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NUNAVUT
Many Nunavummiut are familiar with the black flies and mosquitoes that swarm during the summer, but the territory is home to many more insects, many of which are featured in a new book titled Common Insects of Nunavut.

Carolyn Mallory leafs through the Common Insects of Nunavut, which she authored. - photo courtesy of Carolyn Mallory

The book, written both in English and Inuktitut, features about 200 pages in each language with information and illustrations on a variety of insects, as well as a section on traditional knowledge, said author Carolyn Mallory. She added the book is geared for anyone wanting to learn more about insects in the Arctic.

"There is everything from really small mites or aphids you don't necessarily see because you're just not looking for them. There is lots of different types of flies, aside from black flies and mosquitoes, there is all kinds of other different flies," she said. "Again, people don't necessarily notice them because there are not biting. There is a few bees and there is a few beetles. It's a richer fauna than you would think."

Mallory lived in Iqaluit for 12 years before moving to Nova Scotia in September 2011. While in the territorial capital, she worked for the Nunavut Wildlife Resource Centres Coalition for six years as well as at the libraries of Nunavut Arctic College and Inuksuk High School for some time.

Mallory co-authored a book about eight years ago on the common plants of Nunavut. She said the book on insects is a natural progression as insects pollinate flowers.

Mallory said what surprised her as she was writing the book is how similar to plants the different adaptations insects have taken.

"When flowers are in bud, a lot of them have dark buds because that attracts the warmth of sun. And the buds are hairy, so the hair sort of trap the heat around the plant," she said. "And insects are much the same. They're darker than they are down south and they're hairier and that's because they need the warmth of the sun in order to be able to fly."

Mallory said a two-week field course on Arctic and boreal insects in Churchill, Man., she took was a great starting point to the book. She added she contacted etymologists, read books and articles to get more information on the insects.

Similar books on Nunavut's birds as well as rocks and minerals are expected in the near future, said Mallory.

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