author : Scott Solomon

This is the course guidebook that accompanies the 24 lecture “Great Course” of the same name. It is essentially an abbreviated transcript of each lecture, some pictures, related reading, and trivial quiz questions. (I watched the lectures, which is what I am reviewing here, and am using the book simply as an aide-memoire.)

This is fascinating, informative, and too short. There are a lot of insect species (not just beetles!), all with diverse wondrous properties and behaviours, and 24 lectures can only scratch the surface.

We learn about what insects eat, what eats them (and how we all might be eating them more in the future), their lifecycles (parasitoid wasps, anyone?), how some farm other insects, diseases they cause, songs they sing, their use in research, and more. One slightly jarring note, after a score of lectures on how fascinating these creatures are, is a discussion of how to build a kill jar, and how to mount dead insects for display, in your very own insect museum. But all in all, a load of great information from a lecturer who clearly loves his topic of study.