This beautifully illustrated book by River Cottage writer and celebrated natural historian John Wright, shines a clarifying light on the Latin names which describe our natural world. Coating his findings with a thick layer of wit, Wright asks questions like ‘why is an attractive yellow flower a dirty old man?’, whilst tracing the beauty and absurdity behind the invention of these scientific terms. We recently ran a competition on our newsletter to win a copy. Were you lucky?
We asked: One of the following insect names is completely made up, but which one?
Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi
Lysergia garcia
Scaptia beyonceae
And the answer is: Lysergia garcia
Congratulations to Mark Howroyd of Hanging Heaton, Jane Wheeler of Bale and Mandy Silver of Buxton. Your books will be with you shortly.