Bugged

Finished July 5

Bugged: The Insects Who Rule the World and the People Obsessed with Them by David MacNeal, with illustrations by Michael Kennedy

This informational books looks at bugs through many lenses, with each chapter looking more closely at one particular type of bug. After an interesting encounter with an entomologist studying dung beetles mentioned in his introduction, the author continues to tell engaging stories about his journalistic research into this subject and his willingness to explore unusual activities to do so. 

His first chapter is about collectors of bugs, looking at entomologist taxidermy. Here, as in all the following chapters, he talks about the history of this subfield of entomology, the pioneers in the field, what we know from anthropological history, and what we are learning now. This chapter has a closer look at beetles, and public education.

The second chapter looks at burrowing insects, with a concentrated look at ants. 

The third chapter looks at reproduction both in the wild and in laboratories. Here there is a closer look at spiders.

The fourth chapter looks at insects that fly, and here he looks at fleas, mosquitoes, and other carriers of disease, as well as disease in the forest industry.  He travels to Brazil as part of his research. 

The fifth chapter looks at entomological pests and he accompanies a pest control operator on the job. Here there is a closer look at bedbugs and cockroaches. He also looks at insecticide use in agriculture. 

The sixth chapter looks at beneficial aspects of insects and the role they play in the economy. He covers the use of beneficial insects in pest control, how insects process both natural and manmade waste and even visits a body farm research facility in Texas. Another interesting aspect here is the use of entomology in criminal cases. 

The seventh chapter looks at medicinal uses of bugs from folk medicine to more recent clinical applications. He even tries to outfit his own pet cockroach with a robotic implant. One interesting potential use of the combination of technology and insects is in search and rescue situations. He also talks about how studying insect anatomy can help in medical applications. 

The eighth chapter looks at businesses that make money from bugs from silkworms to natural dyes to ecotourism. He looks at the pet insect business in Japan and issues around smuggling insects across borders.

His ninth chapter looks at insects as food and we see Chirps, chips made from crickets, ground bugs becoming protein powder, and . He looks at the difficulty of overcoming mindset around eating bugs, and goes on a Food Bug Crawl in Tokyo which includes fried caterpillars, ant-ohol drinks, black wasp larvae boiled with couscous, kebabed combos, and even spiders and centipedes. Back home, he even hosts a dinner including bugs as food for a group of friends. 

His final chapter looks at honeybees and the problems of colony collapse and other disease outbreaks. He goes to a Scottish monastery to see their bee operation and to Greece to try their unique honeys. 

I found this book both educational and entertaining. As this book is from 2017, I'm sure that there are more recent discoveries and advances in knowledge that have happened since. 

A Flower is a Friend

Finished August 2

A Flower is a Friend by Frieda Wishinsky, illustrated by Karen Patkau

This picture book is both delightful and educational. Full page pictures of flowers also include creatures that have a relationship with that particular plant, whether it be pollinating, feeding, sheltering, or protecting it from other creatures who harm it. 

There is a simple story that goes along with text opposite each picture, telling the reader what flowers do, and then there is section of information about the creatures that interact with each flower explaining the role they play, and at the very back is a list of the flowers depicted, with their page number. 

This book can be used differently with different ages of children as they first enjoy the simple story and pictures and then move on to learning about nature and how flora and fauna interact with each other. 

The illustrations are very realistic and the reader can spend time looking at the details in each image. At the end of the main story is a double page spread that encourages the reader to spend time looking for the variety of creatures in the more panoramic image of a flower garden. 

 

If Only...

Finished September 4

If Only... by Mies van Hout, translated by David Colmer

This charming and vibrant picture book begins with a young child looking at a butterfly and wishing they could be that creature and move like that through the world. It then continues that idea with the butterfly looking at another small creature (a stick insect) and having a similar thought. The book continues through a wide variety of small creatures, each admiring something about another one, until it circles back to a creature looking at children. The pictures are colourful and intense and happy, with many of them intensely one colour (monochromatic) or close neighbours of colours (analogous) with just minor elements of a contrasting or complementary colour. This use of colour really adds to the appeal of the pictures.

At the end of the tale is a glossary of the creatures from the story, with small images of at least one example of each creature and a single sentence that gives some information on the nature of creature, including information on how they move, why they look the way they do, how they got the name they are commonly known by, where they live, or what they eat. 

