BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-08)

August 2020 BBC Wildlife 89

It is saidthatelephants

remember.Well,it appears

thattreesdo,too.Here,we

aretakenona fascinating

journeythroughhistory,as

rememberedbythetreesof

theworld.Trouetweavestogetherstories

fromthefieldandthelabto demonstrate

thatthereis farmoreto studyingtree

ringsthancountingthem.Bycombining

samplesfromtheoldestknownliving

treeswithpreservedwoodremains,tree

ringscientistsareableto buildlong-time

seriesoftreegrowthandreconstructpast

climatesandextremeeventsover

millennia.Thesehistoriesprovidethe

backdropwithwhichwecanbeginto

understandtheriseandfallofcivilisations

andto contextualiseandprepareforthe

climaticchangeswearenow experiencing.

Dr Emma BushBotanist

WendyWilliamsdeliversa

delightfulinvestigationinto

theworld’sobsessionwith

butterflies.Theircomplex

anatomyandecologyare

introducedwitheaseand

intrigue– it’sonethatwillbeenjoyedby

beginnersandbutterflyfanaticsalike.

Thededicatedpeoplethathaveshaped

ourunderstandingofbutterfliesareas

fascinatingastheinsectsthemselves.

FromthepioneeringworkofMariaSibylla

Merian,to thecollectorsoftheVictorian

era,Williamstakesusthroughthehistory

ofbutterflyresearch,andintroducessome

oftoday’smostpassionatescientists.

Accountsofdeclinesandextinctionsare

intertwinedwithconservationsuccess

stories,fillingmewithhopeforthe future.

Ashleigh WhinEntomologist

TreeStory

BOOK

BY VALERIE TROUET, JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS, £20

BYWENDYWILLIAMS,SIMON&SCHUSTER, £20

OURWILD WORLD

TheLanguage

of Butteries

BOOK

Oceans:Evolution

Theaimofthisnewwildlifegameis to

createandevolvemarinespecies,andtry

to stopthemfromgoingextinct.Thefirst

halfofthegameis relativelyslow,asyou

graduallyevolveyourspeciesandfeed

fromthereefto buildtheirpopulations.

ThentheCambrianexplosionoccurs,

andsuddenlyeverythingbecomesa lot

moreextreme,includingtheplayingof

powerfultraitcardsfromthe‘Deep’,such

as‘AbyssDweller’,‘ElectricDischarge’

and‘TheKraken’.If thelatterhalfdoesn’t

appealto you,thegamecanbemade

morefamily-friendlybyplayingtheReef

variantandavoidingthe‘Deep’.There’s

also a deluxe edition available.MS

GAME

BYNICKBENTLEY,DOMINICCRAPUCHETTES,BENGOLDMAN

AND BRIAN O’NEILL, NORTHSTAR GAMES STUDIO, £49.99

RextheRhinoceros

Beetle

It’ssafetosaythat

authorMGLeonard

thinksthatbeetlesare

fab.Heraward-

winning,best-selling

BeetleBoytrilogy

turnedintoaninternationalsuccessstory,

wowingaged-7+readerswithstories

starring curios Coleoptera. WithRex the

BYM.G.LEONARD,ILLUSTRATED BY DUNCAN BEEDIE,

SCHOLASTIC, £6.99

YOUNGERREADERS

RhinocerosBeetle, shetakesherpassion

fortheseinsectstoa youngeraudience

withthisbedtimebookforpre-

schoolers,beautifullyillustratedby

DuncanBeedie.

ThetitularRexis calleduponbyhis

buddyBustertohelpcarrya banana

throughtherainforesttothebeetle

tree.Alongtheway,Busterboastsof

hisbravery,butwhenthebananais

nabbedbya passingmonkey,it fallsto

Rextosavetheday.If Rexproveshalf

aspopularasBeetleBoythenthese

scarabsareallsettointroducea new

generationtobeetlemania.

Paul McGuinness

OUT IN THE GARDEN

DRYINGUP

Thewaterlevelinyour

pondmaydropduringdry,

hotweather,butthat’snot

necessarilya badthing– damp

mudisgoodforinvertebrates.If

youdodecidetogiveyourpond

a top up, avoid using tap water.

SEASONALFEAST

Nowisthetimefordeadheading,

butconsiderleavingsomeseed

heads for the birds to enjoy.

FAMILYPROJECT
WiththeBigButterflyCount
runninguntil9 August,why
notmakeyourownbutterfly
feeder?Downloadourfree
wildlifegardeningdigital
magazinetofindouthow.
See page 21.
Emily: Julie Florio/WTTW

Headbeneath

thewavesin

thisfunnew

board game.