Category: Interview

Horsey Estate, in Norfolk, has, since 1979, been home to a colony of resident, and eventually breeding, Common Cranes. John Buxton has been resident on the estate a little longer, and was perhaps the perfect host to his surprise new neighbours…

What a fascinating story – how did you feel when you first heard that there were cranes resident in Norfolk, on the Horsey Estate? What do you think attracted them to the site?

In October ’79 I was delighted when Frank Starling, the grazing tenant, had reported he had just seen “the 2 biggest bloody herons” on the marshes on which he grazed his cattle. The attraction to the cranes was a combination of a quiet, undisturbed area of wetland and a plentiful supply of food in the form of unharvested potatoes. Both sites were within the Horsey Estate area.

How did the writing of the book come about? What brought you two together and why now?

For the first few years I tried to keep the presence and nesting activity as quiet as possible but I felt the story would have to come out eventually. I was worried that inaccuracies would begin to creep in because various interested people were longing to report facts as they saw them. I wrote down careful notes about the cranes’ activities and as I learnt more about them and their habits I realised that at some stage in the future, I should recall the true story as it happened. Chris Durdin was given a sabbatical period while still employed by the RSPB in 2009 to gather and write down the facts as told by me from my notes and diaries I had kept about the cranes over the last 20 years. The work became delayed for various reasons but finally, in 2011, it simply had to be completed.

The first part of the book follows the cranes and their efforts (sometimes exhausting!) to breed year by year from 1979 to 2010. How was 2011 for them?

2011 was a fairly unsuccessful breeding summer for the cranes at Horsey, one pair definitely hatched young by my observations of their activity from a fixed hide at 200 metres. I could not see the young in fast growing reed but could observe the parents by their tall necks showing above those reeds. I was aware also that the young only survived a few days and I witnessed a male marsh harrier, which had nested only 50 yards away from the cranes’ nest, carrying a small gold creature as prey, which he took to feed his young. Another pair of cranes in a different site within the Horsey Estate also failed to raise any young.

What was it like revisiting the history of the years from 1979 – particularly going back through all the notebooks?

It was quite revealing to catch up with my notes, which acted usefully as a reminder of the facts over 30 years. Thanks to Chris Durdin’s patience, we finally achieved the publishing of the book.

The Norfolk cranes are grus grus, or Common Crane, and the book is full of observations on crane behaviour. The word ‘tenacity’ is used in the book to describe these birds and their endless attempts at sucessful breeding. How would you sum up the typical crane personality?

Like all individuals of a species, cranes vary in personality, I have observed particular traits in quite a few individuals, which I had got to know fairly intimately from fixed hides. The females are undoubtedly the best parents, with remarkable tenacity and sense of duty at the incubation and subsequent caring for chicks. The males are usually less reliable in their duties. Incubation is normally shared but I have seen many examples of the male going walkabout when he should be sitting on the eggs. This can be fatal if we have late frosts in May. One particular pair have only hatched young once in 4 years of nesting attempts.

What has been the cranes’ legacy in terms of their effect on your life experience, personally and professionally?

The cranes establishing themselves in Broadland, after a break of 400 years, is a major event in UK bird conservation. It has kept me extremely busy, looking after them for 30 years and although my son, Robin, since 2000 is now the lessee of the Horsey Estate from the National Trust, I am acting as his reserve warden. A job which he would never have had time to undertake as a busy, self-employed land agent. My present age is 83 and I am extremely lucky to be able to both physically cope with wardening the Horsey reserve and still enthusiastically enjoy photographing wildlife in high definition video and digital imaging with a still camera.
As far as I am personally concerned, with a wonderful wife and family around as backup, I am as fully occupied as I have ever been, doing things I enjoy with great enthusiasm.

I am hugely relieved that the book has been published at last and deeply grateful to Chris in particular, and among others, Nick Upton, for his invaluable contribution and chapter about cranes in Europe.

Chris Durdin worked for the RSPB for 30 years and was in the Norwich office while the cranes were establishing themselves…

Chris, how did you become involved with the cranes?

Not long after I arrived at the RSPB’s Norwich office, I was told in confidence about the nesting cranes and asked to help in several ways, including some shifts watching a nest in the spring of 1982. Regular contact with John continued, but it wasn’t hands-on as he and Bridget looked after the RSPB contract wardens who helped at Horsey for several years.

