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The Life of Insects  («Жизнь насекомых») is a novel by Victor Pelevin first published in 1993. The novel consists of 15 chapters.

Plot
The novel is set in the early 1990s in the Crimea. All the characters in the novel are both human (racketeers, drug addicts, mystics, prostitutes) and insects.

It is an allegory of human life, realized by comparison with the life of insects (which is an obvious parallel to the play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek Pictures from the Insects' Life (1921). The characters chosen by the author are typical representatives of the society of the early 1990s. But this dating does not play a role in itself because the types chosen are quite universal and suitable for all periods. The book has deep connotations with the teachings of Carlos Castaneda, Marcus Aurelius and Buddhism.

Although titled novel the book consists of fifteen short stories that are not related to each other. The heroes of these short stories appear in the first pages as ordinary beings who could be human. Then, Pelevine introduces the delirious details by describing, with great precision and a perfect knowledge of entomology, which allows the reader to know that they are insects.

The first publication of the novel was in the magazine Znamya in 1993. The author was awarded the 1993 Znamia magazine prize for "the best work on the life and exceptional adventures of democracy in Russia". This prize is traditionally awarded by the magazine to one of its own best publications, with sponsorship from Materik Publishing. Published in English in 1996.