SECRET WEAPONS AND DISGUISES MILLIONS OF INSECTS USE TO KEEP LIVING IN THE UNFORGIVING NATURAL WORLD

Pick an insect at random and chances are there is something about the way it feeds, or defends itself, or reproduces that is unique. Each of the 900,000 that have been documented and described, not to mention the countless others that remain to be discovered, is a book in itself. Insects of all kinds are the most versatile of evolutionary innovators. Thomas Eisner has authored and photographically illustrated “For Love of Insects” for us to marvel at and enjoy. And for those that are fascinated by the endless diversity of nature, both in the open and unseen, this is the one book to read today.

Imagine beetles ejecting defensive sprays that are as hot as boiling water, caterpillars disguising themselves as flowers by fastening petals to their bodies, termites squirting a viscous glue to rally soldiers or female moths that hold their mates for ransom. That’s a sampling of what you will find in the 400 plus pages of this elegant volume. One third of the 900,000 mentioned above are beetles. Most are terrestrial, but some have adapted to the aquatic world. One of these described is the “whirligig”. They are named so because of their frenzied swimming habits. Everyone that has had access to a pond in their youth has seen them. You saw them in swarms moving along the surface like little torpedo boats. They are surprising in that they can dive under the surface to find food. All carry with them a bubble of air to breath. They are protected from fish swimming under the surface by chemicals that deter them. Yes that’s ingenuity.

Eisner asks the plaintive question at the end, “ Will we be wise enough to put limits on our encroachment upon nature? Perhaps we can keep the hope alive that we will eventually succeed in doing so. Can love of insects make a difference. I would like to believe that it does.”