Bugged
1 journaler for this copy...
8 Stars: Very good
From the back cover: Insects have been shaping our ecological world and plant life for over 400 million years. In fact, our world is essentially run by bugs: there are 1.4 billion for every human on the planet. Bugged takes us on an offbeat scientific journey that weaves together history, travel, and culture to explore our relationship with these mini monsters. Mac Neal introduces a cast of bug-lovers, from a woman facilitating tarantula sex and an exterminator nursing bed bugs on his own blood to a kingpin of the black market insect trade and a "maggotologist" who obsess over the crucial roles insects play in our everyday lives. ... Demonstrating bugs' amazingly complex mechanics, he investigates the varied interactions we humans have with them, from extermination and epidemics to biomimicry.
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I read this book earlier enough in the year, that I don't have many distinct impressions of it. As the synopsis describes, the book has lots of facts about insects, but also how they fit into various cultures and how hobbyists and entomologists get passionate about various aspects. I enjoyed this book and learned a lot. Entertaining, particularly as someone who also likes (most) bugs.
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Some quotes I liked:
Ants, who alone equal our biomass on Earth, could burrow through our noses and suffocates us to death.
Dung beetles base their navigation on the Milky Way. Biologist Marie Dacke tested beetles compass orientation skill in a planetarium, fitting tiny hats over their dorsal eyes as they hauled dung. Their routes with an obstructed, moonless starry sky were chaotic, whereas an exposed Milky Way garnered straight lines.
A squeak emerges from the back of my throat as I rip the tail off. My eyes bulge out of their sockets. Its grey! Gray innards stare back at me within this red hollow reed of skin! Reclaiming my eyeballs from the floor, my jaw does this thing where it moves up and down to turn this gray crusty thing into smaller bits of gray crusty things that are small enough to swallow. Giriko and Eri crack up at the photo they've taken of my face midbite in all its goofball agony.
Given time constraints (and perhaps its too much to ask my friends to eat cockroach samosas) I end up serving Wax Moth Tacos and cricket cake.... I get them shipped overnight. With both crickets and euthanized waxworms in my parents' garage freezer, bug night is under way.
Insect allergies sensitivity is a rarity for those who haven't been exposed to bugs on the reg. But some have asthmatic responses to Orthoptera. Others react poorly to waterbugs. One study found those overexposed to dust mites grew "sensitive to seafood tropomysins." And by overexposure, I mean people who regularly breathe in cockroach crap infested dust particles.
Insects are married to specific plants. Research local ones i your area, then lay down a diverse garden. In 10-20 years, it could make a significant difference.
"Love bees as if they were your mother or child or yourself. If you love something, you take care of it. What humans can offer is to move bees to hot places with food."
From the back cover: Insects have been shaping our ecological world and plant life for over 400 million years. In fact, our world is essentially run by bugs: there are 1.4 billion for every human on the planet. Bugged takes us on an offbeat scientific journey that weaves together history, travel, and culture to explore our relationship with these mini monsters. Mac Neal introduces a cast of bug-lovers, from a woman facilitating tarantula sex and an exterminator nursing bed bugs on his own blood to a kingpin of the black market insect trade and a "maggotologist" who obsess over the crucial roles insects play in our everyday lives. ... Demonstrating bugs' amazingly complex mechanics, he investigates the varied interactions we humans have with them, from extermination and epidemics to biomimicry.
---------
I read this book earlier enough in the year, that I don't have many distinct impressions of it. As the synopsis describes, the book has lots of facts about insects, but also how they fit into various cultures and how hobbyists and entomologists get passionate about various aspects. I enjoyed this book and learned a lot. Entertaining, particularly as someone who also likes (most) bugs.
--------
Some quotes I liked:
Ants, who alone equal our biomass on Earth, could burrow through our noses and suffocates us to death.
Dung beetles base their navigation on the Milky Way. Biologist Marie Dacke tested beetles compass orientation skill in a planetarium, fitting tiny hats over their dorsal eyes as they hauled dung. Their routes with an obstructed, moonless starry sky were chaotic, whereas an exposed Milky Way garnered straight lines.
A squeak emerges from the back of my throat as I rip the tail off. My eyes bulge out of their sockets. Its grey! Gray innards stare back at me within this red hollow reed of skin! Reclaiming my eyeballs from the floor, my jaw does this thing where it moves up and down to turn this gray crusty thing into smaller bits of gray crusty things that are small enough to swallow. Giriko and Eri crack up at the photo they've taken of my face midbite in all its goofball agony.
Given time constraints (and perhaps its too much to ask my friends to eat cockroach samosas) I end up serving Wax Moth Tacos and cricket cake.... I get them shipped overnight. With both crickets and euthanized waxworms in my parents' garage freezer, bug night is under way.
Insect allergies sensitivity is a rarity for those who haven't been exposed to bugs on the reg. But some have asthmatic responses to Orthoptera. Others react poorly to waterbugs. One study found those overexposed to dust mites grew "sensitive to seafood tropomysins." And by overexposure, I mean people who regularly breathe in cockroach crap infested dust particles.
Insects are married to specific plants. Research local ones i your area, then lay down a diverse garden. In 10-20 years, it could make a significant difference.
"Love bees as if they were your mother or child or yourself. If you love something, you take care of it. What humans can offer is to move bees to hot places with food."
