What Good are Bugs?

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Waldbauer combines anecdotes from entomological history with insights into the intimate workings of the natural world, describing the diverse behaviour of these tiny creatures. He discusses the uses insects have on earth, from ants sowing their "hanging gardens" on Amazonian shrubs and trees to the sacred scarab of ancient Egypt burying balls of cattle dung full of undigested seeds, from the cactus-eating caterpillar (aptly called Cactoblastis) controlling the spread of the prickly pear to the prodigious honey bee and the "sanitary officers of the field" - the fly maggots, ants, beetles, and caterpillars that help decompose and recycle dung, carrion, and dead plants.