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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Underbug summary
Lisa Margonelli
An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology
23 mins
Brief summary
'Underbug' by Lisa Margonelli tells the story of the hidden world of beetles, and how their behavior can shed light on human society. It's an informative and engaging read that will make you look at the world in a new way.
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Underbug
Summary of 7 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 7
Termites eat something humans value a great deal – wood.
If you pick up a random scientific paper about termites, there’s a good chance it’ll be a depressing read. Why? Well, of all the articles about termites published between 2000 and 2013, 49 percent were about how to exterminate them.
So why all this hate for termites? There’s a simple answer.
The key message in this blink is: Termites eat something humans value a great deal – wood.
Every year, termites cause around $40 billion worth of property damage globally. Electrical poles, railway trestles, clapboards, and bridges all make excellent termite snacks. Sometimes, they eat literal money as well. In 2011, termites devoured 10 million rupees' worth of notes in an Indian bank. Two years later, they gobbled up the life savings of a Chinese pensioner.
Termites don’t just have large appetites – there are also a lot of them. Collectively, they outweigh humans ten to one.
The first termites appeared between 250 to 155 million years ago. Their ancestors, cockroaches, were solitary scavengers living off of fruit, fungi, droppings, and rotten leaves. Once they’d laid their eggs, they scurried away and left their offspring to fend for themselves. Early termites resembled regular roaches, but they had one unique feature – their guts were full of microbes that allowed them to digest wood.
This was a breakthrough for the species. Wood, after all, was the most abundant food source around, so being able to eat it gave termites an evolutionary edge. There was just one problem. Every time termites “molted” or replaced their guts, which they did a lot, they lost those precious microbes.
The answer to this evolutionary quandary? They started exchanging a slurry of feces, microbes, and wood chips – known as “woodshake” – from mouth to mouth and mouth to anus. This preserved the bacterial brew sloshing around their guts from generation to generation. Through this new process, these formerly solitary creatures became intensely social.
Millions of years of development refined termites even further, but this ability to live off wood was their evolutionary life raft. Over time, it carried them across oceans in hollow tree trunks and gave them a foothold in new climes. Today, there are over 3,000 named species of termites in a belt stretching around the Earth’s equator and extending halfway to the North and South Poles.
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What is Underbug about?
Underbug (2018) explores the fascinating world of a bug so unloved it might just beat cockroaches in an unpopularity contest – the termite. The result of years of research and interviews with biologists, entomologists, and geneticists, Lisa Margonelli’s study sets out to rescue the reputation of this underappreciated creature. Along the way she explores termites’ remarkable architectural powers, unpacks their strange relationship with a 250 million-year-old fungus, and shows how the microbes in their guts might just help us create a more sustainable future.
Underbug Review
Underbug (2018) by Lisa Margonelli explores the fascinating world of termites and their impact on our environment. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- Packed with intriguing scientific research, it uncovers how termites play a crucial role in ecosystems and challenge our understanding of social behavior.
- By delving into the intersection of human society and insect world, the book offers a fresh perspective on our place in the natural world.
- With its rich storytelling and thought-provoking insights, it keeps readers engaged throughout, making complex scientific concepts accessible and interesting.
Best quote from Underbug
For scientists, the great danger of seeing social insects anthropomorphically is that it obscures their true bugginess.
—Lisa Margonelli
Who should read Underbug?
- Scientists
- Nature-lovers
- Amateur entomologists
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Underbug FAQs
What is the main message of Underbug?
Underbug explores the hidden world of termites and what they can teach us about our own lives.
How long does it take to read Underbug?
The reading time for Underbug varies, but it typically takes several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in 15 minutes.
Is Underbug a good book? Is it worth reading?
Underbug is a fascinating exploration of termites and their impact on our lives. It offers unique insights and is definitely worth reading.
Who is the author of Underbug?
Lisa Margonelli is the author of Underbug.
What to read after Underbug?
If you're wondering what to read next after Underbug, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- The Bird Way by Jennifer Ackerman
- Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D. Seeley
- The Human Swarm by Mark W. Moffett
- Difficult Conversations Don't Have to Be Difficult by Jon Gordon & Amy P. Kelly
- Discipline Is Destiny by Ryan Holiday
- This Is Why You Dream by Rahul Jandial
- What Does It All Mean? by Thomas Nagel
- Made You Look by Carmen Simon
- Tapping by Donna Eden
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill