The Brilliant Bug Detectives of Arcadia

By Alex Eastbrook

 When their friend Cid the jumping spider disappears, famous flying ant Princess Camp and roly poly Sir Peter Pillbug become detectives and leap in to investigate! The list of suspects include a spider, a ladybug, bees, wasps, an ant and possibly even a dragonfly. Who kidnapped Cid? Will Camp and Peter find him in time? Visit the funny, som

• Language: English
• Publisher: Silly Little Dog Productions
• Release date: Jul 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781955048026

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This book is dedicated to the many people who are working to help our world’s pollinators.

Thank you to my friends in the pet invertebrate communities for their suggestions and priceless encouragement!

And, of course, to the One through whom all things were made.

This book is fiction. Any resemblance to actual human events or locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

No actual invertebrate species are meant to be portrayed in complete accuracy.

Published by Silly Little Dog Productions.

Text and illustrations copyright 2021 by Alex Eastbrook. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-955048-02-6

No part of this book may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher. The publisher may be contacted at [e-mail]



Picture 3



Picture 40



Picture 19

One of the suspects in Cid’s disappearance!

Table of Contents

Sir Cid Disappears

Princess Camp Gets Involved

Peter Gets Involved

Mrs. Patricia Pillbug Gets Involved

Questioning the Suspects

Two Very Different Hives

The Pillbug Plan

Peter Goes Hunting

A Night of Fear and Hope

A Storm of Honeybees

A Battle in the Earth and Sky

Sir Cid’s Much Better Morning

Author’s Notes



Picture 42

Sir Cid Disappears

The morning Sir Cid Salti disappeared started quite innocently with hunger pangs.

Cid, the small, cute, furry, wide-eyed and most famous jumping spider of Oak Tree Village, woke up to morning light filtering through the fluffy webbing of his bed … and discovered he could think only about food.

Many of the villagers thought Cid was an old spider, probably because he liked to stay home, read and write, and occasionally got both fussy and grumpy. However, Cid was a young jumping spider and had the healthy appetite to prove it.

This day, that appetite would get him into deep trouble.

He stretched, yawned, and though he tried to think about circles, triangles, and other fun math things (well, they were fun to Cid), he could only think about how much he wanted a fresh, juicy bug. 

Picture 4

He then tried to think about meeting his friend Peter Pillbug for a chat, or about the upcoming tour of an ant castle (whenever he got the actual invitation from ant Princess Camp, which he expected to arrive any day now), but found himself thinking of nice, juicy flies instead.

"I think I must be very hungry," Cid muttered to himself.

He crawled out of his home-spun silk bed, which Peter jokingly called a spider cocoon (though among jumping spiders it was called a hammock), then wandered out of his bedroom and into his parlor.

Although the parlor had fewer spider webs decorating the corners, the floor lay littered with leaf bits covered in writing. He chuckled as he remembered recently inviting a hungry princess ant into this very room. Camp had been so hungry she couldn’t fly home. This time, though, Cid himself was the hungry one!

Cid’s pantry was bare – the local Formis ants still had no food for sale – so, after a long drink of water to put something in his empty belly, he strolled out into the early morning sunlight and made his way toward the tall, scraggly patch of plants a short distance behind his house, a jungle of leaves, stems, and flowers – basically, an excellent place to hunt for bugs. Not Oak Tree Village residents, of course – but troublesome, unruly, or dangerous bugs were fair game.

Cid started climbing up one of the towering stalks, up toward the leaves and flowers, where many bugs came and went.

But he didn’t know that the bugs he was about to meet would become prime suspects in his disappearance!

Morning, Cid! came a voice from above. A honeybee buzzed low overhead, carrying a small wax basket in the shape of a hexagon.

Morning, Dabbie! yelled Cid.

I’ll see you up there! yelled Dabbie, and flew upward.

"Good morning, Dame – err, I mean, Sir Cid!" called an ant coming down the stem. Cid recognized her as Frankie, one of the worker ants who took care of Queen Formis’ herds of aphids. She was carrying a sloshing bucket of aphid milk, but her rear end (where she had two stomachs, one for herself and one for storage) also bulged with aphid milk. Queen Formis’ workers liked to carry aphid milk the modern way and the old-fashioned way.

Good morning, Frankie, said Cid, wiggling his palps, the fuzzy arm-like little things near his mouth.

Can’t chat – have to get the aphid milk home! said Frankie.

Can’t chat, either – quite hungry! said Cid.

Frankie smiled nervously and hurried away, staying clear of him.

Good morning, Cid, said another familiar voice. This time, it was Pepper, an orange paper wasp with yellow and black markings. She was sitting on a nearby flower, leisurely sipping at the nectar with a long straw. She waved one leg lazily.

Good morning, Pepper, said Cid. He waved a furry front foot in a friendly fashion. You’re up early.

Getting my breakfast of flower nectar before everyone else drains them, said Pepper.

I hope you saved some for me! called another wasp, flying by overhead. She glinted a beautiful blue in the sunlight.

Oh, it’s you, Pompa, said Pepper, glancing up. Paper wasps are very good at recognizing faces. Don’t you usually stay over at Maple Meadow?

The slim, shiny blue wasp waved her antennae and smiled. Too crowded there, so I came here, she said. My, these flowers smell lovely! She buzzed overhead and settled on a flower, out of sight. Breakfast! came her voice.

A low rumble announced the arrival of a very big flying bug. Did someone say crowded? came the deep voice of Bombini, a big, fat, black and yellow bumblebee carrying a rounded basket. "It’s crowded everywhere. And especially here!" The deep, deafening thrummm of her wings ceased as she stopped on a flower, followed by intense bursts of higher-pitched bzzzt, bzzzt noises. Wasps and spiders, spiders and wasps!

And one ladybug, put in a little voice. A small, round beetle buzzed in for a