Extraordinary Insects: Weird. Wonderful. Indispensable. The ones who run our world.
Written by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
Narrated by Kristin Milward
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
*The Sunday Times Bestseller*
‘Extraordinary Insects is a joy’ The Times
A Sunday Times Nature Book of the Year 2019
A journey into the weird, wonderful and truly astonishing lives of the small but mighty creatures who keep the world turning.
Out of sight, underfoot, unseen beyond fleeting scuttles or darting flights, insects occupy a hidden world, yet are essential to sustaining life on earth.
Insects influence our ecosystem like a ripple effect on water. They arrived when life first moved to dry land, they preceded – and survived – the dinosaurs, they outnumber the grains of sand on all the world’s beaches, and they will be here long after us.
Working quietly but tirelessly, they give us food, uphold our ecosystems, can heal our wounds and even digest plastic. They could also provide us with new solutions to the antibiotics crisis, assist in disaster zones and inspire airforce engineers with their flying techniques.
But their private lives are also full of fun, intrigue and wonder –musical mating rituals; house-hunting for armies of beetle babies; metamorphosing into new characters; throwing parties in fermenting sap; cultivating fungi for food; farming smaller species for honey dew and always ensuring that what is dead is decomposed, ready to become life once again.
Here, we will discover life and death, drama and dreams, all on a millimetric scale. Like it or not, Earth is the planet of insects, and this is their extraordinary story.
Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson is a professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences near Oslo and a scientific advisor to the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. She holds a doctorate in conservation biology and teaches nature management and forest ecology. The author of Extraordinary Insects, Anne is also an ultra-marathon runner.
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Reviews for Extraordinary Insects
16 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am a fan of insects so love this book and the way she has written it. I have learned so much that I did not know. Have listened right through at least six times in sections because the other thing is her beautiful lilting voice making it the best thing to lull me back to sleep when I wake in the middle of the night. Long live the invertebrates!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Must Read! Riveting. Completely changes your views on insects!