, Insects ariit*Tltyir Impact
pn Human Affairs
May R. Berenbaum
Mfrican killer bees, encephalitis-carrying
mosquitoes, venomous fire ants — it’s a jungle
out there, even if you live in the suburbs. And
even if we’re not talking about these genuinely
life-threatening insects, nothing can spoil a
day at the beach faster than black flies, sand
flies, midges, and yellow jackets. The sad but
true news is that we humans will always have
to share the earth with insects, and that will
never change. But this is actually good news,
May Berenbaum, and in the pages of
argues
BUGS in THE System she demonstrates
why. Far and away the most dominant form of
life, insects play such an integral role in the
efficient functioning of nature that it is
impossible to envision the world without
them. V have all heard that argument
before, just like theremust be a good reason
for the existence of poison ivy, but Berenbaum
shows that there really is a positive side to
living with insects. Not only are there eco-
nomic benefits, dominated by the large indus-
tries based on honey bees and silkworms, but
there are numerous hidden benefits as well,
probably the most important of which is the
central role that insects play in pollinating
plants.
BUGS in THE System is fundamentally
a book about both the good and the bad
aspects of the interaction between humans
and insects, but the focus is on the good.
Filled with fascinating details, incredible sto-
ries,and loads of history, May Berenbaum,
one of the world’s top entomologists, opens
up this fascinating world to all readers.
,BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY
, Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/bugsinsysteminseOObere
pn Human Affairs
May R. Berenbaum
Mfrican killer bees, encephalitis-carrying
mosquitoes, venomous fire ants — it’s a jungle
out there, even if you live in the suburbs. And
even if we’re not talking about these genuinely
life-threatening insects, nothing can spoil a
day at the beach faster than black flies, sand
flies, midges, and yellow jackets. The sad but
true news is that we humans will always have
to share the earth with insects, and that will
never change. But this is actually good news,
May Berenbaum, and in the pages of
argues
BUGS in THE System she demonstrates
why. Far and away the most dominant form of
life, insects play such an integral role in the
efficient functioning of nature that it is
impossible to envision the world without
them. V have all heard that argument
before, just like theremust be a good reason
for the existence of poison ivy, but Berenbaum
shows that there really is a positive side to
living with insects. Not only are there eco-
nomic benefits, dominated by the large indus-
tries based on honey bees and silkworms, but
there are numerous hidden benefits as well,
probably the most important of which is the
central role that insects play in pollinating
plants.
BUGS in THE System is fundamentally
a book about both the good and the bad
aspects of the interaction between humans
and insects, but the focus is on the good.
Filled with fascinating details, incredible sto-
ries,and loads of history, May Berenbaum,
one of the world’s top entomologists, opens
up this fascinating world to all readers.
,BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY
, Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/bugsinsysteminseOObere