You were in charge for a time of deflecting public and media interest in the cranes at the RSPB office – what was it like trying to keep the cranes secret?

It helped that there was a rumour in the birdwatching world that the cranes had escaped from captivity, so on that basis they didn’t really count as wild birds. We didn’t discourage that perception, which lessened the pressure and risk of disturbance to nesting birds in spring and summer. They were fairly easy to see in autumn and winter from the coast road, so it was easy enough to encourage birdwatchers to look then. Of course there were well-informed birdwatchers and media, especially after juvenile cranes that were clearly recently fledged started to appear. Those in the know seemed to accept the need for care with this privileged information, though naturally some keener media were referred to John, who batted queries into the long grass.

How does the Norfolk Cranes’ story fit in the context of current conservation issues and efforts in the UK today, and how could organisations and government best serve the potential future of cranes in the UK? 

We can start by remembering that they disappeared from the UK as breeding birds some 400 years ago due to a combination of hunting and wetland loss. So no hunting and lots of big wetlands are obvious messages – all the British birds are on large, protected wetlands, mostly nature reserves. That this includes a re-created wetland at RSPB Lakenheath Fen is particularly encouraging. Cranes are big, talismanic birds, and we hope they are an easy-to-grasp way of showing the value of wetland protection and creation to the public and to Government. Cranes have a preference for large, undisturbed wetlands, so they are also a reminder of the value of large-scale habitat protection and restoration.

So, can we expect our skies to be full of cranes in the near future? 

No, but they should be a more familiar part of the scene in small numbers in a few areas. It’s taken more than 30 years to go from their natural re-colonisation at Horsey to about a dozen pairs in Eastern England, so we all need great patience. An exception to that is if you’re lucky enough to live where the process is being speeded up in SW England, where cranes are being reintroduced in Somerset. While we hope the spread will accelerate, probably boosted by more immigrants from the expanding – in both numbers and range – European population, cranes will probably never be common, given their preference for large wetlands.

If you’d like to see skies full of cranes, the answer is to go where they form flocks in several parts of Europe. One of the best places to go is Extremadura in Spain where up to 100,000 cranes over-winter. I will be there with Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays in February 2012!

Could you describe, for those who may not be aware, the Census of Marine Life?

The Census of Marine Life has been a 10 year program involving 2700 scientists from more than 80 countries around the world, focused on understanding the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the global oceans.  The Census studied oceans past, oceans present, and oceans future, and found the ocean is richer, more connected, and changing more than we had realized.

How have you been involved in the project?

About 4 years ago, the Census leaders realized that a concerted effort was needed to bring together the many different elements of the project to produce a single coherent view of life in the ocean. They therefore asked me to Chair a group that would bring together Census results for a wide range of audiences, including the general public. One of the outputs of that effort is the book “Discoveries of the Census of Marine Life: Making Ocean Life Count”, which I wrote over the last year. It brings together over 1100 published scientific papers into a single story of the Census of Marine Life.

What does marine science hope to take forward from the knowledge gained from the project?

Knowledge of life in the oceans can help us sustain that life by making us better stewards and managers. In the past, our exploitation of life in the oceans has often proved unsustainable and with indirect and negative consequences to many species other than those targeted by our activities. We know that we have caused many changes, and that we must do better if we are to sustain a rich, healthy ocean environment that many believe is essential to productive fisheries and indeed for life on Earth. Globally, scientists now realize the rich diversity of life in the oceans is important and that by conserving species we can also improve the probability that we can sustain healthy oceans. Knowing where they move and congregate can help us identify areas that should be prioritized for protection. Ignorance has not been bliss for ocean life in the past, and we must do better.

Tell us about the book – what can a reader expect?

The book explains how the Census came about, what it discovered about life in the ocean, and why the information is important.  The book includes many colour pictures illustrating the new species and diverse environments we studied, from the shoreline to the abyss. It explains how scientific data is collected, and what it tells us. In short, it tells the story of the Census from start to finish.

