The Life of the Caterpillar (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Lyrical Natural History of Caterpillar Instincts, Metamorphosis, and Nineteenth-Century EntomologyBy Jean-Henri Fabre
Length8h 4m
About this audiobook
In The Life of the Caterpillar, Jean-Henri Fabre turns the seemingly humble larva into a subject of intellectual drama and aesthetic fascination. Through patient observation of feeding, moulting, processionary habits, defenses, and metamorphosis, he reveals the caterpillar as an organism of intricate instincts and surprising adaptations. Fabre's style unites scientific precision with lyrical narrative, placing the work within the great tradition of nineteenth-century natural history, where empirical inquiry still conversed intimately with literature. Fabre (1823–1915), the celebrated French entomologist and author of the Souvenirs entomologiques, wrote from a lifetime of fieldwork, teaching, and solitary experiment rather than from laboratory abstraction. His rural Provençal surroundings, modest circumstances, and extraordinary attentiveness to insect life shaped a science grounded in direct encounter. Suspicious of grand theory when unsupported by observation, he made minute lives morally and intellectually compelling. This book is warmly recommended to readers of natural history, entomology, and scientific prose. It rewards both the specialist and the general reader, offering not merely information about caterpillars but a disciplined way of seeing the living world.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.2 (34)
Includes Amazon, Goodreads
GenreScience and Nature
Length8 hrs 4 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 10, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2CHAPTER I
3THE PINE PROCESSIONARY: THE EGGS AND THE HATCHING
4CHAPTER II
5THE PINE PROCESSIONARY: THE NEST; THE COMMUNITY
Show all chaptersShow less
6CHAPTER III
7THE PINE PROCESSIONARY: THE PROCESSION
8CHAPTER IV
9THE PINE PROCESSIONARY: METEOROLOGY
10CHAPTER V
11THE PINE PROCESSIONARY: THE MOTH
12CHAPTER VI
13THE PINE PROCESSIONARY: THE STINGING POWER
14CHAPTER VII
15THE ARBUTUS CATERPILLAR
16CHAPTER VIII
17AN INSECT VIRUS
18CHAPTER IX
19THE PSYCHES: THE LAYING
20CHAPTER X
21THE PSYCHES: THE CASES
22CHAPTER XI
23THE GREAT PEACOCK
24CHAPTER XII
25THE BANDED MONK
26CHAPTER XIII
27THE SENSE OF SMELL
28CHAPTER XIV
29THE CABBAGE-CATERPILLAR
30Memorable Quotes
More from Jean-Henri Fabre
Fabre's Book of Insects (Annotated)Jean-Henri Fabre7h 37m4.6 (127)$2 · $0.00
The Glow-Worm and Other BeetlesJean-Henri Fabre7h 55m$2 · $0.00
The Mason-WaspsJean-Henri Fabre7h 41m4.0 (50)$1 · $0.00
Animal Life in Field and GardenJean-Henri Fabre10h 49m4.2 (46)$1 · $0.00
More Hunting WaspsJean-Henri Fabre9h 15m$2 · $0.00
Bramble-Bees and OthersJean-Henri Fabre8h 34m4.1 (16)$1 · $0.00
Fabre's Book of InsectsJean-Henri Fabre7h 37m4.4 (403)$2 · $0.00
The Story-book of Science (Annotated)Jean-Henri Fabre10h 50m4.1 (425)$0.99 · $0.00
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Story of BirdsSteve Brusatte11h 49m4.6 (401)$29 · $0.00
Craig & FredCraig Grossi8h 6m4.5 (9.6K)$26 · $0.00
Celebrating BirdsNatalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez6h 47m4.6 (330)$24 · $0.00
Saving JemimaJulie Zickefoose4h 59m4.5 (749)$20 · $0.00
Will's Red CoatTom Ryan8h 23m4.5 (2.3K)$26 · $0.00
Of Time and TurtlesSy Montgomery10h 34m4.5 (5K)$29 · $0.00
THE WOLF TRILOGY: Call of the Wild, White Fang & The Son of the WolfJack London17h 31m4.5 (2.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
Zen and the Art of Saving the PlanetThich Nhat Hanh9h 20m4.5 (3.9K)$29 · $0.00
BLACK BEAUTY (With Original Illustrations)Anna Sewell7h 31m4.5 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Bottle of LiesKatherine Eban14h 25m4.4 (12K)$33 · $0.00
IngrainedCallum Robinson8h 10m4.5 (1.1K)$26 · $0.00
The Lion Tracker's Guide To LifeBoyd Varty3h 1m4.4 (4.8K)$18 · $0.00
Born for LoveBruce D. Perry, Maia Szalavitz11h 42m4.4 (4K)$29 · $0.00
The Mountains of California (With Original Drawings & Photographs) (Annotated)John Muir11h 35m4.5 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
The New GuysMeredith Bagby16h 50m4.4 (1.2K)$40 · $0.00
Blue PasturesMary Oliver3h 23m4.4 (3.8K)$18 · $0.00
The Rise and Reign of the MammalsSteve Brusatte13h 26m4.4 (11.1K)$33 · $0.00
VaccinatedPaul A. Offit8h 30m4.4 (3.7K)$26 · $0.00
The Light EatersZoë Schlanger10h 57m4.4 (22.8K)$29 · $0.00
You may also like
A Season on the WindKenn Kaufman8h 40m4.2 (963)$20
Under the Sea WindRachel L. Carson6h 39m4.3 (3.3K)$17
On the Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin17h 4m4.2 (148K)$20 · $0.00
Celebrating BirdsNatalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez6h 47m4.6 (330)$24 · $0.00
The Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin14h 23m4.2 (163.7K)$9 · $0.00
De Re MetallicaGeorg Agricola18h 34m4.3 (465)Free
Secrets of the WoodsWilliam J. Long4h 59m4.2 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
The Trapper's BibleLivingston, Eustace H18h 52m4.4 (1.2K)Free
Asbestos, Its production and useRobert H. Jones2h 4m$2 · $0.00
Lightning, Thunder and Lightning ConductorsGerald Molloy1h 30m$2 · $0.00
The Botanist's Bookshelf: 8 Books on Plant IdentificationFrances Theodora Parsons, D. M. Crooks, Leonard Wheeler Kephart, Roy Watling, M. J. Richardson, Robert H. Mohlenbrock, Henry A. Gleason, Wilbur R. Mattoon, C. B. Webster, A. B. Brooks37h 17m$0.99 · $0.00
Adventures in the AntarcticKidsChoice1h 2m$12 · $0.00
Musk-Ox, Bison, Sheep and GoatGeorge Bird Grinnell, Owen Wister, Caspar Whitney3h 23m$2 · $0.00
The Life and Love of the InsectJean-Henri Fabre7h 30m$2.30
The Bird Study BookThomas Gilbert Pearson3h 59m$16 · $0.00
The Bird Watcher in the Shetlands, with Some Notes on Seals—and DigressionsEdmund Selous10h 51m$1 · $0.00
Glacier National ParkOrion C. Valemont2h 13m$2.30 · $0.00
Report on the Migration of Birds in the Spring and Autumn of 1882. Fourth ReportJ. A. Harvie-Brown, John Cordeaux, Alexander Goodman More, Richard Manliffe Barrington4h 29m$2 · $0.00
Mesa Verde National ParkOrion C. Valemont2h 47m$2.30 · $0.00
A Book of Nimble Beasts: Bunny Rabbit, Squirrel, Toad, and "Those Sort of People"Douglas English3h 9m$2 · $0.00