Using this as a linking theme allowed me to explore, among other topics, insect origins and?evolution, the origins of flight, the development of complex parental care, the surprisingly widespread social lives of insects, and the origins of the great insect societies. Insects were the first creatures to?conquer?the air, an?evolutionary?leap?that is an undoubted part of their success story. However, the?evolution?of complete metamorphosis may have played an even greater part – perhaps the most successful thing?evolution?ever came up with. That magical transformation of earthbound larva into winged adult is all the more fascinating when we realise how, in so many ways, it helps to shape the whole planet. Explaining the ecological success of insects also shows why they underpin most terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and therefore provides a deep background to the unfolding?crisis?of the rapid decline of insects that’s hit the headlines over the last few years.

利用這一主題，我可以探索昆蟲的起源和進化、飛行的起源、復(fù)雜的父母照顧的發(fā)展、昆蟲驚人的廣泛社會生活以及偉大昆蟲社會的起源等主題。昆蟲是最早征服空氣的生物，這一進化飛躍無疑是它們成功故事的一部分。然而，完全變態(tài)的進化可能發(fā)揮了更大的作用——也許是進化史上最成功的東西。當(dāng)我們意識到它在很多方面有助于塑造整個星球時，從地球上的幼蟲到有翼成蟲的神奇轉(zhuǎn)變就更加迷人了。解釋昆蟲在生態(tài)上的成功也表明了為什么它們是大多數(shù)陸地和淡水生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的基礎(chǔ)，因此為過去幾年成為頭條新聞的昆蟲迅速減少的危機提供了深刻的背景。

There are many excellent entomology books already out there and more appearing all the time. Most that deal in depth with the details of insect?evolution?and?ecology, however, are seen more as textbooks. But I wanted to cover all these topics, which have always?fascinated me, in a way which a general?reader?would find equally fascinating and to pull all these varied subjects into one grand story of how insects became what they are. In addition, as a wildlife filmmaker and photographer, I love capturing the wonder of insects in?images, so the book is also heavily?illustrated with my photographs from around the world,?hopefully making it all the more accessible.

SN：現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)有很多優(yōu)秀的昆蟲學(xué)書籍出現(xiàn)了，而且越來越多。然而，大多數(shù)深入研究昆蟲進化和生態(tài)學(xué)細節(jié)的書籍更多地被視為教科書。但我想以一種普通讀者會覺得同樣迷人的方式，涵蓋所有這些一直讓我著迷的話題，并將所有這些不同的主題納入一個關(guān)于昆蟲如何變成現(xiàn)在的宏大故事中。此外，作為一名野生動物電影制作人和攝影師，我喜歡用圖像捕捉昆蟲的奇觀，所以這本書也大量地用我來自世界各地的照片進行了插圖，希望能讓它變得更容易閱讀。

Are you?hopeful?that as people learn more about insects they will come to respect them more for who they are and what they really mean to the health of our?magnificent?planet?

你是否希望隨著人們對昆蟲的了解越來越多，他們會更加尊重昆蟲，因為它們是誰，以及它們對我們這個宏偉星球的健康真正意味著什么?