Super fly : the unexpected lives of the world's most successful insects / Jonathan Balcombe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Balcombe, Jonathan, 1959- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Flies.

Flies--Behavior.

Flies--Adaptation.

Genre:

Nature / Animals -- Insects & Spiders.

Physical Description:

xi, 340 pages, 8 pages of unnumbered plates : illustrations (some color) ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

[New York, New York] : Penguin Books, [2021]

Summary:

"For most of us, the only thing we know about flies is that they're annoying, and our usual reaction is to try to kill them. In Super Fly, the myth-busting biologist Jonathan Balcombe shows the order Diptera in all of its diversity, illustrating the essential role that flies play in every ecosystem in the world as pollinators, waste-disposers, predators, and food source; and how flies continue to reshape our understanding of evolution. Along the way, he reintroduces us to familiar foes like the fruit fly and mosquito, and gives us the chance to meet their lesser-known cousins like the Petroleum Fly (the only animal in the world that breeds in crude oil) and the Chocolate Midge (the sole pollinator of the Cacao tree). No matter your outlook on our tiny buzzing neighbors, Super Fly will change the way you look at flies forever. Jonathan Balcombe is the author of four books on animal sentience, including the New York Times bestselling What A Fish Knows, which was nominated for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Award for Science Writing. He has worked for years as a researcher and educator with the Humane Society to show us the consciousness of other creatures, and here he takes us to the farthest reaches of the animal kingdom"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I WHAT FLIES ARE

1. God's Favorite

2. How Flies Work

3. Are You Awake? (Evidence For Insect Minds)

pt. II HOW FLIES LIVE

4. Parasites And Predators

5. Blood-Seekers

6. Waste Disposers And Recyclers

7. Botanists

8. Lovers

pt. III FLIES AND HUMANS

9. Heroes Of Heritability

10. Vectors And Pests

11. Detectives And Doctors

12. Caring About Flies.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 300-324) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Balcombe, Jonathan, Super fly

ISBN:

9780143134275

0143134272

OCLC:

1145299482

Publisher Number:

40030620308