Beetle Busters: A Rogue Insect and the People Who Track It
Series
Scientists in the Field
by
Loree Griffin Burns
photographs by
Ellen Harasimowicz
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Imprint
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN
9780547792675
Awards and Honors
Booklist 2014 Top 10 Books for Youth, Science & Health; Booklist Editors’ Choice 2014, Nonfiction, Middle Readers; Booklist Lasting Connections 2014, Science; Booklist 2015 Top 10 Books for Youth, Sustainability; NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12: 2015; 2016 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books, Commended, Middle Grades
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None
Invasive Asian longhorned beetles are bad at flying but very good at killing trees. Residents of Worcester, Massachusetts, are currently working to contain the devastation of their hardwood forest. Author's note. Suggestions for further resources. Glossary. Bibliography. Index. Full-color maps, diagrams, and photographs.
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None
Details
Format
Page Count
64
Dewey
595.76/48
AR
7.3: points 2
Lexile
NC1100L
Genre
Nonfic
Scholastic Reading Counts
5
JLG Release
Feb 2015
Book Genres
Topics
Asian longhorned beetle. Beetles. Infestations. Invasive species. Scientists. Forests. Trees. Worcester, Massachusetts. Resident participation. Data collection. Eradication efforts.
Standard MARC Records
Download Standard MARC Records
Cover Art
Download Cover Art
Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Booklist*, The Horn Book Magazine, The Horn Book Guide^, Kirkus Reviews*, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal*
Praise & Reviews
School Library Journal
[STARRED REVIEW]
They arrived unseen, burrowed in wooden pallets, spools, and crates, aboard ships from China. The first group spotted in the United States, in Brooklyn, NY, was contained, and quickly taken care of, but since then infestations have been discovered from Massachusetts to Illinois, and as far north as Canada. They’re Asian longhorned beetles, pests with “powerful jaws and a taste for wood” and the frightening potential to eat their way through North American forests. Griffin takes readers alongside a team of dedicated scientists and citizen volunteers working to eradicate this invasive species in a quarantined area in Worchester County, MA. Along the way, she explains how the creatures can go undetected for years (their life cycle begins inside trees, which keeps them heavily camouflaged) and offers information that early studies on the creature have yielded—not all of it hopeful. Abundant, close-up, color photos of the insect (from egg to pupa to mature adult), damaged trees, onsite workers, and informative labeled diagrams and maps help tell this disquieting story. Burns questions the approach of the scientists she followed and both admires and “trusts.” But for her, the story is also personal. The author lives within the quarantined area in Massachusetts and has seen firsthand areas where swatches of infested (and other) trees have been cut down. Her questions about the method employed will leave readers asking some of their own—as they should. A timely, well-told story and a call to action.—Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal
Horn Book
From Asian carp to zebra mussels, invasive species can adversely affect our ecosystems and economy. Such is the case with the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) that threatens no less an ecosystem than “the entire northeastern hardwood forest.” The destruction begins when the female ALB lays up to twenty-five eggs in individual pits she carves into a tree. Once hatched, the larva bores its way deeper into the tree and remains there, growing steadily for up to two years; eventually the adult beetle chews its way out of the now-damaged tree. The cycle repeats and repeats and repeats, with ALB spreading like, er, kudzu. In Worcester, Massachusetts, Burns follows scientists and city residents who are looking for a way to eradicate this pest by employing the scientific method. They’ve hypothesized that taking the drastic step of destroying all of Worcester’s infected trees—i.e., the ALB habitat—will eradicate the beetle. But they’re not sure—a strong reminder to readers that a hypothesis is not a solution but part of a reasoned trial. Clear photographs, charts, diagrams, and a straightforward text with appropriate scientific vocabulary outline the problem, from the beetle’s invasion and difficult discovery to the trees’ destruction and replanting. Burns stresses that the success or failure of this project will take years to determine, showing that science is often less eureka-moment outcome and more slow process. Appended with a glossary, a bibliography, an author’s note, recommended further research, and an index. betty carter
Grades 2-6
Science Nonfiction Elementary Plus
For Grades 2-6
Explore everything from the galaxies to your own backyard in these accurate and up-to-date nonfiction titles that will intrigue young scientists. Experience fascination monthly with the 12 books in this category.
14 books per Year
$297.36 per Year
Interests
Biographies,Graphic Novels,Nonfiction,Reluctant Readers,Science/STEAM
Grades 2-6
Science Nonfiction Elementary Plus
14 books per Year
$297.36 per Year
Other Recommended Titles From Science Nonfiction Elementary Plus
Science Nonfiction Elementary Plus
July 2023
Science Nonfiction Elementary Plus
May 2023