“The Earwig’s Tale” by May R. Berenbaum; Harvard University Press; © 2009; 194 pages, hardcover.
Twenty-six short stores make up this very readable collection of insect myths...and corrections. Long before this was published, I actually made a presentation to the Kansas Entomological Society that started with the question: “How many think that you breathe in a half dozen small spiders each year while you are asleep?” and many entomologists put their hands up! That was a hoax started long ago on purpose just to show how fast it would travel on the internet. Here we have 26 additional common misbeliefs about insects and spiders. And in many cases, Dr. Berenbaum has gone to the internet to track down these fictions, although some go way back in history to primitive pre-computer times. She likewise has a biologist’s perspective, which means that sometimes there are bawdy aspects—the essay on Spanishfly is completely in that category. While this is not a textbook, it is certainly interesting reading for entomology students. She takes the liberty of taking “rabbit walks” as we sometimes call a side story during lectures, but there is much humor that makes it an enjoyable read, either for ten minutes each night, essay-by-essay, or in one straight-through one afternoon read. Non-entomologists may not appreciate the walks. The subjects addressed include the following:
-bumble bees can’t fly.
-earwigs bore into your brain.
-the Californian tongue cockroach will infest your tongue with eggs.
-misconceptions on the crab louse
-humans will die off without honey bees.
-flies do have unique eyes...so do other insects, and different flicker fusion rates too.
-genetic experiments have not produced insect monsters.
-a cockroach, and other insects, can performs some actions headless.
-the kissing bug is not ready for you to pucker up.
-camel “spiders” are really sun-scorpions.
-face bugs? There are human face-like patterns on some insects.
-only a few female mantises eat the male during mating.
-cicada emergences sometimes align with political events.
-the cockroach can withstand some radiation, but other insects are even more resistant.
-yes, if a human could jump in proportion to how a flea can jump, we could leap two football fields!
-woollyworms do not foretell the weather.
-a queen bee has to know her limitations.
-ants are not right-handed.
-Spanishfly is from an irritating beetle, sometimes fatal and not an aphrodisiac.
-yes outhouses did have black widow spiders, but the airliner toilet spider is fiction.
-mosquitoes are suckers but have their limitations.
-daddlylongleg spiders are not deadly.
-a butterfly in Java flaps its wings and it does not change the weather in Chicago.
-x-rays do not induce giant insect mutations.
-yogurt does not harbor beetles.
...and a final essay on bug zappers and the electric chair.
While this is not a technical journal article, Berenbaum does provide an extensive list of references and a solid index. But throughout these essays, it becomes apparent that today’s internet is responsible for accelerating the spread of a lot of nonsense about insects. Berenbaum’s discussions are effective in correcting some of it.
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Top reviews from other countries
Alec Cawley
Pure fun, in a scientific way
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2009