My list of debts is too extensive to publish a parade of thanks. So let it be said that many wise individuals have helped me write this book, and let it be said that I thank them profusely for their unbounded intellectual and emotional generosity. Institutions have helped out as well, and I would like to thank especially the Program in Agrarian Studies at Yale University, which provided me with time, colleagues, and resources to finish this book. My home base in the Department of History at Texas State University continues to offer unstinting support in ways tangible and intangible, and I remain ever grateful for both forms of help. And then there is that very special institution, the family, to whom I owe more than I am able to express. In particular, though, I must single out and thank my son, Owen, for spending much of his toddling years doing little more than studying the ground for insect discoveries. It might seem untoward to dedicate a book on pests to one’s dear son, but there is untold inspiration in a child’s curiosity. I feel privileged to have been moved by its innocence.