Library Journal
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They're everywhere! Insects, arachnids, and gastropods that bite, sting, burrow, invade, and otherwise compete with humans in their effort to survive and reproduce. Stewart follows her best-selling Wicked Plants with this delightfully gruesome compilation of facts about the critters with which we share the planet. The Asian Giant Hornet, up to five centimeters long, is a recent threat in Japan. When it stings it leaves a pheromone that attracts other giant hornets to sting the same site-how nice! Bedbugs, which can live up to a year without feeding (in upholstery or bedding, for example) until a human host comes along, are a renewed threat in New York. Along with the scientific facts, Stewart also includes historical and literary anecdotes (the death-watch beetle that horrified the madman in Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"). Coleen Marlo's narration is very clear and well paced. This may not be the ideal selection for an outdoor camping trip, but it will appeal to kids and young adults as well as the general public who like creepy crawlies. [The Algonquin hc, published in May, was a New York Times best seller.-Ed.]-Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

When it comes to methods of torture, the insect world is quite accommodating. Victims can, so to speak, pick their poison, from the merely painful to the downright deadly, the mildly horrific to the out-and-out dangerous. Creeping, crawling, slithering, stalking insects that bite, spray, ooze, and sting use these weapons of mighty destruction to snag a meal, slay an enemy, or seduce a mate sometimes all at once. Ranging from verdant South American jungles to Manhattan's cold concrete canyons, Stewart amusingly but analytically profiles the baddest bugs around in quick but attention-grabbing snapshots of little creatures that pack a lot of punch. Bed bugs and bookworms, rat fleas and filth flies all come under Stewart's curious gaze as she exposes their evil habits and lethal charms. No alarmist setting out to stoke preexisting phobias, Stewart shares her natural fascination with the insect world to help readers recognize both the threats and the wonders that could be lurking in corner crevices or come wafting in on the next gentle breeze.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist