How I fell in love with natural history, with Olivia Messinger Carril June 07, 2023 To celebrate the arrival of summer, we asked several of our naturalist writers and scholars to respond to the following question: How did you fall in love with natural history? This week, we hear from Dr. Olivia Messinger Carril. Read More
Arthur V. Evans on The Lives of Beetles March 20, 2023 With some 400,000 species, beetles are among the largest and most successful groups of organisms on earth, making up one-fifth of all plant and animal species. Read More
On spiny ants and the rising tide March 11, 2023 In the mangrove forest mudflats Down Under, a worker ant cautiously extends her antennae. What is the expansive substance before her? Tap, tap, tap. Water! Read More
Laurence Packer on Bees of the World March 09, 2023 The archetypal bee is the western domesticated honey bee (Apis mellifera)—which is just one among over 20,500 different species of bees. Few realize there are so many species or that our honey bee is such an unusual one. Read More
James B. Nardi on The Hidden Company That Trees Keep February 15, 2023 You can tell a lot about a tree from the company it keeps. James Nardi guides you through the innermost unseen world that trees share with a wondrous array of creatures. Read More
The long past of seaweeds January 27, 2023 Algae are one of life’s most diverse and least appreciated groups, and their rise—and the story of how seaweeds evolved within them—offer a key with which to unlock some of life’s most intricate secrets. Read More
Galápagos birds: A lot more than meets the eye December 12, 2022 As a child growing up in the then-remote Galapagos Islands, the birds that surrounded my island home—unafraid as they were—fascinated me. Read More
Listen in: The Sounds of Life October 12, 2022 The natural world teems with remarkable conversations, many beyond human hearing range. Scientists are using groundbreaking digital technologies to uncover these astonishing sounds, revealing vibrant communication among our fellow creatures across the Tree of Life. Read More
Shark books to sink your teeth into September 27, 2022 We publish the world’s leading shark books, created by a team of international experts and covering in gorgeous detail the world’s full range of shark species, providing everything a shark-lover needs to identify and celebrate these magnificent creatures. Read More
On ‘seeing’ trees and forests September 19, 2022 Forests and the trees that comprise them are understood at different scales of space and time. This is true for professional and recreational naturalists, research scientists, hikers, conservationists, eco-tourists, and ecologists. Read More
Tim Birkhead on Birds and Us August 08, 2022 I hated history at school, but once I became interested in how our ideas develop through time—in how we know what we know about birds—the past suddenly became very important. Read More
David Hone on How Fast Did T. rex Run? August 08, 2022 How did dinosaurs rear their young? What did they eat? What did T. rex actually do with those tiny arms? Read More
Feathered friends May 16, 2022 When we watch a big flock of starlings or shorebirds performing their swirling pre-roost aerobatics, the expression ‘safety in numbers’ might come to mind. In the air, moving together, each individual bird reduces its chances of being a target if a predator comes along. Read More
A guide to beachcombing May 12, 2022 Everything that the sea casts up onto the shore has a story to tell. Some objects give us glimpses into the lives of marine creatures living nearby, others speak of long-distance voyages and a life on the ocean waves, or tell us about our own lives and careless habits. Read More
Eric R. Eaton on Insectpedia May 12, 2022 Insectpedia is a beautifully illustrated, pocket-friendly encyclopedia that dispels many common myths about insects while offering new perspectives on the vital relationships we share with these incredible creatures. Read More
