Contrary to general belief, butterflies are not nature’s only insect art, and this volume of insects rare, common, curious, bizarre, and above all, beautiful will prove it. Kjell Sandved has traveled everywhere in the world to photograph many varieties of insects – from flies and grasshoppers to jewel-like weevils and alligator bugs – amid their natural environments. He has hovered over flowers and stalked in the bush and near swamps in order to get perfect close-ups of them in activity: courting and mating, scrounging for nourishment, camouflaging themselves against predators. And entomologist Michael G. Emsley, who has encountered insects on both friendly and hostile terms, offers a lively commentary on their extraordinary perceptions and behavior, which are so often underrated or misunderstood. All in all, Insect Magic will surely, and forevermore, add a touch of glitter to the hitherto bleak conception of “bugs.”