Buy your copy of Discoveries of the Census of Marine Life

Visit the official Census of Marine Life website

Bjørn Lomborg shot to fame with The Skeptical Environmentalist in 2001, a book which generated a great deal of interest from scientists and the media alike. The debate which followed focused on Lomborg’s general assertion that much of what environmentalists claimed was not nearly as bad as they reported. From pollution to public health, and the extinction of biodiversity to climate change, Lomborg offered analysis to show a better than feared picture. Several books since (e.g. The Lomborg Deception) have taken Lomborg to task over his methods and choice of data, and much has been made, particularly by the climate deniers, of his dismissive coverage of global warming.

Well… following on from The Skeptical Environmentalist, and his later book Cool It, he’s back to answer his critics with a new edited book on our response to climate change. Smart Solutions to Climate Change takes catastrophic climate change as a starting point. “I am saying what I have always said” says Lomborg, “that the climate is a real and important, man-made problem, but that we are handling it badly”. A panel of authors (economists – including three Nobel laureates) examine a range of policy and technology responses to climate change and suggest we change emphasis – shifting away from a Kyoto/Copenhagen focus on reducing emissions, and instead invest $100 billion in new technology funded by a carbon tax.

This is an in-depth and fairly technical read, but thought provoking and accessible. No matter what your views on Lomborg, he is now addressing what many see as a looming reality – that we are not making anywhere near enough progress in responding to climate change, and that even building on what’s already been started will not fix the problem.

What inspired you to enter the world of wildlife film, and what was the first film you ever made?

What inspired me was a desire to use film to advance the cause of conservation. I was frantically seeking fresh and innovative ways to promote environmental protection. The first film I ever made was on the California Condor with Robert Redford.

Shooting in the Wild is a scrupulously diplomatic survey of the history and ethics of wildlife film making – what is the hardest ethical puzzle you have had to confront in your experience making films?

You forgot to say that the book is full of fascinating stories! The hardest ethical puzzle I confronted was the desire to get close to wild animals while knowing it was wrong to harass them in that way.

As a conservationist, what do you believe a good wildlife film should do? What are the limits?

A good wildlife film should inspire the viewer to love nature more deeply and to encourage action of some kind to promote conservation.  And it should do this without harassing animals or deceiving the audience with staging or manipulation. There are no limits.

The tale of someone like Howard Hall and his “extraordinary patience” resulting in fascinating footage and industry recognition for his first film is  inspiring – perhaps the overly enthusiastic “claws and jaws” approach hides a more intriguing diversity of behaviour in the animal kingdom?

I’m not a cinematographer like Howard, but the behavior of wild animals goes far beyond copulation and predation, and is often intriguing and unpredictable. The “claws and jaws” approach does wildlife a disservice and is highly disrespectful of the natural world.

You recount some classic stories of misadventure – Timothy Treadwell and Steve Irwin come to mind – have you personally found yourself in any close animal encounters you were glad to have got out of? What is your most memorable animal encounter?

Swimming with humpback whales in Hawaii and walking near Kodiak bears in Alaska come to mind, but remember, we always work closely with biologists and so are never in any danger unless we do something stupid or careless. I’ve never felt threatened.

And what about memorable human encounters? You have worked with a huge variety of people and you mention some of these in the book …

“Shooting in the Wild” contains many memorable stories about film stars and other celebrities. I encourage readers to get hold of my book and enjoy them!

You talk about how social media is bringing wildlife filmmaking directly to people and engaging them in action on the ground. How does this new phenomenon play into the ethical concerns that are raised in the book?

One way is that everybody is a filmmaker now because everyone has a camera on their cell phone. Millions of people with cameras are edging closer and closer to wild animals to try to capture a career-enhancing shot. This upsurge in people stalking animals in order to get pictures is not good news for wild animals, who for the most part just want to be left alone.

What drives you to make this effort, at this time, to bring your industry to account? Are you optimistic that your conscientious approach will become standard?

What drives me is the deteriorating state of television. Recently I saw Bear Grylls on Animal Planet gratuitously and cruelly kill a large lizard by swinging it against a tree by its tail, and then plunging a knife into its neck.

Are you currently working on any interesting projects?

We’re producing three giant screen IMAX films on climate change, humpback whales, and the oceans. I’m also working with Rob Whitehair and Bruce Weide on a film about wolves.

How can people find out more about the questions raised in the book?

