Insights from Insects: What Bad Bugs Can Teach Us by Gilbert Waldbauer. Prometheus, 2005. 312pp. ISBN 1-59102-277-0.

SB&F review:

This book is a collection of 19 short essays about insects that have been subjects of extensive research and control efforts, because they either transmit disease or damage forests or crop plants. The author delves into the complex and often bizarre life cycles of these insects, all the while chronicling the many successes, failures, and unexpected consequences of our efforts at control--from the use of arsenic to genetic engineering.
The author stresses evolutionary insights and the importance of careful life-cycle studies to identify the most vulnerable stage of an insect pest, when it can most easily and least toxically be controlled. There are particularly good chapters on the pluses and minuses of genetically engineered corn and the evolution of corn rootworms, which have learned to overcome agricultural practices that once kept them under control.
The strengths of the book lie in the range of topics covered, the ease of following the clearly written text, and the lessons learned about the lives of insects from our attempts to control the relatively few that are pests. Weaknesses include the uninspired illustrations and a great deal of material that is not at all fresh, such as the stories about the peppered moth and grape phylloxera.
This is one in a long line of books with short essays about the wonders of insects, starting with works by the great Jean-Henri Fabre and continuing on to many fine modern authors, such as Howard Evans, May Berenbaum, and Sue Hubbell.

About the author:

Gilbert Waldbauer is professor emeritus in the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois and the author of the highly acclaimed The Handy Bug Answer Book, Millions of Monarchs, and What Good Are Bugs?

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