Tiny insects are living extraordinary lives right in your backyard. With up-close photography and personal field notes, The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs (Storey Publishing, 2011) by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards reveals an amazing world that many of us never see. This thrilling glimpse into the activities going on in every backyard will surprise and captivate nature lovers of all ages.
Buy this book from the GRIT store: The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs.
Discover Your Backyard Bugs
Every living thing progresses through a series of developmental stages, or life cycles, as it grows and matures. Plants begin as seeds, mushrooms as spores, insects and animals as eggs. It’s easy to overlook these tiny first stages of life unless you know what time of year to look, where and how to search, and what to look for.
Once you start paying attention to the many lives being lived all around you, you probably won’t want to stop! Every year we feel a sense of wonder as healthy vegetables grow from the tiny seeds we sprinkle. We’re fascinated by the fragile seedlings we nurture as they become tall sunflowers, providing food for songbirds, squirrels, and chipmunks. Again and again we’re filled with awe and astonishment when we witness a metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis and then watch a butterfly emerge and take flight.
You can begin your discovery of life cycles by just looking outside.
Take a look at these cool insects:
The American Copper Butterfly
Classifying Bee Species
This excerpt has been reprinted with permission from The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards and published by Storey Publishing, 2011. Buy this book from our store: The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs.
