The Birds and the Bees series was designed for Vintage Classics by Timorous Beasties, the Scottish studio famous for their designs inspired by the natural world. Books in this series are beautifully designed reissues of the finest British nature writing.
Originally published in 2013. As a small boy, Dave Goulson was obsessed with wildlife, from his childhood menagerie of exotic pets to his ill-fated experiments with taxidermy. But it was the bumblebee that fascinated him the most. The short-haired bumblebee is now extinct in the UK, but still lives in the wilds of New Zealand, descended from a few queen bees shipped over in the nineteenth century. With ground-breaking research into these curious creatures, A Sting in the Tale tells the story of Goulson's passionate drive to reintroduce them to their native land. It was shortlisted for the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize.
Dave Goulson studied biology at Oxford University and is now Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Sussex. He has published over 190 scientific articles on bees, butterflies and other insects. He founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006, whose groundbreaking conservation work won the Heritage Lottery Award for best Environmental Project. He this he was made 'Social Innovator of the Year' by the Biology and Biotechnology Research Council in 2010. He is also the author of A Buzz in the Meadow.