*The Sunday Times Bestseller*
'Extraordinary Insects is a joy' The Times
A Sunday Times Nature Book of the Year 2019
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.
In Extraordinary Insects, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, the Sunday Times bestselling author, delves into the fascinating world of insects, exploring their habitats from rainforests to forests, and their significant role in ecology and zoology. The author's top-notch science writing brings to life the history and intricacies of entomology, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the sciences.
For fans of Merlin Sheldrake (Entangled Life), Ed Yong (I Contain Multitudes), Robin Wall Kimmerer (The Democracy of Species), Leif Bersweden (Where the Wildflowers Grow), and Suzanne Simard (Finding the Mother Tree).
