But among the books is a non-fiction, science-based tome that will make your skin crawl.Or at least itch a bit if what you read makes wonder if some many-legged critter is about to bite.
Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects is a well-documented compendium of tales about bugs of every shape and size.
There are lots of familiar names: Brown Recluse, Cockroach, Deer Tick, Scorpion and Sand Fly.
But chapters talking about the lesser-known - the Formosan Subterranean Termite, the Death Watch Beetle and the Assassin Bug - could keep you awake at night, too.
The Formosan Subterranean Termite is one of the culprits behind the massive levee failures in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit.
The termites love to munch nearly everything. That includes the walls that were supposed to protect the city. The walls are partly made of sugar cane waste, a termite snack. And officials had been warned five years before Katrina that the termites had weakened the flood barriers.
Another fun fact for New Orleans residents? The Formosan Subterranean Termite can live for up to 25 years.
Wicked Bugs was written by Amy Stewart, whose other writing includes the book, Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities.
Wicked Bugs was published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is on the shelf at the Richmond Public Library's Westside branch.
Below is the first page of the introduction.
(Review by Michael J. Fitzgerald)
I was once bitten by a recluse spider and can attest that it's no fun.
ReplyDeleteIf you're in the mood for gross-outs, I recommend Richard Preston's book on ebola, The Hot Zone. I will never look at pepperoni pizza the same way again.