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Mechanics of Food Handling by Fluid-Feeding Insects

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Regulatory Mechanisms in Insect Feeding

Abstract

Many insects meet their nutritional requirements through an entirely liquid diet, by feeding on fluids ranging from plant nectars and phloem to mammalian blood. A rich tradition in comparative anatomy and behavior has detailed (a) the diversity of mouthparts found in nectar-, blood-, and phloem-feeding insects and (b) the variety of behaviors used during the feeding process. This tradition has placed less emphasis on the common features in fluid feeding that are likely to result from the basic physical processes of moving fluid from the external environment to the inside of the insect.

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  1. J. G. Kingsolver
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  2. T. L. Daniel
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurobiology, University of Arizona, 85721, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    R. F. Chapman

  2. Department of Entomology, University of Kansas, 66045, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

    Gerrit de Boer

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Kingsolver, J.G., Daniel, T.L. (1995). Mechanics of Food Handling by Fluid-Feeding Insects. In: Chapman, R.F., de Boer, G. (eds) Regulatory Mechanisms in Insect Feeding. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1775-7_2

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