Who would have thought it? A cuddly toy in the shape of a virus! These cuddly characters are incredibly endearing and educational too. Each one comes with a detailed scientific description and photograph of what he looks like under the microscope, along with medical tips on how to avoid picking up these bugs in daily life. Children seem to be totally fascinated by them, and it really helps when explaining all about why they are feeling poorly. The perfect gift to accompany a Get Well card. Also a brilliant present for medical students, doctors and nurses etc. You will soon understand why they are becoming amazingly popular! Start collecting now. Facts: Lots of micro organisms like to curl up with a good book and eat it. Silver fish and book lice are some of the more commonly encountered specimens, not to mention termites, moths, cockroaches, carpet beetles, biscuit beetles, drug store beetles, powder-post beetles, spider beetles, larder beetles, death-watch beetles and a host of others. However, Anobium punctatum is the classic bookworm primarily responsible for tunnelling holes through the pages of old codices and manuscripts. (A.punctatum also works a day job as the common furniture beetle, which is where it is more often encountered today.) It is the larvae of A.punctatum that is actually the bibliophage. It spends up to 5 years devouring pulpy leaves of fact and fiction. Then it pupates, undergoes a metamorphosis, spreads its wings, and fly's away: The book full block head, ignorantly read, With loads of learned lumber in his head. Alexander Pope Essay on Criticism.