Buzz

A celebration of the huge variety of insects, spiders and other creepy-crawlies that make up the arthropod family. These were the first animals to walk on land 400 million years ago, and they remain the most essential creatures on our planet, pollinating flowers, enabling crops to grow and recycling waste. Here you will find all sorts of quirky information about ants, beetles, butterflies and bees as well recipes for grasshopper kebabs or crispy stir-fry mealworms. You can discover why insects glow in the dark or find out about extraordinary life cycles such as the periodical cicada which spends exactly 13 or 17 years beneath the ground as a nymph. Photo sequences show processes of metamorphosis, mimicry and camouflage, often in the form of visual quizzes. The designers have clearly had enormous fun in creating this busily illustrated book, so one can forgive the slight mismatch between the interest level and presentation. And just to gild the lily there are three buttons on the cover to press for buzzing sound effects.