Mind-Controlling Bugs is a captivating non-fiction book for children aged 6 and up that delves into the intriguing world of parasitic insects!

Imagine you’re about to be devoured by a predator, but oddly enough, you don’t feel the urge to run away. Instead, you simply want to clean yourself. It sounds frightening, but that’s exactly what happens to a cockroach when it’s stung by a jewel wasp! This unsettling insect turns its host into a real-life zombie, taking control of its mind and leading it to its doom. But not all parasites are bad – some actually assist farmers in protecting their crops from pests.

In this book, you’ll uncover the bizarre and wonderful world of parasitic bugs. With a lively writing style, author Aidan Doyle introduces 20 different insect species with the remarkable ability to control other creatures, explaining how they do it and why. Filled with fascinating scientific facts and stunning illustrations by Astred Hicks, the skin-crawling Mind-Controlling Bugs is bound to captivate and amuse, and might even make you view cockroaches with a touch of sympathy. You never know – you might end up feeling a bit sorry for them!

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.