How Insects Build Their Amazing Homes

Insects are found all over the world and are the most numerous animals on Earth. Some homes are simple, such as a tunnel chewed out of wood by a carpenter bee. Other homes, however, can be incredibly complex. The mud and dirt mounds made by certain ants and termites, for example, are intricate cities that have their own breeding areas, nurseries, food-growing sections -- even their own air-conditioning systems!

Gr 5-8-Robinson shows how various animals live and what can be learned from studying their dwellings. Both titles abound in interesting detail and have good-quality, full-color photographs or well-captioned diagrams on almost every page. Insects begins with a clear definition of what an insect is and then goes on to describe the ways termites, wasps, ants, and bees construct their houses and nests. Field wasps are credited for the human inspiration to make paper and potter wasps are credited for jugs. Mammals covers beavers, chimpanzees, squirrels, prairie dogs, moles, and badgers, among others. Though the titles have similar formats, chapters are devoted to the types of structures that mammals build (homes aboveground, belowground, and in and around water) rather than to the individual species as in the first book. Worthwhile additions to zoology collections.-Randi Hacker, Montgomery Elementary School, VT

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