An Insect A Day

An Insect A Day
Author: Dominic Couzens
Publisher: Batsford Books
Total Pages: 581
Release: 2024-10-24
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1849949905

Richly illustrated stories of fascinating insects from across the globe in 366 daily entries. In this beautifully produced collection, nature experts Gail Ashton and Dominic Couzens tell the stories of hundreds of insects with information about behaviour, migration and protection mechanisms, as well as their involvement in folklore, history, literature and more. Learn the scientific name for each bug and why they are important while reading what both poets and scientists have recorded about them over the years. Discover the story of the gnat, whose wings beat at 1000 times a second, the glowworm, who has captured the power of light, and the sacred scarab beetle, worshipped in Egypt thousands of years ago. Illustrated with stunning photographs and works of art, showcasing the colours, textures and strange and unique features of these fascinating creatures, this collection is a celebration of insects and their special place in our ecosystems and culture.

The Insect Cookbook

The Insect Cookbook
Author: Arnold van Huis
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2014-03-04
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 0231166842

Insects will be appearing on our store shelves, menus, and plates within the decade. In The Insect Cookbook, two entomologists and a chef make the case for insects as a sustainable source of protein for humans and a necessary part of our future diet. They provide consumers and chefs with the essential facts about insects for culinary use, with recipes simple enough to make at home yet boasting the international flair of the world’s most chic dishes. Insects are delicious and healthy. A large proportion of the world’s population eats them as a delicacy. In Mexico, roasted ants are considered a treat, and the Japanese adore wasps. Insects not only are a tasty and versatile ingredient in the kitchen, but also are full of protein. Furthermore, insect farming is much more sustainable than meat production. The Insect Cookbook contains delicious recipes; interviews with top chefs, insect farmers, political figures, and nutrition experts (including chef René Redzepi, whose establishment was elected three times as “best restaurant of the world”; Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations; and Daniella Martin of Girl Meets Bug); and all you want to know about cooking with insects, teaching twenty-first-century consumers where to buy insects, which ones are edible, and how to store and prepare them at home and in commercial spaces.

Eat Grub

Eat Grub
Author: Shami Radia
Publisher: White Lion Publishing
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2016-04-07
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1781012067

Entomophagy - eating insects - is hardly a new phenomenon. We've eaten bugs for centuries, and many countries around the world continue to enjoy them in modern cuisine. But insect eating is currently experiencing a rise in popularity. Restaurants are dishing up insects, the UN is publishing reports on the merits of insect-heavy diets and the Nordic Food Lab is exploring how delicious insects can be. The media is now talking about the ethics, the eco benefits and the economic sense behind incorporating entomophagy into our lives. This book by the founders of Grub - a company which sells and promotes edible insects - features 55 accessible recipes using a variety of bugs, from grasshoppers to mealworms. It takes its inspiration from cuisines around the word to present a range of small plates, meals, desserts and even cocktails using whole and ground insects. It explores where edible insects come from, how they're farmed and how to grill, pruree, grind and bake them.

Edible Insects

Edible Insects
Author: Arnold van Huis
Publisher: Bright Sparks
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Conservation of natural resources
ISBN: 9789251075951

Edible insects have always been a part of human diets, but in some societies there remains a degree of disdain and disgust for their consumption. Although the majority of consumed insects are gathered in forest habitats, mass-rearing systems are being developed in many countries. Insects offer a significant opportunity to merge traditional knowledge and modern science to improve human food security worldwide. This publication describes the contribution of insects to food security and examines future prospects for raising insects at a commercial scale to improve food and feed production, diversify diets, and support livelihoods in both developing and developed countries. It shows the many traditional and potential new uses of insects for direct human consumption and the opportunities for and constraints to farming them for food and feed. It examines the body of research on issues such as insect nutrition and food safety, the use of insects as animal feed, and the processing and preservation of insects and their products. It highlights the need to develop a regulatory framework to govern the use of insects for food security. And it presents case studies and examples from around the world. Edible insects are a promising alternative to the conventional production of meat, either for direct human consumption or for indirect use as feedstock. To fully realise this potential, much work needs to be done by a wide range of stakeholders. This publication will boost awareness of the many valuable roles that insects play in sustaining nature and human life, and it will stimulate debate on the expansion of the use of insects as food and feed.

