Insectopedia is a stunningly original exploration of the ties that bind us to the beautiful, ancient, astoundingly accomplished, and unfathomably different species with whom we share this world.

For as long as humans have existed, insects have been our constant companions. Yet, we hardly know them, not even the ones we're closest to: the insects that eat our food, share our beds, and live in our homes.

Organizing his book alphabetically, with one entry for each letter, Hugh Raffles weaves together brief vignettes, meditations, and extended essays. He embarks on a mesmerizing exploration of history and science, anthropology and travel, economics, philosophy, and popular culture, showing us how insects have triggered our obsessions, stirred our passions, and beguiled our imaginations.

Raffles offers us a glimpse into the high-stakes world of Chinese cricket fighting, the deceptive courtship rites of the dance fly, the intriguing possibilities of queer insect sex, and the vital and vicious role locusts play in the famines of West Africa. He also explores how beetles deformed by Chernobyl inspired art, and how our desire and disgust for insects have prompted our own aberrant behavior.

Deftly fusing the literary and the scientific, Hugh Raffles has given us an essential book of reference that is also a fascination of the highest order.