Chronicles the evolution of insects and explains how evolutionary innovations have enabled them to disperse widely, occupy narrow niches, and survive global catastrophes. --Publisher's description.
This “excellent guide to the history of our planet” offers a bugs-eye view of evolution, biodiversity, and todays ecological crises (The Guardian, UK). According to entomologist Scott Richard Shaw, dinosaurs never ruled the earth—and neither do humans. The true potentates of our planet are, and always have been, insects. Starting in the shallow oceans of ancient Earth and ending in the far reaches of outer space—where insect-like aliens may also reign—Planet of the Bugs spins a sweeping account of insects’ evolution from humble arthropod ancestors into the bugs we know today. Leaving no stone unturned, Shaw explores how evolutionary innovations such as small body size, wings, metamorphosis, and parasitic behavior have enabled insects to disperse widely, occupy increasingly narrow niches, and survive global catastrophes in their rise to dominance. Through bizarre and buggy tales—from caddisflies that construct portable houses to parasitic wasp larvae that develop in the blood of host insects—he demonstrates how changes in our planet’s geology, flora, and fauna contributed to insects’ success, and also how, in return, insects came to shape terrestrial ecosystems. And in his visits to hyperdiverse rain forests to highlight the current insect extinction crisis, Shaw reaffirms how crucial these tiny beings are to planetary health and human survival.
"This is a lovely little book that could and should have a big impact...Let’s all get rebugging right away!"—Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Meet the intelligent insects, marvelous minibeasts, and inspirational invertebrates that help shape our planet—and discover how you can help them help us by rebugging your attitude today! Remember when there were bugs on your windshield? Ever wonder where they went? We need to act now if we are to help the insects survive. Robin Wall Kimmerer, David Attenborough, and Elizabeth Kolbert are but a few voices championing the rewilding of our world. Rebugging the Planet explains how we are headed toward “insectageddon” with a rate of insect extinction eight times faster than that of mammals or birds, and gives us crucial information to help all those essential creepy-crawlies flourish once more. Author Vicki Hird passionately demonstrates how insects and invertebrates are the cornerstone of our global ecosystem. They pollinate plants, feed birds, support and defend our food crops, and clean our water systems. They are also beautiful, inventive, and economically invaluable—bees, for example, contribute an estimated $235 to $577 billion to the US economy annually, according to Forbes. Rebugging the Planet shows us small changes we can make to have a big impact on our littlest allies: Learn how to rewild parks, schools, sidewalks, roadsides, and other green spaces. Leave your garden to grow a little wild and plant weedkiller-free, wildlife-friendly plants. Take your kids on a minibeast treasure hunt and learn how to build bug palaces. Make bug-friendly choices with your food and support good farming practices Begin to understand how reducing inequality and poverty will help nature and wildlife too—it’s all connected. So do your part and start rebugging today! The bees, ants, earthworms, butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, ladybugs, snails, and slugs will thank you—and our planet will thank you too.
Animal Planet introduces information-packed nonfiction chapter books that are just right for pleasure reading and schoolwork. Fly away on a fascinating journey to the world of Bugs!. Meet the fastest flyers and the long-distance travelers--from huge moths and colorful butterflys to busy bees and annoying fleas. Learn about massive locust swarms and hungry caterpillars. Bugs! is the perfect overview for developing readers ready to explore this popular animal subject on their own. Special features include full-color photography throughout, "Meet the Scientist" sidebars, and "In Your Newsfeed" articles about amazing new discoveries. Don't miss the other books in the Animal Planet Chapter Books series: Snakes!, Dinosaurs!, and Sharks!.
From moths and beetles to worms and spiders, this completely illustrated, fact-filled book features hundreds of creepy-crawlies for kids to discover and explore. This gorgeously illustrated book reveals the hidden world of some of the most mind-boggling insects. Divided into categorical sections like herbivores and predators, Bugs of the World includes beetles, wasps, bees, ants, caterpillars, butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, flies, crickets and grasshoppers, centipedes and millipedes, and more. Each of the 250 insects featured is accompanied by beautiful illustrations and facts about the creature, including its common name and scientific name, its size, its continent of origin, and a brief description of its unique characteristics. Kids will also learn about the different life cycles of insects, why they are important to ecology and our world, the planet's most dangerous insects, how bugs camouflage themselves, and so much more.
