In Biology Bytes: Digestible Essays on Animals Both Commonplace and Bizarre, author Dr. Teisha J. Rowland discusses the critters that are all around us. From ones close to us, such as our pets, to distant considerations, like the insects that make our silk fabrics, or unfamiliar amphibians facing extinction, a range of creatures are explored in essays that can be easily digested: complex science is broken down into key points, jargon is clearly explained, and, where applicable, how the reader can take action is summed up. This book covers a wide range of topics, including "unusual" creatures (such as monotremes and photosynthetic sea slugs), everyday critters (like pesky garden snails and captivating monarch butterflies), the evolution of our species and the Neanderthals (who our ancestors bred with as recently as 37, 000 years ago), the recent decline of honey bees, coral reefs, and others, and explanations for stories of encounters with fictional "monsters, " like vampires and zombies.