I found it!

The book that changed how I perceive and manage insects

A few years ago, I read a book that really changed the way I relate to insects. I already knew some were beneficial, and some were charismatic, like butterflies. But this book showed me that it goes much deeper than that.

The book stuck with me, but I had borrowed it from the library. So when I wanted to reference it for this blog, I couldn't find it at first. I knew the author was an entomologist, so did some searching. The name Douglas Tallamy sounded familiar, so I looked at a couple of his books - not it, not it...

Until it was! Yay!

The book is Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants. Because Tallamy is an entomologist, a lot of it focuses on insects. After all, who would buy a book called, Let the Insects Live: The Basis of Animal Life Is in Trouble? Still, native plants are central to the message - enough to justify the subtitle.

But that was probably the key insight I took from this book - just how vital insects are. They are far more important that we tend to give them credit for, and their decline threatens all animal life on land, including us. We need the insects! And they are indeed in trouble.

Here were my main takeaways from the book:

• Humans have taken over virtually all land in the lower 48 states of the United States. Only 3-5% remains as true habitat for plants and animals, and that includes our national forests and parks.

• Insects form the foundation of animal life on land. Without insects, there are no birds, no lizards, and that death spiral cascades up and up to us, humans.

• Humans don't even notice insect damage to plants until it reaches about 10%. People can still have beautiful outdoor spaces—yards, gardens, community plots, container plants—and make room for insects.

• People inherently love nature and will help nature thrive if they know how.

• The best hope for biodiversity in the United States is private yards - letting them go a little wild so insects and other wildlife have someplace to live.

Several years ago, I was becoming increasingly aware of how dire the planet's situation was. I remember hearing environmentalists being asked, "What can we as individuals do?" And painfully often, the reply was "Nothing."

Then this book came along with a solid, "Yes! You can help!" Tallamy tells how an individual can take actions vital to the survival of all animal life on land. That's something.

If this interests you, Bringing Home Nature is available from Amazon and most booksellers. Tallamy has since published other books, including one in a question and answer format, and his most recent about the huge benefits of oak trees. But this was the book that got to me.