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Introduction – Caterpillars as Focal Study Organisms

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Caterpillars in the Middle

Part of the book series: Fascinating Life Sciences ((FLS))

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Abstract

Here, we introduce the concept of “caterpillars in the middle”, a theme echoed throughout the chapters of this book. Caterpillars must deal with plant defenses while at the same escape the life threatening impact of their natural enemies, predators, parasitoids, and disease. We foreshadow the multitude of topics to be covered in this compendium, including adaptation, behavior, defenses, evolution, morphology, physiology, and conservation. We reflect on how the work of early natural historians led to our greater understanding of Lepidoptera life histories. We finish by paying homage to many published works in this field that have given rise to the work of scientists contributing to this volume and explain how this book came to be.

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Acknowledgements

We thank many of the contributors to this volume for their constructive comments on this introduction.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, International Center for Tropical Botany, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Suzanne Koptur

  2. Department of Biology, Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri–St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Robert J. Marquis

Authors
  1. Suzanne Koptur
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  2. Robert J. Marquis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suzanne Koptur .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri–St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA

    Robert J. Marquis

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, International Center for Tropical Botany, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Suzanne Koptur

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Koptur, S., Marquis, R.J. (2022). Introduction – Caterpillars as Focal Study Organisms. In: Marquis, R.J., Koptur, S. (eds) Caterpillars in the Middle. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86688-4_1

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