Karen Mackenzie
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 17, 2007

IQALUIT - Hairy bees and vegetarian black flies are just a few of the quirky creepy-crawlies that can be found throughout the North.

Carolyn Mallory displays a collection of insects she gathered locally. The Iqaluit-based author is currently working on a guide to Nunavut insects. - Karen Mackenzie/NNSL photo

And while insect lore is a topic that makes many squeamish, Carolyn Mallory is fascinated by the tiny creatures and the ways which they adapt to the harsh Nunavut climate.

The Iqaluit-based author is currently researching a book on common insects of Nunavut, which will identify bees, butterflies and everything in between.

Targeted to Grade 8 students and written in English and Inuktitut, the book will be distributed to schools and libraries throughout Nunavut free of charge.

"Kids in Nunavut will be able to learn about all the natural processes in their backyards, in their own language," Mallory said.

The book is the next step in a series on Nunavut wildlife, and a joint effort of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, Department of Education, Nunavut Bilingual Education Society and Canadian Wildlife Services.

Previous books looked at birds, marine mammals and terrestrial mammals, and Mallory co-authored a book on plants with Susan Aiken in 2004.

A major cornerstone of the project is its traditional knowledge component, which was collected by students in the teacher education program at the Arctic College.

Student Ellen Ittunga returned to her home community of Taloyoak last Christmas with a series of insect photographs, and interviewed four elders for the book.

"I asked things like, are they still in existence? Are they gone? What time of the year were they found?" Ittunga said.

The small focus group recognized about half of the insects in the photographs, she said.

"I also learned a song or a chant I'd never heard before, 'The mosquito and the blackfly,' so even insects have songs," she said with a laugh.

The elders also explained to her how insects are essentially divided into two groups: huaruhik, which are found on the land, and kumak, which are found on human or animal bodies.

An insect found on a caribou, for instance, would be simply called tuktu kumak, she explained.

The narrow naming criteria might make things a bit difficult for the book's Inuktitut translators, but there will be no shortage of interesting material, according to Mallory.

When I first started into the plant book people said, 'Oh god, that'll take you a few minutes,' and they've said the same thing about bugs. But it's just not true! There are so many," she said.

Lots of insects have made unique adaptations to the Arctic climate.

Black flies, for instance, have developed so that females no longer need to suck blood in order to reproduce.

While some Arctic bees actually grow hair to keep themselves warm, the Arctic wooly bear caterpillar has developed certain body chemistry that allows it to freeze solid every winter and come to life again when it thaws in the spring - in this way, lengthening its life cycle for up to 14 years.

Research is a bit slow, given the lack of resources on insects in the North, Mallory said.

However, she noted that she has found helpful studies and online collections, as well as a photographer from Iceland who has agreed to donate some of his work to the educational project.

No date has been set for the book's release.