Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 June 2012
Water economy is a necessary complement of terrestrial life, for the limits of life upon land are, in part, determined by the organism's ability to utilize and conserve the water of its environment. For small organisms of terrestrial habit, the large surface-to-mass ratio and consequent surface evaporation makes the problem of water conservation particularly acute. It is therefore remarkable that the insects constitute the most numerous and varied group of terrestrial animals; and it follows that their success is, in large part, due to their ability to utilize and conserve water in widely divergent environments.