Architect Christophe Barthelemy, 42, has been photographing insects in the New Territories for the past six years for a book to be published in autumn. He explains why people should pay more attention to the creepy-crawlies living around them.
I like insects because they are unliked. Insects are seen by most people as obscure, unpleasant things we want to squash. Human beings should look at insects with a bit more interest. They are as important as we are.
If insects were to suddenly disappear, I can guarantee we would follow suit very quickly. Our existence would be unsustainable.
They are the primary food supply for a number of higher organisms - snakes, birds and other mammals. They provide essential services in dealing with waste.
You don't find carcasses in the woods because insects have got to them before you find them. They are overwhelming in their numbers. In the Amazonian rainforest, the biomass of all ants put together is four times the biomass of the land vertebrae.
I started looking at bugs when I was about 10 in my parents' garden in France. I remember rearing ants. I would make notes saying, 'This ant is doing this' and 'This ant is doing that'.