Bugs and other biting beasts

FASCINATING facts leap off the page in the Natural History Museum’s Megabugs by Miranda Macquitty with Laurence Mound (Riverswift/Random House, pp 128, £12.99). Why, for example, don’t we eat insects in western Europe? In most parts of the world beetle and moth grubs, ant puddings and sundried caterpillars are a valuable source of protein. In the US, a fashionable lobby advocates elegant plates of crunchy insects to round out a diet. The simple answer is that in Europe, there aren’t enough to make a decent harvest. Megabugs takes a serious, as well witty; look at the most successful animals on Earth, from life cycles to chemical warfare and social insects. Well worth a look, not only for the words but for the stunning collection of photographs.