The World About Us

The Insect Man (6x31)

: 08, 1972

At the beginning of the century Fabre was known to thousands of readers for his vivid descriptions of insect behaviour. Among his greatest contributions to science were his studies of the hunting wasps, which paralyse prey for their larvae to feed on in their underground cells. Fabre was an enthusiastic populariser, to whom modern methods of communication such as radio and television would have had an instant appeal. This programme takes the form of an imaginary television visit to his home in Provence, in which Fabre talks about his life and work and recreates many of the field experiments which so fascinated his readers years ago.