Regulatory Mechanisms in Insect Feeding

Regulatory Mechanisms in Insect Feeding
Author: Reg F. Chapman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 415
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461517753

The only book to deal comprehensively with insect feeding was published by C. T. Brues in 1946. His Insect Dietary was an account of insect feeding habits. Since that time there has been a revolution in biology, and almost all aspects of our understanding of insect feeding have expanded to an extent and into areas that would have been unthinkable in Brues' day. Yet, our book does not replace Insect Dietary but, instead, complements it, because our aim is to bring together information on the mechanisms by which food quality and quantity are regulated. We deliberately focus attention on the feeding process; to include food-finding would have required a much larger book and would have moved the focus away from more proximate mechanisms. This book is dedicated to the late Vincent G. Dethier. As a pioneer in studying the physiological basis of animal behavior, he focused on regulation of feeding in flies and caterpillars. His work on the blowfly, together with that by his many students and co-workers, still provides the most completely described mechanism of insect feeding. The citation of his work in almost every chapter in this book illustrates the importance of his findings and ideas to our current understanding of regulation of insect feeding. The authors in this book provide many innovative and stimulating ideas typifying Dethier's approach to the study of feeding be havior.

The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World

The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World
Author: Oliver Milman
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2022-03-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1324006609

A devastating examination of how collapsing insect populations worldwide threaten everything from wild birds to the food on our plate. From ants scurrying under leaf litter to bees able to fly higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, insects are everywhere. Three out of every four of our planet’s known animal species are insects. In The Insect Crisis, acclaimed journalist Oliver Milman dives into the torrent of recent evidence that suggests this kaleidoscopic group of creatures is suffering the greatest existential crisis in its remarkable 400-million-year history. What is causing the collapse of the insect world? Why does this alarming decline pose such a threat to us? And what can be done to stem the loss of the miniature empires that hold aloft life as we know it? With urgency and great clarity, Milman explores this hidden emergency, arguing that its consequences could even rival climate change. He joins the scientists tracking the decline of insect populations across the globe, including the soaring mountains of Mexico that host an epic, yet dwindling, migration of monarch butterflies; the verdant countryside of England that has been emptied of insect life; the gargantuan fields of U.S. agriculture that have proved a killing ground for bees; and an offbeat experiment in Denmark that shows there aren’t that many bugs splattering into your car windshield these days. These losses not only further tear at the tapestry of life on our degraded planet; they imperil everything we hold dear, from the food on our supermarket shelves to the medicines in our cabinets to the riot of nature that thrills and enlivens us. Even insects we may dread, including the hated cockroach, or the stinging wasp, play crucial ecological roles, and their decline would profoundly shape our own story. By connecting butterfly and bee, moth and beetle from across the globe, the full scope of loss renders a portrait of a crisis that threatens to upend the workings of our collective history. Part warning, part celebration of the incredible variety of insects, The Insect Crisis is a wake-up call for us all.

The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook, Revised

The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook, Revised
Author: David George Gordon
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2013-07-16
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1607744376

