The Life and Love of the Insect enters into a hidden realm with 18 illustrated essays, rendered in lively, poetic language. Whether extolling the maternal instincts of the Sacred Beetle or chronicling the protracted and ultimately fatal mating ritual of the Languedocian Scorpion, Fabre consistently engages readers with his earnest yet playful delight in sharing fascinating aspects of the insect world.
French entomologist Jean Henri Fabre (1823-1915) is considered the father of modern entomology and was hailed by Darwin as "an incomparable observer." Chiefly self-educated, he devoted most of his life to the observation of insects as they hunted, mated, built nests, and guarded their young. Fabre's lack of a formal education may have contributed to his sprightly style, in which he combines careful, informed observations with an infectious enthusiasm for discovering creatures that are usually shunned or unnoticed.

Contents
Translator's Note
Chapter
I. The Sacred Beetle
II. The Sacred Beetle: The Pear
III. The Sacred Beetle: The Modelling
IV. The Sacred Beetle: The Grub, the Metamorphosis, the Hatching-Chamber
V. The Spanish Copris
VI. The Ontophagi
VII. A Barren Promise
VIII. A Dung-Beetle of the Pampas
IX. The Geotrupes: The Public Health
X. Minotaurus Typhoeus
XI. The Two-Banded Scolia
XII. The Ringed Calicurgus
XIII. The Old Weevils
XIV, Leaf-Rollers
XV. The Halicti
XVI. The Halicti: The Portress
XVII. The Languedocian Scorpion
XVIII. The Languedocian Scorpion: The Family