Edward D. Melillo dives into the essential relationship between humans and insects in his latest book, “The Butterfly Effect: Insects and the Making of the Modern World” (Knopf), and draws on research in medical science, agriculture, fashion and international cuisine to reveal surprising ways we depend on these tiny creatures. Melillo, a professor of history and environmental studies at Amherst College, is also the author of “Strangers on Familiar Soil: Rediscovering the Chile-California Connection,” which won the Western History Association’s Caughey Prize for the most distinguished book on the American West.
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