The Secret Life of Flies (Paperback)

'A short, rich book by turns informative and humorous... a hymn of praise to her favourite creatures and a gleeful attempt to give readers the willies.' The New York Times

'After reading her book it is obvious: flies rock.' The Spectator

Enter a hidden world of snail killers, silly names and crazy sex in The Secret Life of Flies.

Entomolologist Erica McAlister dispels many common misconceptions and reveals how truly amazing, exotic and important these creatures really are.

From hungry herbivores and precocious pollinators to robberflies, danceflies and the much maligned mosquito, McAlister describes the different types of fly, their unique and often unusual characteristics, and the unpredictable nature of their daily life. She travels from the drawers of wonder at the Natural History Museum, to piles of poo in Ethiopia, via underground caves, smelly latrines and the English country garden.

She discovers flies without wings, rotating genitalia and the terrible hairy fly, while pausing along the way to consider today s key issues of conservation, taxonomy, forensic entomology and climate change.

'Pure delight. McAlister tells fly stories with such affection and familiarity that it seems as if she is sharing secrets about her own raucous extended family full of bizarre, outrageous, and sometimes slightly evil characters.' American Entomologist