Super Fly is a lucid, absorbing and sprightly account of the world of flies. There is also a parallel story here, in which Mr. Balcombe becomes an outright advocate. His fervent enthusiasm for flies startled me, until I eventually understood his benevolent motives ... Super Fly will satisfy the nonscientist’s desire to know about the physiologies and cultures of flies, and its championing of its subject is surprisingly moving ... To end on a lighter note, Mr. Balcombe shows a sense of humor when reporting on the sundry sexual stratagems of flies. For instance, signal flies, picture-winged flies and stilt-legged flies put the scent in concupiscent. Are you buzzed by the possibilities of such prurient perfumes? You’ll have to read the book to satisfy your curiosity.
[I]t comes as something of a revelation [...] to learn by way of Jonathan Balcombe’s latest book, Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World’s Most Successful Insects, that far from operating on autopilot, flies exhibit discerning social lives, idiosyncratic behavior and sensitivities to stimuli that are not dissimilar to our own ... Super Fly belongs within a subgenre of animal literature that sees frequent recourse to titles that begin: 'The Secret Life of _____' (of bees, of cows, of wolves). But Balcombe’s book does more than unfold surprising facts about flies. The effect of being keyed into this miniature world is an uneasy feeling of double vision. Where once flies might have represented tedium or torment, Super Fly unveils an existence that is not necessarily simpler for merely being smaller.
... edifying and entertaining ... The author [...] has done impressively extensive research for Super Fly ... But Balcombe is quite serious about flies’ impact on humanity and the Earth, urging more attention to flies’ massive evolutionary success. (One expert 'estimates there are about 17 million flies for every human.') He asks, 'How closely, then, are flies’ fates enmeshed with our own?' For those who wish to learn the answer, Super Fly is an excellent and compelling start.
Biologist Balcombe [...] fascinates with this deep dive into the world of flies ... Balcombe reveals the intricate hidden world of these insects, generally dismissed as buzzing, biting pests ... Balcombe also looks at the multifaceted relationship between humans and flies ... In vivid prose, Balcombe perfectly illustrates the complexity of the natural world. Armchair naturalists will find this a stunning and welcome complement to similar volumes such as The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild or The Soul of an Octopus.
