ISBN: 9780674010277    Publisher: Harvard University Press Year of publishing: 2003     Format:  Hardback No of Pages: 384        

In "What Good are Bugs?" Gilbert Waldbauer combines anecdotes from entomological history with insights into the intimate workings of the natural world, describing the intriguing and sometimes amazing behaviour of these tiny creatures. He weaves a colourful, richly textured picture of beneficial insect life on earth, from ants sowing their "hanging gardens" on Amazonian shrubs and trees to the sacred scarab of ancient Egypt burying balls of cattle dung full of undigested seeds, from the cactus-eating caterpillar (aptly called Cactoblastis) controlling the spread of prickly pear to the prodigious honey bee and the "sanitary officers of the field" - the fly maggots, ants, beetles and caterpillars that help decompose and recycle dung, carrion and dead plants. As entertaining as it is informative, this illustrated volume captures the full sweep of insects' integral place in the web of life.
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GILBERT WALDBAUER is Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His books include Millions of Monarchs, Bunches of Beetles, Insects through the Seasons, and The Birder's Bug Book (all from Harvard).
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