In a country like Chile, whose unique geography—from the driest desert in the world to temperate rainforests and Patagonia—harbors an extraordinary and often underestimated entomological biodiversity, Insects of Chile: A Guide to the Identification and Conservation of Native Species (Ediciones Libro Verde, 2025) arrives as a timely and necessary publication. Coordinated by science communicator and entomologist Tomás Román de la Fuente, the book seeks to open the world of Chilean insects to the general public. With an introduction inviting us to examine these small living beings and their microworlds more closely, the book invites us to accompany the author on a "Journey to the World of Insects," as the first chapter is titled.

 

The book presents a selection of 105 emblematic native species and provides insight into the state of insect research in Chile. We begin to understand that, despite not having as wide a variety as its South American neighbors, the number of native and endemic insects inhabiting Chile is truly impressive and, in part, compensates for this comparative “lack of variety.” Among them, we find iridescent beetles from the Valdivian forests, endemic butterflies from the mountains, and solitary bees from the arid north.

 

 

 

 

This book is, without a doubt, an ode to bugs. If you already love them, it will be a great first push to begin learning about those that abound in Chile, and if you don’t like them, you will at least respect them, as it will show you their importance within the ecosystem and how even the least popular ones play an essential role in life on Earth. The focus on conservation is constant: each profile emphasizes how insects are indicators of ecosystem health and how threats such as deforestation, pesticide use, and climate change affect them.

 

As stated at the beginning of the book: “This book has been edited so that both specialists and beginners can enter this world that blends the informative with the technical.” And so, in the introductory section, several specialists come together on topics such as morphology, insect evolution, the threats they face, and their conservation status. This leads into the species guide, organized by predominant color—an intuitive approach that greatly facilitates field identification—with beautiful illustrations by Fernanda Fuenzalida that appear throughout the book’s pages, as if they were bugs wanting to know their own origin and destiny.

 

 

 

 

Finally, the book dedicates a brief chapter to entomology (the study of insects), focusing on its development in Chile over the past few years. This section connects the field with early attempts to study or understand this small yet significant part of the animal kingdom, including indigenous peoples who already named them and recognized them as part of the ecosystem.

 

A completely groundbreaking work that opens the door to a field so rarely accessible to the general public. Visually attractive, with vibrant and precise illustrations, the book can be easily carried in a backpack for field observations. It demonstrates, once again, that there is still so much to discover on this beautiful planet we call Earth.

 

Insects of Chile is not just an identification guide; it is an invitation to look at the leaf litter, flowers, and tree trunks around us with new eyes.