Innumerable Insects by Michael S. Engel: book review

Innumerable Insects: The Story of the Most Diverse and Myriad Animals on Earth (2018) is about the five million or so insect species in the world.

Entomologist Michael S. Engel from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) tells the story of insects – the six-legged creatures – throughout all of their evolution.

He begins with the scientific hierarchical placement of insects that differentiate one species from another, the regular and the irregular features of single species. He writes of their body parts and anatomy, the flightless and flying and the evolution of the wing, their life cycles, their nests and colonies, their short or long lives, their many benefits, the scientists who study them, and the artists who meticulously draw them. He mentions their sounds, noises, and mimicry. He also mentions pests, parasites, and plagues – and even maggots.

I like the diversity of insects mentioned in this book, from the ubiquitous silverfish and the magnificent butterfly to the blood-sucking flea. I like the section on camouflage – hiding in plain sight.

Insects are everywhere – pervasive little things! There are mentions of insects in the regalia of France’s Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (he loved the bee), in ancient tapestries and artworks, in timeless fossils, in medical treatments, in doodles, films, children’s rhymes, and nicknames.

Even arachnids (eight-legged creatures, such as ticks and spiders) get a mention here, even though they are not insects – but they are included in some of the museum’s early insect illustrations from a time when critters were critters before they were divided into categories.

The best parts of this book are the 180+ wonderful illustrations from AMNH’s Rare Book Collection at the Museum’s Research Library. It’s a fascinating, informative, and beautiful book.

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MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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