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What Good Are Bugs?: Insects in the Web of Life Paperback – Illustrated, October 25, 2004

by Gilbert Waldbauer (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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We shriek about them, slap and spray them, and generally think of insects (when we think of them at all) as pests. Yet, if all insects, or even a critical few, were to disappear--if there were none to pollinate plants, serve as food for other animals, dispose of dead organisms, and perform other ecologically essential tasks--virtually all the ecosystems on earth, the webs of life, would unravel. This book, the first to catalogue ecologically important insects by their roles, gives us an enlightening look at how insects work in ecosystems--what they do, how they live, and how they make life as we know it possible.

In What Good Are Bugs? Gilbert Waldbauer combines anecdotes from entomological history with insights into the intimate workings of the natural world, describing the intriguing and sometimes amazing behavior of these tiny creatures. He weaves a colorful, richly textured picture of beneficial insect life 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. As entertaining as it is informative, this charmingly illustrated volume captures the full sweep of insects' integral place in the web of life.

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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  4. Publication date
    October 25, 2004
  5. Reading age
    14 - 17 years
  6. Dimensions
    6.12 x 0.94 x 9.25 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0674016327
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0674016323
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Persuasive, rollicking, and informative...He may not get you to hug your termites, but you will see them in a whole new light. Bugs are truly awesome in numbers and variety...On the surface, bugs seem so alien to us. But in anecdote after anecdote, Waldbauer gives us plenty with which we can identify...Waldbauer celebrates not only the good things bugs do but also the bizarre...What Waldbauer shows us is that bugs are vitally important to our planet. They help plant life grow. They are great cleanup crews, removing waste material...They till and aerate soil. They provide food for all kinds of animals, including fish and birds and some mammals...Clearly, bugs are good.”―Vicki Croke, Boston Globe

“This book will open the eyes of readers who, like the great majority of mankind, regard insects with contempt or disgust. It will make them look on our six-legged fellow creatures with more interest and sympathy, and will thus add a new dimension to their own lives.”―Anthony Daniels, Sunday Telegraph (UK)

“Written in a gentle style that is easy to read yet still authoritative, the breadth of insect ecology is paraded before us.”―Richard Jones, BBC Wildlife

“Waldbauer is an entomologist with an unwavering verve for his pursuits. Here he catalogs ecologically important insects by their 'occupations' within an ecosystem, explaining how they live and how they make possible life in general. Among insects' occupations are their roles in regulating plant and animal populations and tilling the soil. In some cases, their capabilities and behaviors are nothing short of mind-boggling. Waldbauer reports that one species of Great Plains ants has brought to the surface about 1.7 tons of subsoil per acre. An average colony of honeybees harvests 44 pounds of pollen and 265 pounds of nectar a year. Such anecdotes combine with the author's keen insight into the mechanics of ecosystems to make a strong case on behalf of the lowly insect.”―Science News

“Waldbauer gives us a bugs-eye view of the world in this well-written and entertaining book that will change the way you think about insects.”―B.F., Southeastern Naturalist

About the Author

Gilbert Waldbauer is Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press (October 25, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674016327
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674016323
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 17 years
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.12 x 0.94 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

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Gilbert Waldbauer

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4.8 out of 5 stars
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  • Bugs
    5.0 out of 5 stars Emphasizes The Vital Role Insects Play in The Web of Life
    Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    In 315 pages, Prof. Waldbauer drills it home how important insects are to the biological mechanics of life on Earth. Put it this way- no bugs, no life (as we know it).

    Insects do much of the heavy lifting in such vital services as plant pollination, seed dispersal, and waste removal and conversion back into nutrient cycles and they do it with incredible efficiency. For many species of birds, amphibians and mammals, insects are their main diet. A wide spectrum of insects are covered in great detail along with many detailed line drawings.

    The efficacy of biological pest controls- pitting one insect or parasite against another for control of crop infestations vs chemical control methods is well covered and in such a manner that one might wonder why man-made chemicals are even still used anymore and especially in light of the fact that man-made chemicals almost always hit non-targeted animals often causing explosions of previously non-problematic insects. Insects have an incredible ability to build resistance to chemical assaults while higher forms of animals and humans do not.

