Little Things That Run the World

A fascinating new story of the many incredible role insects play in our world, by prize-winning Harvard researcher, for fans of Merlin Sheldrake, Ed Yong and Dave Goulson.

We swat them, spray them, and rarely give them a second thought. We assume humans run the world—but step back, and a different picture emerges: this is a planet ruled by insects. They make up roughly half of all known species, outweigh many of the animals on the planet, and outnumber us by billions to one. For every human, there are millions of ants; for every familiar creature, there are countless beetles, flies, and moths quietly keeping the planet alive.

In Little Things That Run the World, biologist Zhengyang Wang reveals this overlooked empire in all its strange, astonishing power. These are the creatures that pollinate our crops and coffee, recycle waste, sustain food chains, and underpin ecosystems worth billions to human life. Along the way, you’ll encounter meat-eating bees, mind-controlling “zombie” fungi, and insects that farm, wage chemical war, and inspire cutting-edge technologies.

Eye-opening and urgent, this is a bold new way of seeing our world—one that makes clear that the smallest creatures are, in fact, the ones everything else depends on.