Edward D. Melillo

Insects are not everywhere any more. Flying insects are down 75% (causing an enormous reduction in birds that feed on them – for starters). Overall, insects are declining 2.5% per year which “suggests the total vanishing of most insects within a century,” says Edward Melillo in his book The Butterfly Effect.

It’s not (particularly) an environmental book; it’s more about commerce. Melillo describes the very practical uses Man put insects to, in global businesses employing hundreds of thousands. He focuses on three major cases that never cross our minds.

The lac bugs of the Asian subcontinent secrete a liquid that Man makes into shellac. It started out as a wood coating, because of its waterproofing abilities and the lovely lustre it added to wood products. It’s what gives Stradivarius instruments their honeyed tone. The world went through a period where chemical-compound imitators rose to replace shellac, but artisans and hobbyists find nothing works as well and as beautifully as the natural stuff. It has had an up and down history for hundreds of years, in and out of fashion, but it is on the upswing again now. Because new uses are being devised every year. Artificial is out, natural is in. Shellac is being used in drug coatings to slow down their absorption, in nail polish, candy coatings, makeup, and as a replacement for formaldehyde. The future is bright for the lac bug.

Cochineal bugs bleed a very bright red. For centuries, dyes in royal reds and purples came from this bug, harvested in Mexico. One-pound bricks of tens of thousands of crushed cochineal bodies made their way all over the world, commanding exorbitant prices. Today, it is used as a natural food coloring because the modern chemical-compounds Man imitated it with have proven to be carcinogens. The bugs live on the paddles of a cactus plant. Farmers build them little tubular homes out of corn husks they stick on the paddles. They pour them out when they’ve grown.

Silk comes from the cocoon of a moth. It spins the cocoon, often in a single go, and unraveling it can produce a single thread thousands of feet long. Here again, nylon and other poly-products have attempted to replace silk, but it is lighter and stronger than any of them. Silk can also be woven much more densely than cotton threads, making a better filter, for say, coronavirus masks. Melillo tells the story of silk clothing found in a shipwreck decades later, intact, while everything else had rotted in the saltwater. Silk production, unlike cochineal and lac bugs, can and has been replicated all over the world, with different kinds of moths as well. It is a giant industry. But it still needs moths to make it.

Those are the three major cases Melillo examines. But there’s lots more, on bees and cockroaches, one giant version of which Asians like to keep as housepets. There is also a lot on insects as food, and how insect processors are popping up all over. Despite the current fad for a so-called paleo diet, it seems early Man was an insectivore. The bulk of his protein came not from throwing stones and sticks at animals, but by picking insects. Insect parts are acceptable under FDA regulations, and can be found in peanut butter, chocolate and coffee, quite legally. He says insects will not likely become a staple, because unlike meat, they can’t be sold raw. They have to be processed and ground up, packaged and marketed, all of which adds expense. But they will eventually be a multi-billion dollar business, and be a garnish, a snack food and a treat. It’s already happening, he shows, right in the USA, from gourmet restaurants to ballparks.

It’s obvious Melillo loves his stories. He has done the historic research and puts details in context. He does stray from a tight focus, but usually for good reason, and is soon back on target. The first chapter is a rapid-fire collection of anecdotes, facts, cultural references and sayings of and around insects. It is almost overwhelming in its variety – just like the insect world. The entire book is simply jammed with the benefits of insects, from pollination to a food source.

Don’t fooled by the title. There’s very little about butterflies here. The title is a cultural reference to the saying where a butterfly batting its wings in Brazil has the potential to cause a tornado in Texas. It is misleading because the book is mostly all about the usefulness of insects in consumer products, a different approach than most nature books.

Melillo cites EO Wilson, who said, if Man disappears, the Earth will continue on as before. If insects disappear, nothing will go on as before.

David Wineberg… (plus d'informations)