For forty years Peter Smithers worked as an entomologist/ecologist at the University of Plymouth on a wide range of invertebrate-related topics, his first love being spiders. In the 1990s, he became involved with the Royal Entomological Society as an editor and event organiser, also holding the position as vice president. He is now retired and lives in Bristol.

Rachel Fulcher is a specialist in complementary health, and an established author in this field. She is passionate about the environment and, in addition to gardening, spends much of her spare time campaigning on behalf of nature, as an active member of Friends of the Earth.

William. O.C. (Bill) Symondson was born in 1951 in Hertfordshire but grew up in Buckinghamshire and later Devon. He read for a BA degree in English literature at Keele University, where after he and his wife Sarah ‘dropped out’, living on a smallholding in Wales. When their daughter Georgia was born, he studied for a PhD in Ecology at Cardiff University, followed by thirty years of research studying the diets of insects, birds and reptiles. On his retirement in 2021, he was made Emeritus Professor at the University.

Simon Zonenblick currently lives in the Calder Valley, West Yorkshire. As a poet and nature writer he has  published widely in books, magazines and newspapers such as The Yorkshire Post, as well as devising and presenting talks and films on various subjects, and working on many other creative projects.

Paul Brooke’s poetry has been published internationally in Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, and England. He has other poetry books to his name, including Meditations on Egrets: Poems and Photographs of Sanibel Island.  Brooke studied ornithology as an undergraduate and later completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees at Iowa State University and his PhD in English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is now a Professor of English at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Brian Churcher has tried his hand in many ways to earn a living, from farm worker to Police Officer, to becoming a City Broker at Lloyds of London for ten years, anything in fact, as he says, which ‘broadened one’s outlook and experience of life.’ At the same time, he completed part-time studies at the Guildhall School of Music in London, especially Opera and Lieder, and joined the Chorus at Sadler’s Wells for a couple of Operas. But through all this, poetry and writing played a large part in his life, as this engaging anthology testifies. This is the author’s first book of poetry.

The author was born in London and studied Botany at King’s College, London and Microbiology at University College, London. He has been a schoolteacher as well as a biology tutor. His interests include natural history, especially plants and fungi, poetry and bird watching. To date, he has published three books of poetry with Brambleby Books.

Richard Harrington is a professional entomologist. Until recently he headed the world-famous Rothamsted Insect Survey in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, contributing to an ongoing national and international effort to assess the demography of moths and aphids to inform about their conservation or control. He has been a very keen butterfly enthusiast since he was 8, now ‘collecting’ them as a hobby using a camera only. He hopes that others will appreciate his fascination with these delightful insects and, like him, will become concerned with their future, as well as that of other insects of scientific and conservation interest. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, a member of Butterfly Conservation and a volunteer with the National Trust.

Ross Gardner was born near Southend-on-Sea in Essex and for as long as he can remember has held a great affinity for the natural world. With a childhood spent experiencing the wild wonders of his local woods, grassland and marshes, this developed over the years into a deeply felt passion. Having gained a degree in Rural Environmental Management, he has worked for many years, voluntarily and professionally, in the environmental / conservation field. He currently works in the classroom at a special needs school.

Ross’s long standing interest in the natural world, spanning over thirty years, has allowed him to develop a substantial knowledge of British Wildlife. Writing about nature has emerged as an effective and positive way for him to express and share this great passion. Since 2002, he has contributed various articles to newspapers and magazines as well as media outlets online, and has now written two books with Brambleby Books.

Philip Howse is Professor Emeritus in Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton. His main research into insect behaviour and pest control without the use of synthetic insecticides has taken him to many countries in the world and has led to the award of an OBE. He has received a number of awards for his recently published books on mimicry in butterflies and moths.