By writing to me and requesting the companion Study Guide. My e-mail address is palmer@american.edu.  Another way is by asking to be put on my mailing list so you receive periodic e-mails about our various projects.  Again, people should feel free to e-mail me about that. Also, every Tuesday night in Washington DC at American University where I teach we have events related to wildlife and environmental films which are free and open to the public.

Buy a copy of Shooting in the Wild

“Reed occurs in all five continents. It is concentrated in Europe, Asia and Africa, but is most variable and abundant in eastern Europe and into Asia (much in China), in temperate climes. Here it is the commonest wetland dominant, the commonest (non-bog) peat former, and the commonest sparse species in other wetland types. Reed peat is of course a fen peat, formed under water from old plant peats. Reed beds, before much human impact, often lived for several thousand years, colonising flooded areas and building up peat until dry land vegetation could invade or land or sea level changed to increase surface water again. The plants have large rhizome systems growing at the front and dying at the back. It is thought, but without evidence, that the same plants live throughout the life of a stable bed (one that is not subject to constant disturbance and disruption).

“Before main drainage, the next most important habitat (still seen, though sparsely) is in bands along lowland streams, outside a fringing band of trees or bushes. Small dominant stands occur in other wet places, and sparse reeds are in most fens, rich and poor, in estuaries and beside some rivers.

“Reed is extraordinarily sensitive to most environmental impacts, natural and human. These variations make reed a fascinating study in plant behaviour.

“There has been a deplorable decline and loss of river plants which is quite possibly worst in Britain, among the larger countries. This has occurred over the past 30 years or so, although some decline was recorded from the 1930s through to 1980 (principally in fine-leaved Potamogetons). Among small countries, Malta seems to be approaching total loss in a few decades time, there having been a good and common aquatic flora in 1850. This loss, however, is primarily due to water loss from abstraction.”

The dedication in Dr. Haslam’s next book, “The Waving Plants of the River”, is to “the botanists of the future who dedicate their lives to reverse the present decline and devastation of river plants.”

A Book of Reed is available now from NHBS

What is a mangrove, what sort of habitat does it provide, and what might you find living there?

The World Atlas of Mangroves, published by Earthscan, is a huge undertaking with you at the helm as lead author. What are your credentials? Who were your colleagues?

I think it’s taken about 5 years. Leadership of the whole project was run by the wonderful International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, a small but very active NGO based in Japan, with funds from the International Tropical Timber Organization. Mami Kainuma, one of the co-authors, works with ISME. Also, at its heart, it’s a book rich with maps – and that work fell to two other organisations: FAO in Rome and UNEP-WCMC in Cambridge – and many fantastic colleagues in both organisations.

I wrote an earlier mangrove atlas with ISME which came out in 1997. In fact the two works are almost incomparable. The 1997 work was the best we could do with limited resources. It’s not bad, but this work is so much more than just a new edition – we’ve got globally consistent, detailed maps; we reviewed 1400 references for the text; we have the first ever range maps for all species…

With mangroves disappearing three to four times faster than land-based forests, what is being done to address the situation?

What are the main problem or priority areas for mangrove conservation?

Communication. I think the case for mangrove conservation is rock-solid. More so than for some other habitats where direct dollar values for goods and services can sound a little tortured or unconvincing. But many still don’t know it, so mangroves are still suffering from a poor press as unproductive wastelands, and from poor accounting, as short-term profits are being used to persuade losses with often dire long-term consequences.

But it’s not all bad news? What are some of the success stories?

Matang forest in Malaysia, and the Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India, are among the longest-running tropical forestry operations in the world. They are plantations of a sort, though much reafforestation is just natural growback. But in both places for well over a century thousands or even tens of thousands of people have benefitted from timber products and fisheries, while the wildlife remains abundant, showing that we can work  alongside nature.

Mangroves are also robust survivors. Given half a chance they’ll recover. They don’t appear to be stressed by warming temperatures, and if they can migrate inland then sea level rise might not stress them too much either.  Get things right and they are going to help us to adapt to climate change AND keep local communities going with other goods and services.

The World Atlas of Mangroves is a global overview, and this is a focus we see increasingly in conservation and ecology with developments such as remote sensing. What are the benefits and the limitations of this kind of approach?

