Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson Book order

The second book by the bestselling author of Extraordinary Insects

Insects comprise roughly half of the animal kingdom, and they live everywhere. Most of us think life would be better without bugs. In fact, life would be impossible without them. Without the pinhead-sized chocolate midge, cocoa flowers would not pollinate. The fruit fly is essential to medical and biological research experiments. Insects turn dead plants and animals into soil. They control organisms that are harmful to humans. Sverdrup-Thygeson shows us that there is more variety among insects than we can even imagine, and the more you learn about insects, the more fascinating they become. -- adapted from jacket

A journey into the weird, wonderful and truly astonishing lives of the small but mighty creatures who keep the world turning. Out of sight, underfoot, unseen beyond fleeting scuttles or darting flights, insects occupy a hidden world, yet are essential to sustaining life on earth. Insects influence our ecosystem like a ripple effect on water. They arrived when life first moved to dry land, they preceded - and survived - the dinosaurs, they outnumber the grains of sand on all the world's beaches, and they will be here long after us. Working quietly but tirelessly, they give us food, uphold our ecosystems, can heal our wounds and even digest plastic. They could also provide us with new solutions to the antibiotics crisis, assist in disaster zones and inspire airforce engineers with their flying techniques. But their private lives are also full of fun, intrigue and wonder -musical mating rituals; house-hunting for armies of beetle babies; metamorphosing into new characters; throwing parties in fermenting sap; cultivating fungi for food; farming smaller species for honey dew and always ensuring that what is dead is decomposed, ready to become life once again. Here, we will discover life and death, drama and dreams, all on a millimetric scale. Like it or not, Earth is the planet of insects, and this is their extraordinary story.