Also at the back of the book is a helpful section on making collage images like some of the ones from the book. It gives a list of what is needed, and a easy to understand method of making art with collage and embellishing it. There is an additional sidebar for making self-painted paper to use for collage as well. 

I always enjoy the lovely books by this author and this one adds the fun element of small creatures that children are often fascinated by. 

Protecting Pollinators

Finished July 28
Protecting Pollinators: How to Save the Creatures That Feed Our World by Jodi Helmer

This book is full of information on the importance of pollinators and how we can act to help them survive. Pollinators are responsible for one-third of the crops that feed us, but half of their 200,000 species are threatened, some quite significantly. The percentage of pollinator-dependent food crops has increased 300 percent in the last 50 years, but despite this reliance, the pollinators themselves are more endangered than ever. This book is mostly focused on the United States, but as pollinators don't recognize borders, discussion sometimes goes beyond.
This book is organized into seven chapters. Within each chapter there are side columns that go deeper into certain aspects of the subject. Chapter One, Bees and Beyond tells us about the wide range of pollinators that exist, beyond just the ones that easily come to mind like bees and butterflys. Helmer gives information on the state of research into different pollinators and the public awareness of them. Side columns here are Plant Sex, The Rusty-Patched Bumblebee Made History, Raise Your Glass to Pollinating Bats (main pollinators of agave, from whence tequila), Are High-Tech Drones the Next-Generation Pollinators?, A Presidential Plea to Protect Pollinators (Obama administration), and Pollinators in Peril.
Chapter Two, No Place Like Home, talks about pollinator habitat and feeding needs. Here Helmer discusses the ways that habitat, even in small plots, can be added back to both urban and rural areas. Side columns here are Habitat Affects Honey Flavor (I love my buckwheat honey!), Pollinator Strips Might Not Work, A Cotton-Pickin' Boost for Pollinators, Could the Farm Bill Help Pollinators?, and Fireflies Are Burning Out.
Chapter Three, Taming Toxins brings into discussion the various chemicals, like pesticides and non-native flora and fauna, that have affected pollinators. Some are outright lethal, others are sublethal in that they affect the pollinator physiology and behaviour and make them less able to do their work. Side columns here are The Pests Decimating Honeybee Colonies, Harmful Herbicides, Neonics Not Welcome, White-Nose Syndrome and Pesticides, and Could Crop Insurance Promote Pesticide Use?
Chapter Four, The Need for Native Plants, looks at how the introduction of plants from other parts of the world have driven out some native plants the pollinators rely upon, or due to their different flowering cycle, changed their migratory habits. Side columns here are Venus Flytraps Control Their Appetites for Survival, Identifying Invasive Species, Ten Pollinator-Friendly Native Plants, Doggy Detective Keeps Bees Safe, Replacing Honeybees with Native Pollinators, Adopt a Trail, Eat the Invaders (some tasty invasive species can be eaten into extinction), and Caprine Cleaning Crew.
Chapter Five, Lessons from a Warming Planet discusses how climate change is affecting pollinators. In some cases the plants that pollinators rely on and the pollinators are in sync as the climate grows warmer, but in other cases they are not, which can mean the pollinator appears in the spring before or after their food source has, leading to population decline or possible extinction. Side columns here are Bats Help Save the Rainforest, Developing Mite-Resistant Bees, Climate Change Could Be Poisoning Monarchs, and Climate Change Helps Invasive Species Thrive.
Chapter Six, Helping Without Hurting, discusses how some things people are doing that they think are helping are not, and what they could do that is similar but different that would be a real help to the pollinators. Side columns here are Retailers Help Keep Gardens Neonic-Free, The Unexpected Consequence of Your Favorite Drink (more than you knew about almond milk), A Desire to Help the Bees Drives Honey Demand, Beekeepers Feel the Sting of Stolen Hives, Are Bee Hotels Bad for Bees?, and Don't Forget About Trees.
Chapter Seven, Stand Up and Be Counted discusses the huge impact that citizen scientists can have on data collection, observation, and positive change. Side columns are Putting Milkweed on the Map, Ten Principles of Citizen Science, Pollinators Seek Out Urban Addresses, Three Ways the Public Participates in Citizen Science, Citizen Scientists Honor the Stars, and the important Twenty-Nine Ways You Can Help Protect Pollinators.
There is also an extensive bibliography for those who want to learn more.
This is a great resource to learn about this important and critical subject.