American Scientist

To the Editors:

Hummingbird and Bat Pollinators of the Chiricahuas by Theodore H. Fleming, M. Brock Fenton, and Sherri L. Fenton (November–December 2020) is an informative and detailed article about the interactions between flora and fauna in a lovely area of the desert southwest. I was, however, disappointed to see the authors use the terms warm-blooded and cold-blooded in describing birds, bats, and insects, particularly when this statement was used as a highlighted piece of text. Those terms are confusing at best and at worst incorrect. They imply that all birds and mammals regulate and maintain high body temperature at all times, while insects do not regulate at all. The correct terms would be endothermic and ectothermic, but even those terms do not always apply to all animals in a group. 

For example, there are many species of endothermic insects, such as moths and bees that pollinate arctic flowers. Many bats and hummingbirds are heterotherms that employ the strategy of daily torpor, allowing body temperature and metabolic rate to drop at night to conserve energy. 

I am often told that the general public would not understand the scientific terms, and thus it is necessary to use simplified terminology. American Scientist, however, includes many scientists among its readers. I think my fellow readers, even if they are not thermal biologists, can understand a few scientific terms for the purpose of avoiding confusion and accidental misinformation. 

Polly K. Phillips
Miramar, FL