In an increasingly global world they help us to get things in perspective. For those working at national or local levels they offer a context for that work. They enable arguments to be made, and I’d like to think they also enable connections – that people working South America might realize the bonanza to be made from ecotourism, or sustainable harvesting. They also help those who deal with issues at the international level – in the case of mangroves to make the case for their importance – in climate change adaptation, carbon sequestration, rural livelihoods, offshore fisheries. Of course its not a book to be used for navigation! The maps are good, but not that good, and it’s always important for people like me to remember that books like this are really written by the thousands of experts who live and work “on the ground”.

You have commented on the “extraordinary synergies between people and forests”. How would humanity be affected by a substantial decrease in the world’s remaining mangroves?

Of course, many in the west wouldn’t notice, and the world’s economies might not notice, but mangroves are right there in the front line for many of the world’s poorest. There would be declines in livelihood, and in food and fuel supplies in many of the world’s poorest tropical coastal areas. A more subtle impact would be that of increased vulnerability. These same people, and others, even in coastal towns and cities, would become more exposed to risk from storms, flooding and the more subtle encroachment of sea level rise. Mangroves won’t stop these things, and its hard to pin exact numbers on the services, but the evidence that they help significantly is now very solid.

I assume you have visited many mangroves in your travels – what is it like to experience being in, on or around a mangrove? Any interesting stories from a field marine ecologist?

What part do you see the Atlas playing in highlighting the cause of mangrove conservation?

There’s a lot of information out there about the importance and value of mangroves, but perhaps it’s suffered from being piecemeal. The case might have been made that each story was a one-off. This time we’ve read 1400 sources and had review comments from over 100 people. It’s no longer possible to ignore the patterns and I hope that it might be used, by academics, teachers, policy experts and NGOs, to really make the case. Mangroves are critical resources.

What would you suggest as the most important next action the world’s conservation organisations and political leaders should take if we are to see our mangroves flourish and to secure a happy future for their inhabitants and dependents?

I think for some, conservation organizations embracing habitat restoration and active plantation might be something of a new direction. For others working  to educate local communities on the values of mangroves, or to help them defend their mangrove from clearance or conversion might be new ground. For sure we could always do with more protected areas, but actually in this case the holistic vision might take us beyond that and into thinking about protection in other ways, such that we halt losses completely and start to increase habitat areas.

Another new direction will be seriously planning for climate change. That will mean thinking about what lies behind the mangroves and planning for movements and migrations as sediments move, and new land is inundated.

The World Atlas of Mangroves is available now from NHBS

What first inspired you to begin painting wildlife?

I have always been interested in the countryside. As a young boy I was always out in the woods and fields, watching wildlife, climbing trees or building dams across streams. As far back as I can remember I always liked to draw and paint, the two just naturally seemed to merge. I like to think I started like everyone else by colouring in, and just carried on.

How would you describe your style as it features in The Winter Hare?

I seem to have developed several different styles or ways of producing pictures, I think they have come about because I get bored easily and want to try new things. Also I am never really happy with my work, I tend to see all the things that are wrong rather than right and this makes me move on. The book shows most of the ways I work, from linocuts which are hand-coloured to drawings, watercolours and oil paintings.

Could you briefly tell the story behind this book and how it came about?

Several people have been encouraging me to do a book for several years now. I have always liked the idea but put it on the back burner… When my dog found and brought home some orphaned leverets, which I reared to adulthood, it gave me the theme around which I could build the book. The young hares were only orphaned because of my dog! I think she was trying to mother them – when they arrived on the kitchen floor one Sunday morning they were quite wet from several good licks.  Because I had no idea where she had found them I was faced with the problem of looking after them. This proved quite eventful and took up much of my time over the following months but did give me the unique opportunity of drawing them at close quarters.

In the course of running The Wildlife Art Gallery I have designed books for other people but putting one together of my own work gave me fresh problems. In the past I just worked with the material I had available but with this book I was able to paint new pictures to fit a particular spaces which slowed things up considerably.

Hares, tortoises, dogs and cats, and many different birds, including a kingfisher and a green woodpecker – feature in this book.  Are there any pictures of which you are particularly proud?

I like to paint animals that are around me and sometimes that includes domestic animals or pets. As for pictures I am proud of I guess it would be the next one I am about to paint – it is always perfect until I start putting marks on the paper.

Your paintings are full of character and intimacy – how did you get the animals to sit still for so long?!

