EX LIBRIS: Hidden Creatures

Welcome to the hidden, squirming world of parasites, some of the most misunderstood creatures with whom we share the Earth (and our bodies). There is the tapeworm, which can grow 120 feet in length within the gut of a whale; the tsetse fly, a notorious vector of disease that can pierce the skin even of crocodiles with its needle-like mouth; and the most universal symbol of parasitic behavior: the leech. Long villainized as, well, parasitic, these creatures are actually a vital part of every ecosystem—and Dr. Dino Martins, an award-winning entomologist and biologist from Kenya, has made it his life’s mission to demystify these beguiling beings. Hidden Creatures is a journey across the world ten times over, from Martins’s home in the wilds of East Africa to the rainforests of Borneo to cities and backyards across the globe. Along the way we encounter brilliant and eccentric experts who join Martins on his adventures to investigate not only parasites but their hosts, from hyraxes and hippos to, of course, humans.