The clearness, simpicity, and charm of the great French naturalist's style are nowhere better illustrated than in this work, which in its variety of subject-matter and apt use of entertaining anecdote rivals "The Story-Book of Science," already a favorite with his readers. Such instances of antiquated usage or superseded methods as occur in these chapters of popular science easily win our indulgence because of the literary charm and warm human quality investing all that the author has to say. -- Translator (Introductory Note).

The famed French naturalist Fabre covers a large variety of subjects in these 70 short but fascinating essays about insects, animals and nature in general. The translator explains in her foreword, "The young in heart and the pure in heart of whatever age will find themselves drawn to this incomparable story-teller, this reverent reveler of the awe-inspiring secrets of nature. The identity of the "Uncle Paul," who in this book and others of the series plays the story-teller's part, is not hard to guess; and the young people who gather about him to listen to his true stories from wood and field, from brook and hilltop, from distant ocean and adjacent millpond, are, without doubt, the author...

This is more than a book about bees and their lives; the author talks about his cats, red ants, and insect psychology in general. Jean Henri Fabre also made waves in his native 19th Century France by insisting that girls be included in his science classes, so I dedicate this recording to certain young women who risk their lives or even the less important attentions of boys simply to learn.

The title tells all, along with other observations on insect life from the famed accidental entomologist of 19th Century France..