Insect Safari: Exploring the Wondrous World of Everyday Bugs

Join a veteran science writer on a fascinating adventure as she explores the ever-more-astounding world of insects—all in her own backyard. 

When science writer Margie Patlak was inspirited to take a quick close-up snapshot of a bee in her backyard, it was the start of a years-long obsession with cataloging and understanding the tiny creatures that were all around her. The essays in her book showcase the superpowers, alien anatomies, and striking untold behaviors and thinking abilities of bugs hidden in plain sight in backyards, parks, gardens, and even in the flowerpots that dot city courtyards and balconies. Each essay focuses on a specific bug and explores the big ideas these little bugs raise, such as whether the maternal instinct is truly instinctual, the value of a short life, whether to blend in or alter your environment, and whether you can have altruism without tribal atrocities.  

But what perhaps makes Insect Safari the most intriguing is its reporting on the plethora of recent scientific findings revealing there’s more to the inner lives and behaviors of insects than people ever thought possible. Who knew wasps use tools and recognize faces, bees play with balls and do math, ants invented farming way before we did, and even fruit flies mull over their mating choices?  

These findings reinforce the notion that we aren’t the only intelligent beings on Earth and tap into people’s curiosity about the alien life right here on their own planet. 

Margie Patlak is a science writer, memoirist, and photographer. Her book More Than Meets the Eye: Exploring Nature and Loss on the Coast of Maine was given an “Outstanding Book” award by the American Society of Journalists and Authors in 2022.  Her photo book Wild and Wondrous: Nature’s Artistry on the Coast of Maine was published in 2023, and her photographs have been featured in several solo and group exhibits.  She has also written articles for a number of newspapers and magazines, including Discover, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and her essays have been published in a number of literary journals. Patlak divides her time between Down East Maine and Philadelphia.