Enter the kingdom of bugs and their close relatives for a magical journey through the forest floor, down into the deepest caves, and even across the open ocean... Insects, arachnids, worms, and mollusks are crawling across the pages of this colorful bug book, which combines gorgeous illustrations and photos to help young animal enthusiasts spot and learn all the main bug groups. From dancing bees to cartwheeling spiders, from butterfly athletes to the beetles that eat poo, they'll learn all about the incredible secret world of creepy-crawlies. And they'll find out how bugs help to look after our planet too. The Book of Brilliant Bugs, written by insect expert Jess French and illustrated by Claire McElfatrick, takes children on a fascinating journey of exploration, showing them just how amazing creepy-crawlies are, what they do for our planet, and how we can help them. It includes bug relatives such as slimy slugs, web-spinning spiders, and scuttling centipedes, plus amazing facts on how bugs pass on messages, compete for food, seek true love, and fill the air with buzzing wings.
Insects will be appearing on our store shelves, menus, and plates within the decade. In The Insect Cookbook, two entomologists and a chef make the case for insects as a sustainable source of protein for humans and a necessary part of our future diet. They provide consumers and chefs with the essential facts about insects for culinary use, with recipes simple enough to make at home yet boasting the international flair of the world’s most chic dishes. Insects are delicious and healthy. A large proportion of the world’s population eats them as a delicacy. In Mexico, roasted ants are considered a treat, and the Japanese adore wasps. Insects not only are a tasty and versatile ingredient in the kitchen, but also are full of protein. Furthermore, insect farming is much more sustainable than meat production. The Insect Cookbook contains delicious recipes; interviews with top chefs, insect farmers, political figures, and nutrition experts (including chef René Redzepi, whose establishment was elected three times as “best restaurant of the world”; Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations; and Daniella Martin of Girl Meets Bug); and all you want to know about cooking with insects, teaching twenty-first-century consumers where to buy insects, which ones are edible, and how to store and prepare them at home and in commercial spaces.
Most North Americans would rather squish a bug than eat it. But mopane worms are a tasty snack in Zimbabwe, baby bees are eaten right out of the can in Japan, and grasshopper tacos are popular in Mexico. More than one-fourth of the world's population eats insects—a practice called entomophagy. Bugs for Breakfast helps middle-grade readers understand the role insects fill in feeding people around the world. Readers will be introduced to the insect specialties and traditions around the globe. They'll discover how nutritious bugs can be and why dining on insects is more environmentally friendly than eating traditional protein sources. Kids will see how making small changes in their own diets could help ensure no one goes hungry. It even includes 13 insect recipes! No doubt about it: teachers, librarians, and parents are hungry for books that entice young readers to be active participants in science. Bugs for Breakfast may not completely remove the yuck-factor from the notion of eating bugs, but it will open young readers' minds to what is happening in the world around them.
An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we—and the planet we inhabit—could not survive without them. Insects comprise roughly half of the animal kingdom. They live everywhere—deep inside caves, 18,000 feet high in the Himalayas, inside computers, in Yellowstone’s hot springs, and in the ears and nostrils of much larger creatures. There are insects that have ears on their knees, eyes on their penises, and tongues under their feet. Most of us think life would be better without bugs. In fact, life would be impossible without them. Most of us know that we would not have honey without honeybees, but without the pinhead-sized chocolate midge, cocoa flowers would not pollinate. No cocoa, no chocolate. The ink that was used to write the Declaration of Independence was derived from galls on oak trees, which are induced by a small wasp. The fruit fly was essential to medical and biological research experiments that resulted in six Nobel prizes. Blowfly larva can clean difficult wounds; flour beetle larva can digest plastic; several species of insects have been essential to the development of antibiotics. Insects turn dead plants and animals into soil. They pollinate flowers, including crops that we depend on. They provide food for other animals, such as birds and bats. They control organisms that are harmful to humans. Life as we know it depends on these small creatures. With ecologist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson as our capable, entertaining guide into the insect world, we’ll learn that there is more variety among insects than we can even imagine and the more you learn about insects, the more fascinating they become. Buzz, Sting, Bite is an essential introduction to the little creatures that make the world go round.