Publisher’s Summary

Entomologist and broadcaster Dr George McGavin presents All Creatures Great and Small: How Insects Make the World, an Original Audiobook Production by W F Howes.

If you are at all interested in life on our planet, then you need to know about insects. They are the most successful group of animals ever to have lived on Earth. Making up three quarters of all animal species, insects conquered the planet long ago. They were among the very first animals to appear on land and were the first to take to the air. Their total biomass is at least 10 times that of all humans and our livestock combined.

This world is not ours alone. We are newcomers on a planet made and maintained by insects.

If we are going to appreciate the massive part that insects play in the ecology of our planet we need to understand where they came from and how they became so successful. The survival of insects is key to our own survival.

Join Dr George McGavin on an exciting audio journey to help us understand the fascinating world of insects. Along the way we are transported from bee-filled meadows to the forest floor, following Dr McGavin as he meets national treasures Sir David Attenborough, Alison Steadman and Jane Horrocks and a range of experts such as Professors Stephen Simpson, Helen Roy, Phil Stevenson and Erica McAlister to understand more about their passion for these incredible creatures.

All Creatures Small and Great is an important and timely work to engage people with wildlife, when the world is rapidly losing its biodiversity.

Features bonus audio content including full-length interviews and immersive binaural nature sounds for focus and relaxation.

Dr George McGavin is a regular TV and radio presenter for the BBC and others. He is an Honorary Research Associate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and a Research Associate of The Department of Zoology of Oxford University as well as a Senior Principal Research Fellow of Imperial College. George’s work has taken him from the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea to the caves of Thailand and from the jungles of Belize to the savannas of Tanzania. Dr George McGavin has several insect species named in his honour and hopes they survive him.

Guest contributors include:

Sir David Attenborough – Broadcaster and Natural Historian

Alison Steadman – Actress and Ambassador for the London Wildlife Trust

Dr Erica McAlister – Senior Curator, Natural History Museum Professor

Philip C. Stevenson – Kew Gardens Professor

Professor Stephen Simpson – Biologist and Biomedical Scientist

Professor Helen Roy – President of the Royal Entomological Society

Professor Karim Vahed – Entomologist specialising in insect behaviour

Anne Riley – Of the Wharfedale Naturalists’ Society

Jane Horrocks – Actress and co-host of the podcast Queen Bees 

©2022 Dr George McGavin (P)2022 W F Howes