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The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems Kindle Edition

by Matt Simon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 257 ratings
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“A bizarre collection of evolution tales . . . the weirder, the better.” —Entertainment Weekly

A fascinating exploration of the awe-inspiring, unsettling ingenuity of evolution from Wired writer Matt Simon, author of Plight of the Living Dead (coming soon from Penguin Books)

On a barren seafloor, the pearlfish swims into the safety of a sea cucumber’s anus. To find a meal, the female bolas spider releases pheromones that mimic a female moth, luring male moths into her sticky lasso web. The Glyptapanteles wasp injects a caterpillar with her young, which feed on the victim, erupt out of it, then mind-control the poor (and somehow still living) schmuck into protecting them from predators.

These are among the curious critters of The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar, a jaunt through evolution’s most unbelievable, most ingenious solutions to the problems of everyday life, from trying to get laid to finding food. Join Wired science writer Matt Simon as he introduces you to the creatures that have it figured out, the ones that joust with their mustaches or choke sharks to death with snot, all in a wild struggle to survive and, of course, find true love.

Winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-0143128687
  2. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  4. Publication date
    October 25, 2016
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    39612 KB
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award

“A veritable parade of eccentric animal profiles that make you laugh so hard you won’t even realize you’re learning a thing or two about niche distribution and adaptive camouflage.”
—Wired(“Required Science Reading from 2016”)

“A bizarre collection of evolution tales . . . the weirder, the better.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“A quick, fun read that’s . . . heavy on snark. . . . The book is packed full of fascinating facts that will both impress and creep out.”
—Science News

“An entertaining look at evolution’s frightening billion-year arms race. . . . Simon’s wit, combined with the geniune eccentricity of his subjects, make this a fun and accessible book.”
—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Matt Simon is a science writer at Wired magazine, where he specializes in zoology, particularly of the bizarre variety, and the author of The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar. He is one of just a handful of humans to witness the fabled mating ritual of the axolotl salamander. He lives in San Francisco.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01CFCU5EQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (October 25, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 25, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 39612 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1472242033
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 257 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Vladimir Stankovic

    Vladimir Stankovic

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    Vlad is an illustrator and a graphic artist based in Sydney, Australia.

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  2. Matt Simon

    Matt Simon

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
257 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tina Chastain
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it!
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
I found this book to be very engaging and entertaining! It goes over dozens of examples of interesting animals, taking care to make each seem interesting and maintaining the theme that biology is not accidental or magical. There are tons of side notes and extra facts that are exciting and do not detract from the narrative, and all of the animals seem well selected and well researched. The author takes an informal tone, making the factually dense text an easy read. My only gripe with the book is that the author chose to use illustrations instead of pictures of each organism. I understand why she did, but a few of them are misleading (see horny frog and geography cone snail) and I found myself frequently taking breaks from the book to look up pictures of each animal. I still believe the book deserves 5 stars, however, because of how well written and informative it is. Many books on this topic--weird creatures--fail to take into account the selective forces involved in the evolution of the creatures it discusses, but The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar allows evolution to take center stage.
10 people found this helpful
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Veronica S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and informative
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2018
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book with very accessible explanations of amazing critters and the constant invitation to think of evolution as the random-organized force that has shaped them.
I recommend it for anyone interested in learning about unexpected solutions for the challenges faced by different organisms in different ecosystems. I also think it's a great source of examples for teachers that could grab the attention of students and help as a segway to specific academic contents, such as evolution, ecological interactions, reproduction, chemistry, etc.
I must highlight that it is written in a very humorous tone, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I hope you do, too.
2 people found this helpful
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Batman the Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars A rather fun look at the weird species that exist in our blue planet.
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2018
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This would be a perfect book for young and old who want to know more about the strange yet beautiful planet we live on.
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Jonathan Draudt
5.0 out of 5 stars Nature is weirder than you thought
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2016
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Modern human cultures are getting farther and farther removed from the rest of the natural world and we see it with a very limited palette of understanding, arrogantly thinking that we are the most complex and interesting form of life on the planet, the pinnacle of development and ability - and therefore everything else must be somewhat boring. This book shows that there are some extremely facinating critters out there, and reminds us of how myopic we are in our oh-so-interesting lives. It's written in a light voice that helps to inspire your awe and attention. I highly recommend this to anyone with any curiosity about our fellow planet dwellers.
3 people found this helpful
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Chuck S
5.0 out of 5 stars OMG this book is wonderful
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2016
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This book is amazing---deeply reported, wonderfully told, and laugh-out-loud funny. Be warned -- it will take you twice as long as you expect to read this book, because you will be constantly stopping to read passages aloud to your spouse, kids, roommates, random strangers, whatever. It's that good. Matt Simon is a singular talent. If you have even a passing interest in nature or the wondrous world of biology, read this book. You will not be disappointed.
12 people found this helpful
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Ian14fa
5.0 out of 5 stars If you like oddities in nature, this is a book for you.
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2018
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Quirky, fun to read book. I saw it at the library. Thought it was well written and had many interesting stories. Decided to get it as a gift for my nature loving brother who is active in the Boy Scouts. Now he can tell them all kinds of weird tales about animals while sitting around the campfire.
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Jan R. S.
3.0 out of 5 stars OMG! This is as gross as it gets!
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2016
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Unless you have a very strong stomach and a predilection for rather gross and disgusting details about creatures devouring each other in ways that grow more and more gut wrenching (pun here) with each critter, this book is not for you. However, someone else might easily give it five stars for the cleverness in writing, the humor, the originality. I just got to the point where midway, I could not read any more. it was starting to give me nightmares. but that's just me. if you like gross, if you like disgusting, if you like eewwwww, then this book is for you. and I have to admit, with all of that, it's pretty interesting and well researched (it seems).
One person found this helpful
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Donald Stettler
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2018
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Had a lot of interesting fcts.
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Top reviews from other countries

SOG
5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun.
Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2024
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Very excited to work my way through this book with my little Niece.
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Leonard
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in Germany on November 30, 2023
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Excellent read from the view of an evolutionarist
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Ozymandias
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant! Fun and instructive
Reviewed in Italy on March 12, 2021
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This book has been a great adventure into nature, discovering how naive we are when we consider ourselves the pinnacle of evolution! So many different strategies, so many intelligent forms of life under the sun!
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chandan pandey
5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to learn about amazing world of evolutionary intelligence
Reviewed in India on September 22, 2020
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How does animals tall, eat, trick the prey to survive all written in this. Well written book and can be read by all
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allen
5.0 out of 5 stars Astounding examples of the genius of nature
Reviewed in Germany on August 6, 2023
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I had first read the Italian translation while in Sicily. It was recommended to me by local residents who were properly amazed by Simon's descriptions as well as greatly amused by his wit. Since then I've purchased several as gifts for friends, who have all reacted precisely as the Sicilian readers.
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