As with Flora & Birds" " Bugs" is not a biological guide but a richly-illustrated cultural one seen through the eyes of writers musicians artists & naturalists
- from the great Tudor naturalist Thomas Muffet (father of Little Miss Muffet) to Irvine Welshs talking tapeworm in Filth
- as well as contributions by ordinary men & women who are fascinated by creepy-crawlies of all kinds. The book is structured along a roughly evolving path from simple cell life-forms
- amoeba worms crustaceans (proof say the authors of just how far you can go on very little)
- to bugs we all might recognise
- spiders butterflies bees
- & back into the water to meet molluscs & almost-fish. The book works so triumphantly because author Peter Marren has examined bugs in the dusty corners of our houses & gardens as well as traversing mountains lakes & fields. In addition to the fascinating habits of the bug world he also
Includes:: the eccentric behaviour of the bug obsessives themselves. But of course the true heroes of the book are the bugs themselves: the nimble-dicks clock ladies & coffin-cutters. From the Boring Sponge (its official name!) to the Mermaids Glove & Penis Worm via the glamourous Dark Crimson Underwing & Ruby-Tailed Wasp
- this rich compendium of bugs is a must not only for naturalists but for anyone who cares about the crawling buzzing swarms at our feet."