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Insects at Low Temperature pp 47–63Cite as

The Water Relations of Overwintering Insects

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Abstract

Water is the universal solvent of living organisms. Biochemical and physiological processes require an optimal interaction with water, and organisms possess efficient mechanisms to regulate the amounts and activities of extracellular and intracellular water. Terrestrial animals tend to loose water by evaporation. Insects, which are among the most successful terrestrial animals, have a cuticular exoskeleton with a low water permeability that reduces the evaporative water loss substantially (Edney, 1977).

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Authors
  1. Karl Erik Zachariassen
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Richard E. Lee Jr. David L. Denlinger

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© 1991 Chapman and Hall

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Zachariassen, K.E. (1991). The Water Relations of Overwintering Insects. In: Lee, R.E., Denlinger, D.L. (eds) Insects at Low Temperature. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0190-6_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0190-6_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-0192-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-0190-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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