London: New Holland, 2009. Quarto, colour photographs, fine copy in dustwrapper.

This sophisticated photographic anthology chronicles the behaviour of European invertebrates in their natural habitats over the course of three seasons with vibrant close-up photography. The stunning images leap off the page and give the reader a real glimpse into the world of our six and eight-legged neighbours as they hunt, mate and survive. Few, if any, coffee-table books on the subject manage to capture the magic, candid moments of these creatures, including praying mantises, bush-crickets, Stag Beetles, Glow-worms and Wasp Spiders. The book is also richly enhanced with text from 19th-century entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre, whose prose is both poetic and scientific.