The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpi..., Matt Simon
The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpi..., Matt Simon
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The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar
Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems

Author: Matt Simon

Narrator: Jonathan Todd Ross

Unabridged: 6 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 10/15/2017

Synopsis

From the man behind the popular Wired series "Absurd Creature of the Week," a fun, fascinating collection of unique animals and the unbelievable evolutionary traits they use to survive the most extreme scenarios From Wired columnist Matt Simon, The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar is an absurdist, comical romp through evolution's weirdest solutions to - appropriately enough - the hazards that evolution itself produces. Each original entry talks about a creature and its amazing adaptation, using Matt's signature blend of scientific accuracy and humor that has made his Wired column and accompanying web show so popular. The creatures themselves are absolutely mind-blowing, with zombie ants mind-controlled by a fungus; beautiful salamanders that can regenerate any part of their bodies including their brains; the mantis shrimp, which fires its club-like appendage so fast that the surrounding water becomes as hot as the surface of the sun; the Antechinus, whose runaway testosterone levels cause them to have so much sex during their three-week mating session that they bleed internally, go blind, and drop dead; and many more.

About Matt Simon

Matt Simon is a science journalist at Wired magazine, where he covers the environment, biology, and robotics. He's the author of Plight of the Living Dead: What Real-Life Zombies Reveal About Our World-and Ourselves and The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems. He enjoys long walks on the beach and trying not to think about all the microplastics there.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Hannah

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend. The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar reads like an evening spent with an eccentric friend who, with an irresistible dose of humor, imparts his knowledge of the most bizarre yet fascinating evolutionary......more

Goodreads review by Jim

I put off reading this since I thought it would be too similar to his book Plight of the Living Dead: What Real-Life Zombies Reveal about Our World--And Ourselves which I read not too long ago. It was in the beginning, but then turned out to be a pretty good basic text on evolution with quite a bit......more

Goodreads review by Lubinka

A delightfully silly bag of useless (at least for me), but interesting facts, presented with such humour that this turned out to be one of the books I mostly enjoyed this year. Despite all the gross details about the habits of those animals (literally), it was impossible not to enjoy the flair with......more

Goodreads review by Cody

"The female wasp begins by seeking out a caterpillar. And like the ant-decapitating fly, she drills into her victim. Unlike the fly, though, the wasp deposits as man as eighty eggs into the poor critter. These will hatch into larvae and feed on bodily juices...all the while the caterpillar goes abou......more

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