Jonathan Balcombe - Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the Worlds Most Successful Insects

Praise for Super Fly

Flies! Those irritating insects that settle on your food when you eat outside in summer, cluster round the eyes of horses, carry diseases on their little tickling feet. How can someone write a whole book on flies! The best thing I can say is: Read Super Fly! It is utterly fascinating, written with clear prose, a delightful sense of humor, by a gifted naturalist and storyteller. And Jonathan Balcombe writes not only with authority about the incredible diversity of fly species, but with a real love for these fascinating winged beings that play such an important role in the tapestry of life.

Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, founder, Jane Goodall Institute, and UN Messenger of Peace

Read this engaging and well-researched book and learn why we cant live without flies and other insects. Then understand and respect their ecological services and wonder about what and how they may feel with many senses and abilities far more developed than our own.

Michael W. Fox, veterinarian, ethologist, and author of Animals and Nature First

Ogden Nash wrote, God in His wisdom made the fly, and then forgot to tell us why. Now Jonathan Balcombes witty book enlightens us, advising of the flys, and other insects, surprising role in preserving our ecosystem and far more. In my view, the first thoroughly readable, enjoyable, and scholarly work on the subject.

Ingrid Newkirk, cofounder and president, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

True to form, Jonathan Balcombes deep interest in flies nicely follows his work on the behavior and cognitive and emotional lives of fishes, nonhumans whom numerous people think of as merely edible streams of protein. In Super Fly, Balcombe clearly shows that flies are complex and wonderful beingsnot disposable or swattable pests who are dumb and unfeeling but rather individuals whose lives matter to them and whose existence should and must matter to us. I can only hope that when people get done reading this highly unique, important, and fact-filled book they will show flies and other marginalized animals the respect they truly deserve. We can learn a lot about ourselves by peering into the remarkable lives of these remarkable insects.

Marc Bekoff, coauthor of The Animals Agenda and A Dogs World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World Without Humans

Written with infectious passion and a large dose of empathy, Super Fly is bound to astonish and delight you. Combining science with storytelling, and clarity with grace and humor, Balcombe shows a willingness to go where others have been hesitant to venture. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, PhD, coauthor of When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals

Just when you thought humans were the dominant animal on the planet, Jonathan Balcombe swoops in with his characteristically entertaining prose to remind us that for each one of us, there are actually 17 million flies. Yet how much do we know about these ubiquitous and important creatures? After reading their riveting story here, youll not only cure yourself of Diptera ignorance, but youll have the most interesting stories to tell at any party you attend.

Paul Shapiro, author of Clean Meat: How Growing Meat without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World

Our planet is home to over 160,000 species of flies, from microscopic midges to giant robber flies that can take down a hummingbirdwingless flies, flies that swim underwater, bloodsucking flies, flies that live in rhinoceros stomachs. Combining meticulous research with superb storytelling, Super Fly covers every aspect of the behavior, biology, and impact on humanity of creatures that are annoying, deadly, and fascinating. This book cements Jonathan Balcombes status as one of todays best science writers, and it will make you think twice the next time you pick up a flyswatter.

Hal Herzog, author of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why Its So Hard to Think Straight about Animals

About any topic at all, Jonathan Balcombe is a fluid and engaging writer, and I have devoured his previous books. This one does not disappoint, offering an entertaining tour of a highly accomplished group of minibeasts. Read it, learn, and maybe find yourself empathizing in ways you would have thought impossible.

Bruce Friedrich, cofounder and executive director, The Good Food Institute

Jonathan Balcombe has long been a respected voice for the other animals, providing us with insightful and empathetic views of the inner lives of mostly misunderstood corners of the animal kingdom. In Super Fly he again combines his skills as a researcher with his mastery of the narrative to expose the inner workings of the most ubiquitous order of animals, the true flies.

Stephen A. Marshall, professor of entomology, University of Guelph, Ontario, and author of Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera

Imagine a talented writer who learns almost everything there is to know about flies. Now envision the writer organizing those learnings into a readable and digestible summary, into something that renders flies not only relevant but fascinating, and that, in the end, inspires thoughts that go far beyond the books stated topic. And with this you have Jonathan Balcombes Super Fly, a celebration of life viewed through a group of insects as delightfully complex as anyone could hope to encounter.

Bill Streever, biologist and bestselling author of Cold and In Oceans Deep

We go through life unaware of the incredibly diverse and abundant world of insects that surround us. Too often, insects are vilified. Flies especially get a bad rap. Think flies and we tend to focus on malaria, yellow fever, and cholera. And yet, we could not survive without flies. In Super Fly, animal behaviorist Jonathan Balcombe zooms in on the fascinating world of flies like no one else has. Jonathan writes in such an engaging and often humorous manner, I never thought I would say this about a book on flies: I loved this book!

Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH, author of Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies

Praise for What a Fish Knows

We Buddhists consider all animals, including fish, as sentient beings who have feelings of joy and pain just as we humans do. We also believe that they have all been kind to us as our mothers many times in the past, and are deserving of our compassion. Therefore, we try to help them in whatever way we can and at least avoid doing them harm. In What a Fish Knows, Jonathan Balcombe vividly shows that fish have feelings and deserve consideration and protection like other sentient beings. I hope reading it will help people become more aware of the benefits of vegetarianism and the need to treat animals with respect.

The Dalai Lama

An extended exploration of the world from a piscine perspective... Balcombe makes a persuasive case that what fish know is quite a lot.

Elizabeth Kolbert, The New York Review of Books

[An] exhaustively researched and elegantly written argument for the moral claims of ichthyofauna.

Nathan Heller, The New Yorker

What a Fish Knows will leave you humbled, thrilled, and floored. Jonathan Balcombe delivers a revelation on every page, presenting jaw-dropping studies and stories that should reshape our understanding of, and compassion for, some of the most diverse and successful animals who have ever lived. After reading this, you will never be able to deny that fishes love their lives as we love ours, and that they, too, are vividly emotional, intelligent, and conscious. Bravo!