Patterns of Circadian Rhythms in Insects
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
Excerpt
One important aspect of circadian rhythms—their ecological significance—can seldom be understood except from the result of observations made in nature. By the same token, rhythms observed in the field are often difficult to interpret on account of the numerous environmental factors which may affect their manifestation. There is, however, much to be learned from such studies, particularly, I think, with regard to the time cues which position cyclical activities.
In the past, extensive data have been obtained on the rhythms which can be discerned in natural populations of insects, particularly those which can be readily quantified, such as nocturnal flight [1] or biting activity [2]. General locomotory activity, which has been so widely studied with aktographs in the laboratory [3, 4, 5, etc.], has seldom been measured in the field, although pitfall traps have recently proved of value for discerning rhythms in Carabidae [6]. A recent approach which is proving...
