Thieves, Deceivers, and Killers by William Agosta, Princeton
University Press, £16.95, ISBN 0691004889
MOST tsetse flies respond to the smelly blend of carbon dioxide, acetone and
octenol that to them cries out “ox”. Phenols in cattle urine are another
turn-on. And one kind of tsetse prefers to get its blood feast from monitor
lizards. Just what is it about these lizards that does it for the flies? Nobody
knows yet, but don’t worry, they soon will, says William Agosta.
Agosta is fascinated by “chemical ecology”—how organisms from bacteria
up to humans use chemicals to find mates, subdue prey, cure…
