Of cockroaches and crickets Learning to love creatures that skitter and jump

In this debut, translated from German, Nischk, an entomologist and filmmaker, shares his enthusiasm for insects of all types. The title focuses on cockroaches and crickets, but other insects, such as digger wasps, army ants, and damselflies, are discussed, each with their own intriguing facts, discovery story, and history. While relaying how he solved an infestation problem for a friend, the author familiarizes readers with Jean-Henri Fabre, an amateur entomologist and talented writer from the nineteenth century who studied digger wasps. The classic question of whether cockroaches would survive a nuclear explosion is also addressed. Nischk tells in vivid detail about being stung by a bullet ant while researching in Ecuador and introduces readers to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, which ranges from one for moderately painful experiences to four-plus for the sting of the bullet ant, described as "pure, intense, brilliant pain--like walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch nail in your heel." Nischk, an entertaining storyteller, has written a fascinating and oftentimes funny account of his many insect-related discoveries and adventures.

This creepy and captivating debut from biologist Nischk dives into the world of bugs. "Inconspicuous critters that... we think of as disgusting and annoying if we think of them at all, are often the ones whose stories surprise us most," contends Nischk as he highlights strange facts about cockroaches and crickets. Cockroaches spend most of their days hiding, Nischk notes, only venturing out at night to look for food, and while they're not actually immune to nuclear explosions, they are about "ten times as resistant to radiation as we are." He describes his research on the German cockroach, which revealed that the insects "maintain strong family bonds" that might develop from larvae eating their parents' excrement. He recounts studying crickets in Ecuador and finding that cricket species sing at different frequencies so they can "avoid misunderstandings when attracting sexual partners." It's difficult not to share Nischk's amazement at his subjects ("A biological treasure slumbers unnoticed in tropical rainforests, and I absolutely wanted to help rescue it from obscurity"), even if some of the material is a bit esoteric. Still, this makes a persuasive case that the "smaller the worlds we can see, the bigger our world becomes." (Feb.)