Curious About Insects

Attention little bug buffs: Get a first glimpse into the natural world of insects! This attractive board book will introduce little insect hounds to basic facts about bugs—from beetles and butterflies to silverfish and moths—while realistic, detailed watercolor art from noted wildlife illustrator John Sill brings this diverse group of animals to life. Simple and clear descriptions of how insects look, where they live, what they eat, and how they move make this third title in the Discovering Nature series a dependable and informative beginning resource on insects and the wonders of the natural world.

(ages 5 - 7) Don't Squash that Bug! The Curious Kid's Guide to Insectsis a junior field guide for backyard explorers. This bright, bold book introduces young ones to the insect world through close-up photos, colorful illustrated characters, a helpful glossary, fascinating facts, and tips on finding bugs. By seeing how insects help plants, animals, and even people, readers will learn about the valuable role they play in nature. Once kids discover how amazing insects can be, they'll go from squashing bugs to studying them up close! The content of Don't Squash that Bug!was evaluated by Zack Lemann, Staff Entomologist with Audubon Nature Institute, and Steve Sullivan, curator of the Chicago Academy of Sciences and The Notebaert Nature Museum. This book is part of the "Lobster Learners" series, which encourages children to explore the world around them and see the everyday in a whole new way.

If you've ever wondered what that leggy, buzzing creature was in your bathroom (or backyard, bed, or pantry), perhaps you've come across WhatsThatBug.com, where people around the world go to ask "What's that bug?" From mating African beetles to the tiniest of bedbugs, Daniel Marlos (The Bugman) has identified them all. The Curious World of Bugs is a miscellany of illuminating facts, curiosities, helpful hints, and remarkable science about the bugs that share our world-a compendium that celebrates bugs for what they truly are: strange, mysterious, cute, beautiful, and occasionally disturbing. Gorgeously illustrated with vintage drawings, The Curious World of Bugs offers a glimpse into the magical world of bugs that bite, infest, fascinate, repulse, and inform us all.

An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we—and the planet we inhabit—could not survive without them. Insects comprise roughly half of the animal kingdom. They live everywhere—deep inside caves, 18,000 feet high in the Himalayas, inside computers, in Yellowstone’s hot springs, and in the ears and nostrils of much larger creatures. There are insects that have ears on their knees, eyes on their penises, and tongues under their feet. Most of us think life would be better without bugs. In fact, life would be impossible without them. Most of us know that we would not have honey without honeybees, but without the pinhead-sized chocolate midge, cocoa flowers would not pollinate. No cocoa, no chocolate. The ink that was used to write the Declaration of Independence was derived from galls on oak trees, which are induced by a small wasp. The fruit fly was essential to medical and biological research experiments that resulted in six Nobel prizes. Blowfly larva can clean difficult wounds; flour beetle larva can digest plastic; several species of insects have been essential to the development of antibiotics. Insects turn dead plants and animals into soil. They pollinate flowers, including crops that we depend on. They provide food for other animals, such as birds and bats. They control organisms that are harmful to humans. Life as we know it depends on these small creatures. With ecologist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson as our capable, entertaining guide into the insect world, we’ll learn that there is more variety among insects than we can even imagine and the more you learn about insects, the more fascinating they become. Buzz, Sting, Bite is an essential introduction to the little creatures that make the world go round.

A collection of unusual facts, games, puzzles, activities, and artwork centering around the world of insects.

7-year-old Sophia Spencer was bullied for loving bugs until hundreds of women scientists rallied around her. Now Sophie tells her inspiring story in this picture book that celebrates women in science, bugs of all kinds and the importance of staying true to yourself. Sophia Spencer has loved bugs ever since a butterfly landed on her shoulder--and wouldn't leave!--at a butterfly conservancy when she was only two-and-a-half years old. In preschool and kindergarten, Sophia was thrilled to share what she knew about grasshoppers (her very favorite insects), as well as ants and fireflies . . . but by first grade, not everyone shared her enthusiasm. Some students bullied her, and Sophia stopped talking about bugs altogether. When Sophia's mother wrote to an entomological society looking for a bug scientist to be a pen pal for her daughter, she and Sophie were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response--letters, photos and videos came flooding in. Using the hashtag BugsR4Girls, scientists tweeted hundreds of times to tell Sophia to keep up her interest in bugs--and it worked!