Hawaii’s Strangest, Ickiest, Wildest Book Ever!

From spine-chilling ghost stories, to tales of real-life creatures who dissolve their own brains, this book is a joyful romp through the grossest, the creepiest, and the most peculiar aspects of Hawai‘i. 

For example, have you heard of the emerald cockroach wasp? This shiny green Island dweller is kind of pretty—but don’t be fooled. A parasitic wasp, it preys on another Hawai‘i inhabitant: cockroaches. First, the wasp stabs the roach with venom that turns it into a walking zombie. Then the wasp grabs the roach’s antennae and guides it—like a teensy dog on a leash—back to her burrow. She lays eggs on the roach, eggs that soon burrow into the roach’s immobilized body and feast on its innards while it’s still alive! Ghastly, we know. It’s almost enough for you to feel bad for the poor cockroaches.

A former staffer at Honolulu magazine, Kathryn Drury Wagner researched everything from whale poop to flesh-eating caterpillars, from how to make a sea cucumber edible to why you should never, ever whistle at night. Supernatural chickens? Check. Tub-licking ghosts? Yep. And hey, did you know a gecko can hang upside down using only one toe? Wagner has created an odd and quirky book, chockfull of wacky facts guaranteed to satisfy the thirstiest of minds.

Author: Kathryn Drury Wagner