What Good Are Bugs?: Insects in the Web of Life - Hardcover

Waldbauer, Gilbert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674010272 ISBN 13: 9780674010277

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2003

Synopsis

We shriek about them, slap and spray them, and generally think of insects (when we think of them at all) as pests. Yet, if all insects, or even a critical few, were to disappear--if there were none to pollinate plants, serve as food for other animals, dispose of dead organisms, and perform other ecologically essential tasks--virtually all the ecosystems on earth, the webs of life, would unravel. This book, the first to catalogue ecologically important insects by their roles, gives us an enlightening look at how insects work in ecosystems--what they do, how they live, and how they make life as we know it possible.

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 behavior of these tiny creatures. He weaves a colorful, 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 the 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 charmingly illustrated volume captures the full sweep of insects' integral place in the web of life.

About this title

About the Author

Gilbert Waldbauer is Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Reviews

Bugs. In general, we do not like them. However, if all the insects were to disappear from the earth, then almost every terrestrial ecosystem would totally unravel. Why are insects so important to terrestrial life on our planet? And how do they achieve this level of importance? In this elegant survey of insect ecology,Waldbauer, an entomologist and author (The Birder's Bug Book, 1998) instructs readers on the major roles insects play. He provides numerous examples for every aspect of insect ecology he discusses, sprinkling reports from the scientific literature with personal anecdotes from his many years of research. A 26-page bibliography provides more information, and scattered halftone drawings illustrate many concepts. This is an excellent introduction to insect ecology and will be valued in any library. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/pdf/WALWHA_excerpt.pdf

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674010272
• ISBN 13: 9780674010277
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384