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Title details for Wicked Bugs by Amy Stewart - Available

Wicked Bugs

The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects

by Amy Stewart
ebook
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1 of 1 copy available
In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down over one hundred of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the “bookworms” that devour libraries, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses, Wicked Bugs delves into the extraordinary powers of six- and eight-legged creatures.
With wit, style, and exacting research, Stewart has uncovered the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild. It’s an A to Z of insect enemies, interspersed with sections that explore bugs with kinky sex lives (“She’s Just Not That Into You”), creatures lurking in the cupboard (“Fear No Weevil”), insects eating your tomatoes (“Gardener’s Dirty Dozen”), and phobias that feed our (sometimes) irrational responses to bugs (“Have No Fear”).
Intricate and strangely beautiful etchings and drawings by Briony Morrow-Cribbs capture diabolical bugs of all shapes and sizes in this mixture of history, science, murder, and intrigue that begins—but doesn’t end—in your own backyard.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 3, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781616200633

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781616200633
      • File size: 7375 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 1210
    • Text Difficulty: 9-12

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      March 1, 2011
      When it comes to methods of torture, the insect world is quite accommodating. Victims can, so to speak, pick their poison, from the merely painful to the downright deadly, the mildly horrific to the out-and-out dangerous. Creeping, crawling, slithering, stalking insects that bite, spray, ooze, and sting use these weapons of mighty destruction to snag a meal, slay an enemy, or seduce a matesometimes all at once. Ranging from verdant South American jungles to Manhattans cold concrete canyons, Stewart amusingly but analytically profiles the baddest bugs around in quick but attention-grabbing snapshots of little creatures that pack a lot of punch. Bed bugs and bookworms, rat fleas and filth fliesall come under Stewarts curious gaze as she exposes their evil habits and lethal charms. No alarmist setting out to stoke preexisting phobias, Stewart shares her natural fascination with the insect world to help readers recognize both the threats and the wonders that could be lurking in corner crevices or come wafting in on the next gentle breeze.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:1210
  • Text Difficulty:9-12

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