Essay: Funeral for a Stick Bug

What is the value of one life, when the human population is nearing 7 billion? Insects are said to number 10 quintillion--a census would be impossible. What is the value of the life of one insect? To a girl who considers that bug a friend, its life is worth honoring. "Funeral for a StickBug" is a family portrait with stick bugs, preying mantises, and tarantulas as companions. The lessons of animal husbandry are interwoven with research on the problem of insect population decline in recent years.