With its stylish new package, updated information on the health and environmental benefits of insect eating, and breed-your-own instructions, this new edition of The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook is the go-to resource for anyone interested in becoming an entomological epicure. For many Americans, eating a lowly insect is something you’d only do on a dare. But with naturalist and noted bug chef David George Gordon, bug-eating is fun, exciting, and downright delicious! Now you can impress, enlighten, and entertain your family and friends with Gordon’s one-of-a-kind recipes. Spice things up at the next neighborhood potluck with a big bowl of Orthopteran Orzo—pasta salad with a cricket-y twist. Conquer your fear of spiders with a Deep-Fried Tarantula. And for dessert, why not try a White Chocolate and Wax Worm Cookie? (They’re so tasty, the kids will be begging for seconds!) Today, there are more reasons than ever before to explore entomophagy (that’s bug-eating, by the way). It’s an environmentally-friendly source of protein: Research shows that bug farming reduces greenhouse gas emissions and is exponentially more water-efficient than farming for beef, chicken, or pigs. Mail-order bugs are readily available online—but if you’re more of a DIY-type, The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook includes plenty of tips for sustainably harvesting or raising your own. Filled with anecdotes, insights, and practical how-tos, The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook is a perfect primer for anyone interested in becoming an entomological epicure.

Buzz, Sting, Bite

Buzz, Sting, Bite
Author: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2019-07-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1982112875

An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we—and the planet we inhabit—could not survive without them. Insects comprise roughly half of the animal kingdom. They live everywhere—deep inside caves, 18,000 feet high in the Himalayas, inside computers, in Yellowstone’s hot springs, and in the ears and nostrils of much larger creatures. There are insects that have ears on their knees, eyes on their penises, and tongues under their feet. Most of us think life would be better without bugs. In fact, life would be impossible without them. Most of us know that we would not have honey without honeybees, but without the pinhead-sized chocolate midge, cocoa flowers would not pollinate. No cocoa, no chocolate. The ink that was used to write the Declaration of Independence was derived from galls on oak trees, which are induced by a small wasp. The fruit fly was essential to medical and biological research experiments that resulted in six Nobel prizes. Blowfly larva can clean difficult wounds; flour beetle larva can digest plastic; several species of insects have been essential to the development of antibiotics. Insects turn dead plants and animals into soil. They pollinate flowers, including crops that we depend on. They provide food for other animals, such as birds and bats. They control organisms that are harmful to humans. Life as we know it depends on these small creatures. With ecologist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson as our capable, entertaining guide into the insect world, we’ll learn that there is more variety among insects than we can even imagine and the more you learn about insects, the more fascinating they become. Buzz, Sting, Bite is an essential introduction to the little creatures that make the world go round.

On Eating Insects

On Eating Insects
Author: Nordic Food Lab
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-05-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780714873343

A compelling first-hand look at one of today's most fascinating food trends - the practice of cooking with and eating insects The concept of eating insects has taken off in recent years in the West, with media coverage ranging from sensationalist headlines to passionate press pieces about the economic benefits. Yet little has been written about how they taste, how diverse they are as ingredients, and how to prepare them as food. On Eating Insects is the first book to take a holistic look at the subject, presenting essays on the cultural, political, and ecological significance of eating insects, alongside stories from the field, tasting notes, and recipes by the Nordic Food Lab.

Hello, World! Backyard Bugs

Hello, World! Backyard Bugs
Author: Jill McDonald
Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2017-02-14
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0553521055

Learn from home and explore the world with these fun and easy board books! Young children love to look at bugs. Here’s a Hello, World! board book that teaches toddlers all about the insects in their backyards—with colors, sounds, sizes, and super-simple facts. Hello, World! is a series designed to introduce first nonfiction concepts to babies and toddlers. Told in clear and easy terms and featuring bright, cheerful illustrations, Hello, World! makes learning fun for young children. And each sturdy page offers helpful prompts for engaging with your child. (“Chomp! A bright red ladybug munches on a leaf. Point to each of its spots.”) It’s a perfect way to bring science and nature into the busy world of a toddler, where learning never stops. Look for all the books in the Hello, World! series: • Solar System • Weather • Backyard Bugs • Birds • Dinosaurs • My Body • How Do Apples Grow? • Ocean Life • Moon Landing • Pets • Arctic Animals • Construction Site • Rainforest Animals • Planet Earth • Reptiles • Cars and Trucks • Music • Baby Animals • On the Farm • Garden Time • Planes and Other Flying Machines • Rocks and Minerals • Snow • Let's Go Camping • School Day