Despicable Species: On Cowbirds, Kudzu, Hornworms, and Other Scourges.BORN TO FEAR From the stinging pain of horse fly encounters to our distaste for centipedes centipedes many-legged members of the class Chilopoda of the phylum Arthropoda. They are relatively harmless, but some of the 1500 species can inflict a painful bite to humans and it seems reasonable to assume that bites to animals could happen. , cowbirds and sandburs, Janet Lembke explores the nature and myth of species we love to hate. In humorous and historic detail, Despicable Species: On Cowbirds, Kudzu kudzu (k  d`z ), plant of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to Japan. , Hornworms, and Other Scourges (The Lyons Press, $25) reveals surprises about all these deplorable creatures. The offspring of those rude horseflies, for instance, have an amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. capacity to heal human tissue. Lembke wonders, "Are there lives the world can do without?" and then questions the motivations behind our fears and hate, ultimately asking: What kind of species are Homo sapiens Homo sapiens (Latin; “wise man”) Species to which all modern human beings belong. The oldest known fossil remains date to c. 120,000 years ago—or much earlier (c. to the rest of the planet? -- S.B. |
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