    Plant and insect beneficial relations are well covered in detailed explanations of "mutualism" (I prefer to call this "symbiotic relationships") and many examples of this phenomenon are discussed.

    This book is highly recommended for those interested in the study and appreciation of insect ecology.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Jay D
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This is a detailed text, by an author who can convey the wonder of nature. If you are a science nut like I am, and like bugs, you will find it interesting
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  • Rckless
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2018
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    Fascinating book. I receive promptly.
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  • Rob Hardy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Making a Solid Case for Our Insect Friends
    Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2004
    We are determined to see moral qualities in nature. We might describe a hero as lionhearted, but a villain as a snake or a rat. Or an insect. Insects are generally regarded as bad creatures. They sting, bite, spread disease, and eat our homes and food. Of course, they are no more bad than lambs are bad. They are simply doing what evolution has equipped them to do. It can be argued that they are not good, too, but in _What Good Are Bugs? Insects in the Web of Life_ (Harvard), entomologist Gilbert Waldbauer makes the case that as far as making the natural world go around, insects are very good indeed. In fact, he calculates that only about 1.5% of the known insects do us any harm, and a very much smaller percent of the total insects do so, since we have only identified about a tenth of them all, and are better at identifying the pests. Waldbauer, who is professor emeritus of entomology and in this book reflects on decades of loving interest in his subject, says that without insects "...virtually all the terrestrial ecosystems on earth... would unravel." His book, usefully organized with each chapter about a particular activity that insects perform, makes an entertaining and convincing case. We could not have evolved ourselves without insects, and could not keep living if they were to disappear.
    It is not surprising that Waldbauer's first chapter is about pollination. Most people know that insects are the pollinators of many flowers and other plants, but people didn't always know this. Pretty flowers were said to be merely a manifestation of God's eagerness to give us pleasure. It was only in 1793 that an observer wrote about flowers, scent, and nectar as a lures for insects, and the discovery that the plants could not be fertilized without them. Most of the plants we eat are fertilized by insects. Insects also help plants by spreading their seeds, thus keeping sibling plants from breeding with each other and spreading the range of the plants. Dung beetles roll the seeds away, locusts carry undigested seeds in their guts, and ants and termites bring seeds into their nests. Ants also protect plants; a species of ant lives on the acacia tree and when these ants smell a mammal, they go on alert ready to sting anything that would take a nibble of a leaf. They also clear out the plants that live nearby which would compete for the acacia's nutrients. Insects directly help animals, besides being food for them. Many birds bathe in ants ("anting") to get their mites and lice eaten away. Ants protect birds in particular trees, and other birds deliberately make their homes near wasp nests. Insects do harm plants and animals, but in Waldbauer's larger evolutionary view, this is merely a limitation of population growth, a prevention of a species burning out in uncontrolled profusion. Harvester ants, for instance, compete with rodents for seeds, and thus keep the rodent population down. Insects are vital in the role of cleaning up. They clean up dead flesh, manure, and dead plants. Bacteria are the ultimate decomposers, but they cannot work on rough plant litter. Once the litter has passed through the guts of maggots, springtails, termites, and others, bacteria and fungi can go to work on it, turning it back into soil.
    The action of termites simply shows why we think them bad. Termites do nothing except make a living off dead wood, as they have always done. We are the ones that have turned things topsy-turvy by valuing dead wood in our buildings. Waldbauer's book is hugely valuable in taking this larger view of fascinating fellow creatures. It gives many instances of clever experiments that entomologists have done, bothering the bugs until they give up their secrets. It provides countless examples of evolutionary design that is intricate, even witty. For instance, the botfly has to get its eggs deposited onto a mammal for them to develop, but the female never has to worry about getting swatted; she catches a fly or mosquito, glues her eggs to it, and releases it. The botfly larvae know to pop out when they are delivered to a warm-blooded animal. The book's many examples of this kind can only increase one's admiration for the clever humans who have figured out such things, and for the intricate ways insects have adapted themselves to become a cornerstone of all our planet's life.
    17 people found this helpful
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  • rigersa
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not... entertaining... you know?
    Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2006
    I purchased this book after "For Love of Insects" and found it to be substantially dryer and less enthused than that work. Though every bit as informative, it lacks the oomph of that fascinating book.
    2 people found this helpful
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