Bugged

Book excerpt: This history of insects is “entomology at its most enchanting . . . MacNeal is a witty, informed guide to a world of winged and scuttling wonders” (Nature). 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. In Bugged, journalist David MacNeal takes us on an offbeat scientific journey that weaves together history, travel, and culture in order to define our relationship with these mini-monsters. MacNeal introduces a cast of bug-lovers—from a woman facilitating tarantula sex and an exterminator nursing bedbugs (on his own blood) to a kingpin of the black market insect trade and a “maggotologist” —who obsess over the crucial role insects play in our everyday lives. Just like bugs, this book is global in its scope, diversity, and intrigue. Hands-on with pet beetles in Japan, releasing lab-raised mosquitoes in Brazil, beekeeping on a Greek island, or using urine and antlers as ancient means of pest control, MacNeal’s quest will entertain the squeamish and brave alike. Demonstrating insects’ amazingly complex mechanics, he strings together varied interactions we humans have with them, like extermination, epidemics, and biomimicry. And, when the journey comes to an end, MacNeal examines their commercial role in our world in an effort to help us ultimately cherish (and maybe even eat) bugs. “Mr. MacNeal has an admirable talent for explaining science and nature in comprehensible language.” —The Wall Street Journal “Creepy, beautiful, icky and amazing.” —Penny Le Couteur, author of Napoleon’s Button “MacNeal delivers a joy-filled dose of science, reminding readers that the strange and alien creatures in our midst are not to be feared, but celebrated.” —Publishers Weekly