Furtive Fauna: A Field Guide to the Creatures Who Live on You

We've all been bitten by mosquitoes, annoyed by buzzing flies, and perhaps had an itchy and embarrassing encounter with head lice back in grammar school. But there are many more strange creatures that thrive on humans, living out their entire lives on or around our heads, bodies, bedsheets, and carpets. In this oddly charming and utterly engaging wildlife guide, biology professor Roger Knutson (author ofFlattened Fauna, the classic guide to animals of the highways) introduces us to a rogues' gallery of visitors, guests, and permanent residents, including:

*Ticks: They can lie in wait for years hoping for something tasty to wander by. If it happens to be you, you can look forward to the possibility of Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Tsutsugamushi disease, and other interesting disorders.

*Fleas: They have incredibly elaborate sex lives and can jump really, really far. And you almost certainly don't want to become a flea researcher, given what the job entails

*Face Mites: You'll probably never see one, as they're microscopically small, but you may never feel the same way about your eyebrows again either.

...and many more micro-critters, from the ubiquitous fly to the wiy tooth amoeba. Scientifically accurate, adorably witty, and handsomely illustrated, this book that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "you're a perfect host."

The author of the weirdly hilarious Flattened Fauna --a field guide to the common animals often bulldozed on highways by cars and trucks that has sold more than 125,000 copies--here casts his inquisitive eye closer to home to examine ectoparasites, little "friends" who live on the outer surfaces of our bodies. These range from female mosquitos (who stop by for a quick meal) to tooth amoebas (permanent and apparently harmless residents who subsist on stray bits of organic matter in our mouths). We're even introduced to flea researchers, who "feed their own fleas in little cages strapped to their ankles," a practice that minimizes the appeal of that career option. Knutson's lively descriptions of flies, chiggers, bedbugs, fungi and so on will most interest junior-high boys; adults may find the humor wears thin. Readers of all ages, however, can discover some useful tidbits (for example, if you spot a tick, use tweezers to get rid of it promptly) or at least learn humility from the fact that a maggot thinks a human looks pretty much like a dead animal or a piece of dung. Illustrations not seen by PW . Author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.