hard to believe that life, as we know it now did not exist approximately three hundred million years ago. The "popular" life was not found on land rather in the waters, where plants and insects were mostly occupied amongst other things that weren't human. When life started moving to land it was no surprise that plants and insects were among the first to leave the water. The book titled "Plants and insects together" written by Dorothy HinShaw Patent explores the unique relationship that plants and insects have with each other, this relationship distinctively differs from the relationship that animals have with plants "many kinds of animals use plants for food, the relationship ends there." For approximately three hundred million years, the relationship between plants and insects has been one to explore their relationship in the race for evolution. Plants and insects have been known to have evolved together on land, affecting one another in many ways. "Among the plants and insects alive today, we see the results of those long years of evolving together, or co-evolution". (Page 10) Patent tries to explain this unique relationship through out her book suggesting that plants and insects have almost been at war for more than 300 million years; where they have been through the good times and the bad, "even carrying on their battles through major extinctions". During all this time they have also learned to live with and even benefit from each other. Plants have developed defenses (both physical and chemical) against insect attack but in many cases exploit insects for help in reproduction. Patent has written a well-organized book. The book includes seven chapters where she explores topics that include plants and insects being partners/enemies to the insect eating plants. Also within each chapter she does a nice job talking about numerous subtopics that relate. In her first chapter she discusses the topics of "camouflage", "plant defenses" and "food shortages". Camouflaging, is when insects tend to disguise themselves in a way to resemble parts of a plant, by doing so they have an upper hand in the race for evolution which in turn means they have a better chance fending off their enemies since they will have a hard time finding them, therefore they are less likely to be eaten before reproducing. Camouflaging is best seen through the example of the praying mantis. The praying mantis "is green and sits motionless on a twig, waiting for passing insects. When one gets close enough, the mantis grab it in a flash." Patent gives other camouflaging examples, which include; the stick and leaf insects, caterpillars, moths, weevils, etc. The concept of plant defense is in itself an interesting topic. The common insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, aphids and beetles all have the tendency to feed on plants, but