I always try to paint or draw the individual animal rather than to just produce the standard version of it. With the hares I was in an ideal position to do this as they were around me all the time allowing me every opportunity to capture them. Getting animals to sit still is always a problem – I think the secret is not to try and to just start drawing. If the animal moves before your sketch is complete then turn the page and move on. A half-completed drawing is better than one you have tried to complete from memory if you are unfamiliar with the animal.

Hares have such an important place in English folklore. Were you conscious of this during the process of raising the orphans, or was the experience rather more prosaic?

I have always been interested in hares, including all the folklore that surrounds them. At one time the idea for the book was revolving around this. In the end it never came about, but it may form the basis for another book in the future.

What were some of the highlights of the experience? Any funny stories?

Rearing the hares was not always easy and they caused a lot of disruption to my life, but it was certainly a privilege. I don’t think there are many people who can say they have been boxed by a hare.  On several occasions I would be drawing one of them and he would jump onto my drawing pad and chew the end of my pencil.

You founded the Wildlife Art Gallery in Lavenham, Suffolk – what could people expect to see there?

The gallery was first opened in 1988 to show the work of contemporary wildlife artists. From the start the gallery seemed to take on a life of its own and over the last 22 years we have staged some exceptional exhibitions. During that time the type of work we show has evolved and if people visit the gallery today they will find a cross section of artists both past and present; painters, printmakers and sculptors working in the field of wildlife art or countryside-related subjects.

Who are your heroes in the wildlife art world?

‘Heroes’ is probably the wrong description because in most cases it is the work they produce which I admire. Many, like R. B. Talbot Kelly and Eric Ennion (Eric Ennion: One Man’s Birds; Eric Ennion: A Life of Birds), are no longer with us. I never had the opportunity to meet them so all I have is their work to look at and be inspired by. There are two living artists who have made an impact on how I look at painting. The first was back in the mid 80’s when I went to an exhibition of watercolours by Lars Jonsson. The second was Kim Atkinson who ran a painting holiday on Bardsley Island in which I took part in the early 90’s. In addition there are several members of the Society of Wildlife Artists to whom I have enjoyed talking, and whose work I enjoy.

I am also influenced by individual pictures and I particularly like work by book illustrators and printmakers from the first half of the 20th Century.

How do you feel about the current state of wildlife in Britain today, and what can people do to help?

I think the best way to help is to protect and increase habitat. I have tried at home in a small way to plan the garden with wildlife in mind, with areas left to go wild, and by planting trees and digging ponds.

Buy The Winter Hare now.

Visit the Wildlife Art Gallery website.

We asked Hugh Raffles, author of Insectopedia, to give us a glimpse into the intriguing  subject matter of his new book. Here’s what he had to say:

What inspired you to write about insects?

Insects are fascinating. They exist in vast numbers and extraordinary diversity, and they’re ecologically and economically vital. They elicit intense and intensely ambivalent feelings from us – do they think? Do they feel? We’re not sure. Yet, as Elias Canetti put it, they’re “outlaws” and we kill them not just with impunity but, often, satisfaction. They’re mysterious, powerful, and our relations with them are very complicated. I find that a pretty inspiring combination.

What is your earliest insect memory?

When I was little, we used to go to Norfolk for a few weeks every summer. My mum would put a jam jar part-filled with water on our kitchen windowsill. Attracted by the jam, the wasps would land on the rim and fall into the trap. I’d watch for hours, fascinated but immobilized – too scared to rescue them but horrified by their struggles. I’m sure I had happier insect encounters, but that’s the one that’s stayed with me all these years!

Tell me about ‘mushi-eyes’ and ‘konchu-shonen’ – do you now have them, and are you one?

‘Konchu-shonen’ (insect-boy) and ‘mushi (insect)-eyes’ are terms I learned in Japan while researching the chapter on Japanese beetle collecting. I was fascinated to discover that so many celebrated Japanese artistic figures, including pioneers of anime and manga such as Tezuka Osamu and Hayao Miyazaki, had been obsessive insect-lovers as children. Once you know that, you see it clearly reflected in their work. Yoro Takeshi, a well-known neuroanatomist and popular writer in Japan, was also a ‘konchu-shonen.’ He told me that spending time with insects gives you ‘insect-eyes’ – an enhanced sensitivity to small differences, to the individuality of plants, animals, and people, and to the existence of multiple, intersecting worlds. I came to a love of insects pretty late in life but like to think I developed a little mushi-vision over the course of writing this book.

