What's not to like? Fabre's tales, or Fabre's able translator de Mattos, and de Mattos' translation retold by Mrs. Stawell - sorry, but what a tangle - of insects makes one admire their strangeness at the same time one is horrified by them. I think in particular of his time-consuming observation of the Anthrax fly's two - not one - larval forms, which comprises the final chapter in Fabre's Book of Insects. It is very unlikely that anyone before this 19th century naturalist of France ever pinpointed this particular aspect before, and this is but one example of his efforts. "I have gone forward with one aim always before me: to add a few pages to the history of insects," he wrote. ( )

Classic. Illustrated with detailed drawings and paintings. An entomologist, many of Fabre's books are based on his backyard observations. ( )