Abstract
IT is well known that substantial changes in water content may occur in some insects. The hæmolymph, for example, which may be copious and watery in a recently fed individual, may become scanty and treacly in a starved and desiccated specimen1. Reversible desiccation may slow down metabolism; it may be important in promoting survival in species exposed to very low (sub-zero centigrade) temperatures, but it may have remarkably little effect on many vital processes.
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Mellanby, K., Boil. Rev., 14, 243 (1939).
Mellanby, K., Nature, 173, 582 (1954).
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MELLANBY, K. Water Content and Insect Metabolism. Nature 181, 1403 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1811403a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1811403a0
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