Mind-controlling Bugs

by Doyle, Aidan; Hicks, Astred

• ISBN13: 9781741179187
• ISBN10: 1741179181
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2025-07-01
• Publisher: Hardie Grant Books

Summary

Mind-Controlling Bugs is an eye-opening nonfiction book for kids ages 6 and up that dives into the fascinating world of parasites!

Ever wondered what it’s like to be on the menu for a predator and not even feel an urge to escape? It sounds pretty terrifying, but that’s exactly what happens to a cockroach when it’s stung by a jewel wasp! This beautiful but dangerous invader turns its host into a real-life zombie, controlling its mind and leading it to its doom. Poor cockroach!

But not all parasites are sinister – some actually help farmers protect their crops from pests. In this book, you’ll explore the weird and wonderful world of parasitic bugs. With an engaging writing style, author Aidan Doyle introduces 20 different insect species that have the incredible ability to control the minds of other creatures, revealing how they do it and why. Packed with amazing science facts and stunning illustrations by Astred Hicks, the skin-crawling Mind-Controlling Bugs is sure to intrigue and entertain, and might just make you see cockroaches in a new light. Who knows? You might end up feeling a bit sorry for them!

Author Biography

Aidan Doyle is a writer and computer programmer from Melbourne. His articles and short fiction have been published in The Age, Nature, Voiceworks, The School Magazine and Cosmos. He has been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and the Aurealis Award. He has visited over 100 countries, working as a computer games programmer, an English teacher in Japan and a journalist in Bolivia. His interest in parasitic critters began after he learned there were real insects which had inspired the movie Alien.