Introduction

If you’re irritating your family, annoying the cat or just plain bored, then I’ve got some therapy for you. All around us are marvellous mini-beasts that are completely overlooked. Get down and dirty your knees and those dots with legs and wings become tottering robots and oozing aliens. It’s not science fiction, it’s science fact! And it can all be seen in the average park or garden.

These creatures fight battles with amazing weapons, nasty chemicals and terrific tactics. Their weird and colourful world is full of fascinating mechanisms, stunning shapes and groovy gadgets.

A world of tiny animals is dancing in the wind, mooching in leaf litter and playing in ponds. These guys may be small, but their effects (and not just the bad ones) are noticed by us all.

With the right equipment and a little bit of patience you can zoom in on the world of bugs.

Who rules the world? They do!

Like ’em or not, these wee beasties run our planet. Without their composting services we would be knee deep in dead leaves, dung and dead animals. Nice thought!

Beware of the ‘bug effect’

You will often find that if you show someone an insect or spider they will run off, waving their arms about and making more noise than the size of the creature seems to justify. Sadly this easy trick does nothing for the reputation of the harmless creature.

Don’t fall into the temptation of scaring the living daylights out of people. Instead try to understand that not everyone likes invertebrates and some people may not understand your love of them. You can try to talk people around – I even managed to get my mum, who is seriously scared of spiders, to hold one of my pet tarantulas.

This book will help you realise the place that mini-beasts have in the whole scheme of things. Even if you’re not a big fan of worms you can be sure that you love something that eats them, whether it’s a badger or a bird.

Remember that it’s the little things that make the world go around and think twice about squashing that beetle with your boot as it scampers across your path!

Hoverflies in a poppy. Just peer into any flower and you might find a pollination party a blossoming romance, or even the occasional murder!