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Waldbauer, professor emeritus of Entomology, has spent the greater part of
his adult life fascinated by insects. He was "hooked" from his
first class in entomology and is now generating that enthusiasm in others
through his series of popular books.
"I came to the University of Illinois to get a
Master’s degree in Entomology—and I never left." Waldbauer spent
46 years in the classroom, starting as a teaching assistant and retiring
in 1995 as a professor. Over the years, he has taught a number of students
agricultural entomology, insect behavior, and a general education course
on insects and humans.
Waldbauer is still teaching—just using a different
venue. After retirement, he began writing books to help educate the
general public on insects.
"I like to write. But more than that, I serve
as a liaison between the field of entomology and the general public. My
goal is to bring an understanding of biology to a wider audience."
In his most recent book, Millions of Monarchs,
Bunches of Beetles: How Bugs Find Strength in Numbers (Harvard
University Press, 2000), Waldbauer succeeds in doing just that. He imparts
insights through a wealth of examples on the benefits of group living for
insects populations in more or less unorganized groups and simple
societies.
"Many scientists have studied and written about
the complex societies of ants, bees, and wasps. In essence, these
societies are large families. For example, all honey bee workers in a
hive, are daughters of the queen. This book examines insect societies in
which un-related individuals cooperate."
"Group living at any level is important in the
ecological scheme of things, because it enhances survival." Every
insect has to accomplish three things to survive. It must eat and grow; it
must keep from being eaten, and it must find a suitable mate and
reproduce. For many insects, there is truly strength in numbers—and
therefore survival.
One example of cooperative feeding behavior is found
in bark beetles (family Scolytidae). These small beetles spend most of
their lives under the bark of trees. Adults bore through the bark to the
interface between the bark and wood. They feed as they burrow along this
interface, forming a tunnel where they lay their eggs. Each newly hatched
larva begins its own tunnel at the bark-wood interface.
The beetles’ boring damages the tree’s cambium
(growth layer) and phloem (the complex of tubes that carries nutrients
from the leaves to the roots). The tree, however, is not without defenses,
and responds by flooding the tunnels with resin to trap or drown the
beetles.
The bark beetles fight back by producing aggregation
pheromones, which will attract more beetles to that tree. The beetles also
inoculate the tree with spores of several fungi, which they carry in
specially adapted hollows in their body, that help weaken the tree. A
healthy tree will win the battle unless many beetles join in to subdue it.
The beetles will breed in the weakened and dying tree.
Tiny leaf beetle larvae know the importance of
numbers to ward off predators. They will "circle the wagon" when
threatened by the predatory stink bugs. The larvae make a compact cluster,
with their heads facing inward and their armored tail ends providing an
impenetrable shield. As long as the circle is unbroken, the larvae are
safe from attack—and at the same time they can continue to feed.
One interesting example Waldbauer relates about the
importance of numbers in finding suitable mates is the firefly trees of
southeast Asia. These fireflies have favorite trees where they gather by
the millions. The males will flash their light-producing organs in almost
perfect synchrony, creating a light bright enough that local rivermen use
these trees as navigation markers.
"The more males that flash and the brighter the
signal, the more females that will be attracted. In the densely forested
jungle-like areas of Asia, a lone male cannot be seen from a distance. But
even in a dense forest, the glow of a large and brightly shining firefly
tree can attract thousands of females from a large area."
These are just three examples from a book that
includes myriads of mayflies, legions of locusts, and swarms of cicadas,
not to mention, of course, millions of monarchs, and bunches of beetles.
In this fourth popular book, Waldbauer continues his
quest for scientific accuracy while relating the story with infectious
enthusiasm. His other popular works are Insects Through the Seasons
(Harvard University Press, 1996), The Handy Bug Answer Book
(Visible Ink Press, 1998), and The Birder’s Bug Book (Harvard
University Press, 1998).
Waldbauer’s popular writing efforts are not yet
finished. He is currently working on a new book, tentatively titled What
Good Are Insects? "This book will explore the ecological roles of
insects and their importance to the health of ecological systems. For
example, there are approximately 900,000 species of known insects. About
500,000 of those species feed on plants. For animals that don’t eat
plants, plant-feeding insects may be a very important component of their
diet, and their link to the energy stored through photosynthesis."
Waldbauer also was quick to note that he was not the
only book-publishing entomologist in the department. Buzzwords: A
Scientist Muses on Sex, Bugs, and Rock ’N Roll (Joseph Henry Press,
2000) is May Berenbaum’s fourth popular work. Jim Nardi is currently
working on his third popular book, and Fred Delcomyn authored a textbook
on neurobiology in 1997.
Waldbauer earned his PhD in Entomology
at UIUC in 1960. Although he retired in 1995, you can still find him most
days in his Morrill Hall office. Waldbauer has two daughters.
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