Becoming interested in observing insects and meeting you because of my interest in the wild

Brief introduction：

This book tells the story of the author’s personal experience during her journeys in the wild. The author stresses her identity is neither as an ecological photographer noras a taxonomist. Over the past five years， she has only used her mobile phone to take close shots of insects， to observe the lives of the tiny creatures， the way they survive， their mating and reproduction， and their extraordinary skills that enable them to live on the earth for hundreds of millions of years. Every creature is a miracle.

K. von Frisch observed the dancing of bees; Wang Shixiang watched cricket fights; Zhu Yingchun produced books about insects; Wang Fang raised fly maggots to treat kitchen waste. All their activities properly reflect the diversity of human-insect interaction. The general pattern of “modernity” is that the expansion of population and human desire， excessive reclamation， and the use of pesticides in large scale have destroyed the normal operation of the ecosystem. The rapid evolution of human beings threatens not only the survival of the large insects （the ancients used to call tigers “big insects”） but also that of small ones. I like flowers and plants， do not have an interest in insects， and know very little about the persons and stories of the insect world. But I also knew some foreigners who appreciated bugs， such as Jean-Henri C. Fabre， A.A. Lyubishchev， E.O. Essig， V.V. Nabokov， E.O. Wilson， M.W. Johnson， as well as Cai Banghua， Zhou Yao， Zhao Shanhuan， Qin Junde， Zhu Yaoyi， and Zhao Li from China， and met Zhang Weiwei， Li Yuansheng ，Yan Ying， and Ban Xia， the author of this book. In fact， I have met three Ban Xia. Among them， the first one is a male， the second one is female， and the third one is the Pinellia ternate from the arum family. The male Ban Xia once gave me My Flowers， Birds， Insects， and Fish， Fruit City， and Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacy. The writer of this book is the female Ban Xia， an excellent writer， who makes herself known to the public as an insect lover.

Insects represent the largest number of species on earth， and their “population” （insect population） is the largest as well. However， arrogant human beings who are obsessed with anthropocentrism usually do not respect insects and have little appreciation for their beauty， delicacy， evolution， wisdom as well as their role in the entire ecosystem. Without insect pollination， we would not be able to grow much food and nor the all important silk; when we go to the wild and are bitten by mosquitoes， we will feel resentment as if insects are born to spite humans. Personally， I have not been afraid and annoyed by insects since I was a child. But I am far from their biggest fan. My passion for nature focuses on plants. I simply thought it is easy to observe and photograph plants as they are static. In addition， I admire and worship flowers and trees because of their fundamental role in the ecosystem. Later， I learned that every member of the ecological ecosystem has its bounden duty， and the ecosystem would fail if any of them were lost. Therefore， I wanted to extend my hobby to shellfish， birds and insects， but I didn’t take it seriously. Instead， I always reminded myself not to be so greedy. Because once I like something besides plants， I would have to face the problem of how to allocate my limited spare time， which might hinder my passion for plants. Although the objects of natural science are very extensive， as an individual， it is really not suitable to like everything at the same time.

But insects are indeed seductive to me. In August 2018， I went to Menghai of Yunnan Province to view plants and lived in a forestry management station， which is 1700 meters high above sea level. A headlamp at the door at night attracted countless beetles and moths. The scene shocked me so much that I almost started a second hobby besides plants！ In fact， I didn’t know the exact names of these insects. A male insect had five horns， which was so special that I couldn’t help but check it out. It probably fell under the eupatorus gracilicornis of dynastidae. What’s more， I didn’t know what use these insects had for humankind and what role they played in the ecosystem. To be sure， the first thing that attracted me was their beauty. To make it easier to remember for the public， the first item of my interpretation of natural science involves the beauty of nature. What attracted Ban Xia to insect observation five years ago？ I guess it must have had something to do with an irresistible kind of beauty. Indeed， Ban Xia wrote in this book that one day， five years ago， when she went on a walk after it had rained， she accidentally photographed a blowfly resting on a canna leaf with her mobile phone， and its beauty made her a “worshiper” of insects. From then on， she has always gone to the field to observe and take photos of insects during her holidays.

