The Weavers: The Curious World of Insects

Did you know . . . – Dance flies of the family Empididae have been courting their mates for eons by presenting them with silk-wrapped prey as nuptial gifts. – There are at least twenty-three different categories of silk, each the result of natural selection and an independent evolutionary pathway. – Some moth-caterpillars will walk only on a path of silk, leaving human monarchy a tad inferior surely. – Silk is an excellent material for select surgical procedures. Since life evolved on this planet, there have been six major extinctions and insects – since their arrival 400 million years ago – have been amongst them! How did they survive when species after species went extinct? In a world that is fast collapsing to global warming and climate change, there is now an increased interest in knowing the secrets of insect survival. With silken thread forming the central motif, The Weavers brings together little-known aspects of insect life.