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About The Secret Life Of Flies
Product Description Stories and science about nature's most complex, crucial and highly adaptive insect. The Secret Life of Flies takes readers into the hidden world of snail killers, con artists, crazy sex and a great many silly names. It dispels common misconceptions about flies and reveals how truly extraordinary, exotic and important are these misunderstood creatures. There are ten chapters: 1. The immature ones - Squirmy wormy larvae can be just a bit unnerving, especially when they're in large numbers. 2. The pollinators - Those annoying No See Ums, or midge flies, are the only pollinator of the chocolate-producing cacao tree, a status held by many of the pollinators. 3. The detritivores - These garbage eaters are often fluffy and thus water-repellent, good for a life spent in a sewer. 4. The vegetarians - Entomological spelunkers, many of these flies prefer plant roots forsaking the leaves to other creatures. 5. The fungivores - The mushroom eaters include the dark-winged fungus gnats whose wing patterns are one of the author's favorites. 6. The predators - Here are the most devious and imaginative methods of luring, capturing and eating prey. 7. The parasites - Their methods of survival are often disgusting but the evolutionary genius is admirable. 8. The sanguivores - McAlister responds to the perpetual question, exactly why do we have blood-sucking disease-spreading mosquitos? 9. The coprophages - The champions of dung, detritus and other unpleasant things. 10. The necrophages - The body eaters without which we would be in a most disagreeable situation. In clear language, McAlister explains Diptera taxonomy and forensic entomology, and describes the potential of flies to transform their relationship with humans from one of disease vector to partner in environmental preservation. She has a wonderful knack for storytelling, deftly transforming what could be dry descriptions of biology, reproduction and morphology into entertainment. She takes readers to piles of poo in Ethiopia by way of underground caves, latrines and backyard gardens, and opens the drawers at the Natural History Museum to rhapsodize over her favorite flies. The Secret Life of Flies is full of stories and tongue-in-check descriptions, but the science is rigorous, authoritative and will be enjoyed by dipterists, lepidopterists, insect enthusiasts, naturalists, and general readers. Review It's a little gross, very entertaining, and all about that insect that so many of us love to hate--the fly! McAlister, a Senior Curator at the Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom, uses her book's 248 pages to champion these "amazing, exotic and important" creatures. It's no small feat for an experienced researcher to write in a way that is accessible to a non-scientific audience, and McAlister accomplishes this. When reading her words, one almost feels as if she's engaging the reader in a conversation, beckoning them closer to look at a maggot that showed up in a most unusual place or at a parasitic fly that prefers the company of frogs. The Secret Life of Flies is appropriate for anyone who wants to learn a bit more about these creatures, including younger and older readers who enjoy the sometimes gross and amusing ins and outs of biological study. It's easy to picture a biology student, an outdoorsy ten-year-old, and an enthusiastic field biologist exclaiming with glee when finding out exactly where that mystery maggot came from. The Secret Life of Flies offers a wonderful window into a world that many of us take for granted and educates readers about an important group of creatures in our natural world. (Esther Jackson New York Botanical Garden, Plant Talk Blog 2018-07-05) A fascinating read... Many color photographs add immeasurably to the book's appeal. Curious naturalists of all ages will find "The Secret Life of Flies" quotable and entirely irresistible. (Scott Shalaway Vindicator 2018-05-26) 2018 Clarivate Analytics Award
