If you’re like me, you may very well have more than one copy of some of your favorite books. Perhaps they are different editions, perhaps one is a loaner and the other your prized copy. In the case of Charles Darwin’s On the “Origin of Species,” my own total presently stands at four – or rather, with the arrival of the new special edition published by the Natural History Museum, five.
When it comes to insects, no field guide is sufficiently comprehensive to cover all the possible species to be found in even a small geographic area. But sometimes, covering all the possibilities isn’t necessary; sometimes – particularly with beginning naturalists or the simply curious – even covering only a few is fine.
Deep in the Peruvian rain forest, a helicopter descends into a clearing. Moving quickly, its passengers emerge from its open side doors and spring nimbly to the ground the moment its skids touch the surface. They have to move fast to get their equipment unloaded and operational. Time is of the essence. The rest of […]
It never fails. Whenever we have any fruit in the house, not five minutes following the missus pouring herself a glass of her favorite pinot, I hear her utter a mild oath under her breath and notice that she’s playing lifeguard to a floundering Drosophila melanogaster. “Why do these things have to exist?” she exasperatedly exclaims […]