Full of jaw-dropping wonder, cutting-edge science and immersive storytelling, a leading scientist of insect migration reveals a world on a different scale.

For many, insects inspire creepy-crawly fear. To Dr Will Hawkes, bugs are complex creatures who alter every facet of our world with the beat of their tiny wings. In The Most Remarkable Insect Migrants, Hawkes takes us across continents and through centuries, tracking the impact of our many-legged friends.

Each year, insects the size of a baked bean migrate thousands of kilometres unnoticed above our heads. From the cabbage white butterfly to a buff-tailed bumblebee and even the humble house fly, these fragile insects cross oceans and navigate continents. Using senses that we humans cannot even perceive, they’re able to analyse wind strength and direction, navigate by the Milky Way, develop super strength in their flight muscles, and much more. These tiny travellers are also climate heroes – creators of biodiversity and climate resilience, pollination, soil health and crop security – and have influenced our folklore and culture in ways unseen – until now.

With verdant prose, The Most Remarkable Insect Migrants blends cutting-edge science with engaging storytelling in a passionate narrative — calling us to protect our tiniest of climate allies.

About The Author

Dr. Will Hawkes is a leading expert in insect migration with numerous scientific publications on the subject. He has conducted extensive fieldwork from the Swiss Alps to the Maldives and is based currently at the "Move in Europe" project at the Swiss Ornithological Institute.  

As a guest lecturer, he has spoken for the BioMove group at the University of Potsdam, EntoSci attendees at Harper Adams University as well as various ecology and migration courses at the University of Exeter, Penryn. He has been featured in articles for the Guardian, the New York Times, BBC Wildlife magazine, National Geographic and spoken at TedX London and the Oxford Real Farming Conference among others. He also co-hosts the popular wildlife podcast "Will and Ben: The Wildlife Men".