A fascinating look at the insect world found in one field in France - and how important that world is to all of us.
From the author of the Samuel Johnson Prize-shortlisted Sunday Times bestseller A Sting in the Tale
In 2003 Dave Goulson bought a derelict farm in the heart of rural France, together with 33 acres of surrounding meadow. Over the course of a decade, he created a place for his beloved bumblebees to thrive along with myriad insects of every kind.
In this book you will learn how a deathwatch beetle finds its mate, about the importance of houseflies, why butterflies have spots on their wings, about dragonfly sex, bed-bugs and wasps. But it is also a wake-up call, urging us to cherish and protect life on earth in all its forms. A Buzz in the Meadow is a captivating look at our natural world and a call to arms for nature-lovers everywhere.
Dave Goulson studied biology at Oxford University and is now Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Sussex. He has spent the last twenty years studying bumblebees, and has published over 250 scientific articles on their biology. He founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006. He is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, A Sting in the Tale, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize, A Buzz in the Meadow and Bee Quest.
“Wonderfully entertaining… Engages the reader as much with the eloquence of its argument as with the charm of its humour”
Mark Cocker, Mail on Sunday
“Goulson writes with infectious enthusiasm… A lively and important read.”
Ian Critchley, Sunday Times
“Had me exclaiming with delight… Goulson’s book is juicy and delicious, layered with flavours and steeped in culture”
Daily Telegraph
“Buy this book, give it as a present. It is required reading for being a human in the 21st century.”
Matthew Cobb, professor of zoology at the Univerity of Manchester, New Scientist
“A gripping account of the importance of insects to our environment…. Goulson has an easy-going style and an enthusiastic yet rigourous approach to material that could seem dry … Goulson’s patient attempts to establish a link between [bees’ colony collapse disorder and a new class of insecticide] become as gripping as any forensic thriller.”
Suzi Feay, Financial Times
“For those who think of science as being dry and boring this book will be a revelation. Goulson’s book is juicy and delicious, layered with flavours and steeped in culture.”
Nicola Davies, 5 stars, Daily Telegraph
“Glorious… The real pleasure of reading this book is hearing the hum of biodiversity rising from every page.”
Damian Whitworth, The Times
“A wonderfully entertaining one-man campaign… A blend of scientific evidence and amusing travelogue that engages the reader as much with the eloquence of its argument as with the charm of its humour.”
Mark Cocker, 5 stars, Mail on Sunday
“An inspirational case for awareness and appreciation of the teeming diversity.”
John Akeroyd, Spectator
“Urgent and impassioned.”
Max Liu, Independent
“Witty, clever and richly informative.”
Mark Cocker, New Statesman
“Will make you glad that British universities are full of slightly fruity, quietly impassioned academics devoting their life to the smallest of creatures on Earth.”
Big Issue
“Much more than a series of romantic wildlife walks… A trove of elegant and fascinating ecological tales.”
Richard Jones, BBC Wildlife
“Absolutely captivating.”
Independent
“Biology is beautiful, as told in these pages.”
Gerald Isaaman, Camden Review
“A latter-day Gerald Durrell, Goulson fairly buzzes with enthusiasm, recounting numerous hilarious wildlife encounters with great literary flair, whilst retaining a scientist’s meticulous eye for detail and a conservationist’s concern for the future of the planet.”
Good Book Guide
“‘[Goulson’s] heartfelt call for us to cherish the nurture of nature is as sweet as honey.”
Lain Finlayson and Kate Saunders, Saga Magazin
“A truly inspiring natural history book”
Mail on Sunday
“Animated and compelling”
William Leith, Evening Standard
“One of my favourite writers”
Nicholas Lezard, Guardian
“[Goulson] is a voice worth listening to. But the real pleasure of reading this book is hearing the hum of biodiversity rising from every page”
The Times
“Goulson fairly buzzes with enthusiasm, recounting numerous hilarious wildlife encounters with great literary flair”
Good Book Guide
“A Buzz in the Meadow can be seen as a manifesto that slowly creeps up on you…, but that’s to diminish…its charm, and its power”
Tommy Barker, Irish Examiner
“[Goulson’s] experiences will resonate with many scientists and will provide the general reader with an interesting and accessible glimpse into the life of a naturalist”
Michelle Duennes, Science
“Delightful book… Goulson is an important figure in the insect world and, as the future of bees and other insects is debated, his is a voice worth listening to. But the real pleasure of reading this book is hearing the hum of biodiversity rising from every page.”