The chapters in Insectopedia are as much about people as they are about insects. Do you draw any parallels?

I’m wary of drawing these kinds of parallels. It’s too easy to project our dreams and ideologies onto animals and find the lessons that suit our purpose. I’m an anthropologist, not an entomologist and I like to explore the worlds that humans and insects create together in our entwined lives on this planet. There’s a lot to learn about both people and insects from looking closely at these connections. One of the things I’ve loved about writing this book has been meeting people who are deeply connected to insects, maybe as artists, musicians, farmers, scientists, or collectors, and learning about insects through their experience. That’s been very inspiring.

Which is your favourite story from the book?

My favorite fieldwork was in Shanghai, meeting people who trained crickets to fight and going to the casino to watch the battles. My favorite story though is about Yajima Minoru, a prominent and innovative designer of Japanese insect zoos. Mr. Minoru was present during the bombing of Tokyo in 1945. As we know, the destruction was immense, more people were killed in the raids and the firestorm they generated than in the nuclear explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mr. Minoru describes wandering dazed through the smouldering city among the traumatized population, in deep shock and despair. Then, in a crater, half-filled with water, he sees a dragonfly perched on a floating twig, laying her eggs. He takes it as a sign of rebirth amidst the rubble. The sight of this insect tells him that there’s a possibility of overcoming the nightmare and that there’s still a future to live for. This was a dramatic and moving story, but it wasn’t unusual to meet people who found in insects similar emotional strength and also refuge from difficult personal experiences.

If you could be an insect for a day, which would you be?

One of the 24-hour adult mayflies. I could live my entire life in the time allotted!

You obviously have a great love of diversity – have you always been a collector of specimens?

I do love the diversity of insects but I’m not actually a collector of specimens. I have a low-level kleptomania that makes it hard for me not to pick up stones, shells, dead insects, and other little things, and I have a desk cluttered up with that kind of stuff. But I’m not attracted to the killing and manipulation that’s involved in collecting. And, in fact, I’m not really attracted to collections. As I say somewhere in the book, they remind me of mausoleums – the transformation of living beings into aestheticized objects makes me a bit uneasy.

I was speaking metaphorically. The book is like a cabinet of curiosities and your interests so far-reaching…

Oh, that kind of collector! Yes, I do have some of that early modern curiosity. Happily, insects are everywhere and I had a lot of fun following them into unexpected and obscure places, and along the way learning about all kinds of topics about which I knew very little.

Does Insectopedia have an overall message?

It may sound clichéd, but I think of the book as a journey. It’s an exploration into our deep and varied connections with one part of the natural world. More than anything, I hope it creates reflection and helps people look at insects with slightly different eyes and slightly different feelings. If there is a message, it’s one that we already know: We’re all in this together!

What are your favourite natural history books?

I have a fondness for 19th-century naturalists which I developed when I was writing my first book, In Amazonia: A Natural History. I especially like Henry Walter Bates’ A Naturalist on the River Amazons and Alfred Russel Wallace’s Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro. Both books offer such a strong sense of first-hand experience and the unfolding struggle to understand the totality of a world so different from the one these two men left behind in England.

Who are your heroes in your field?

I hope this doesn’t sound arrogant but I don’t have heroes. However, I’ve come away from this book full of admiration for many of the people I spent time with. One of them is Cornelia Hesse-Honegger, a Swiss artist who, for more than 30 years, has been painting tiny insects she’s collected close to nuclear power plants around the world and is convinced that the high incidences of deformities she’s found are the result of low-level radiation. Her paintings are beautiful and disturbing and her discoveries should make us hesitate in the current rush to embrace nuclear power as a “green” energy source.

If you could spend a month working in another field, which would you choose?

I’d have to say marine biology. It’s always been my fantasy to spend time in the deep ocean. It might be the only landscape on this planet even more alien than the land of insects!

What will you be working on next?

I’m starting research on a book about rocks and stones. It’s a big project and I’m looking forward to getting going. Last summer I began some fieldwork in China and in a few weeks I’ll be going to the UK to visit a few megalithic sites. I’m very excited about it!

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