Most insects are a nuisance, and some are an outright headache, but it is still strange and even disconcerting that so few of them are around this time of year. From early spring to early autumn, and especially in the middle of summer, they are everywhere, absolutely everywhere; by late autumn or early winter, they crawl into the house only to give up the ghost in the comfort of a dry place. Here and there, but ever more rarely, one still finds an upturned corpse with six spindly legs tucked in at the rigid chest. The seasonal carnage is nearing its end, though. Millions upon millions of tons of these tiny corpses are strewn about the countryside, slowly returning their juices to the depleted soil. But millions of tons of their eggs are in waiting, as well. The little nuisances will be back with the first signs of spring, to be sure. At their first sighting, one will be surprised by a sentiment not all that different from rejoicing.