Natural science and nature lovers care about the beauty of nature. But that is not just because of the beauty itself， and is not limited to beauty either. Just as Ban Xia mentioned in the preface of her book， “Merely arousing people’s awareness to find beauty is far from enough. Under the modern mode of production， people are dissimilated and need to find things other than a sense of achievement in their work to improve their lives. Don’t just lament the boredom and meaninglessness of life. You can find a perfect relationship with yourself in the relationship between humans and nature. This is necessary and noble.” There are four possible topological relationships between humans and nature， the most important of which is a fractally interwoven relationship： the two have become interdependent. From an early age， we have had extensive contact with nature， looking up at the constellations and moons， feeling the wind and rain， observing the flowers blooming and wilting， and listening to the singing of birds and insects. Those are not only the right of the individual as a human being but also a necessary part of self-realization. On a large scale， we can only achieve the sustainable survival of human society by respecting， returning to， and integrating into nature， rather than transcending， overriding， and conquering nature.

Natural science is inseparable from science. But contemporary science has long abandoned people’s pitiful hobbies and feelings for natural objects. Compared with the objectivity， strictness， difficulty， systematization and power of science， natural science means nothing; today scientists have every reason to despise natural science. Calling a scientist a naturalist is not praise but a humiliation. Wilson named his autobiography as Naturalist， demonstrating a rare kind of confidence.

For quite a long time， there is still considerable overlap between natural science and science. But we should not expect it to gain enough prestige through its “close relationship with science”. It’s impossible. At the very least， even if natural science turns scientific， it would be only a small and superficial part of the building of science. When studying the history of science， we surely can explore more materials and figures of natural science to show how important they were to science in the past. But this is a science-centered approach that is good for nothing. The approach to restoring the identity of natural science as science is not feasible. On the one hand， it is so complicated and ordinary. On the other hand， it is looked down upon by others. Obviously， natural science is not the same as popular science， though many people think so. So， what else can it be if it is not subordinate to science， and is not science and popular science？

It’s literature and art. This is just an analogy. Natural science can be something like literature or art. Natural science is itself. The literature and art in different periods would naturally draw lessons from the science and technology of the same era， but it has never been classified as the latter.

It’s the same with natural science. In the Western context， natural science is a kind of exploration of nature at the macro-level in the final analysis， i.e. historia called by the ancient Greeks. I have read some material， pondered the relation over， and worked hard to construct it， trying to figure out the relation between natural science and science is and what it should be. My conclusion is a parallel relationship.

Natural science and science exist， evolve， and develop in parallel. That is as true today as it was then， and may continue to be so in the future. Naturally， many things exist in parallel with science and are impossible for them to compete with it， to compare strength， efficiency， amount of assistance， and dignity. Natural science exists in parallel with science and should be kept at a certain distance from science， neither too far nor too close. Being not too far means to study science diligently and draw lessons from all kinds of knowledge progress of science; being not too close means not to be attached to science， not to rely on it， not to pursue publication of papers， and not to fantasize about controlling and manipulating the world.

Meeting Insects in the Wild is a work full of personal feelings， is a rare natural observation note， a book of insects. I believe its publication will promote and enrich the reviving of Chinese natural science.

May 12， 2019

Department of Philosophy

of Peking University

Meeting Insects in the Wild

Ban Xia

Guangxi Normal University Press

August 2019

118.00 （CNY）

Ban Xia

Ban Xia is the pseudonym of Yang Hongyan， who is a graduate of the Department of Biology of Yunnan University. She now works for Yunnan Newspaper Group and serves as a senior editor. She is a member of the China Writers Association， a graduate of the 7th Advanced Research Class of Lu Xun Literary Institute， and vice president of Kunming Writers Association. She is devoted to the writing of novels and natural essays.