image: natuurmedia.nl

 Niet zonder elkaar – bloemen en insecten
Not without each other – flowers and insects

The Jan Wolkers Award for the best nature book has been won by a collective of writers lead by Wageningen entomologist Louis Schoonhoven. According to the jury, Niet zonder elkaar – bloemen en insecten is a contagious book about ‘the fascinating relationship between flowers and their pollinators’.

In addition to author Louis Schoonhoven thirteen other insect and plant experts participated in the winning book. The jury commented: ‘this is a modern version of Jac P. Thijsse’s Verkade album (De bloemen en haar vrienden, from 1934), it is written fluently, full of fascinating examples’. The book describes loyalty and seduction arts of flowers, insect sense organs and the inestimable value of pollination for people, ‘Flowers are the cheers of nature, they have a strong symbolic value’.

The winner of this third edition of the award was chosen from five books that were previously selected out of almost one hundred titles. The prize was published in the Sunday morning radio program Vroege Vogels. The Jan Wolkers Prize is an initiative of Vroege Vogels, Wereld Natuur Fonds en de Volkskrant.

Author: Louis Schoonhoven,
Co-author: Koos Biesmeijer, Gerard Oostermeijer, Rolf Roos
Experts: Anneke Blokker, Koos Biemeijer, Johannes G.B. Oostermeijer, and others
Publisher: Natuurmedia

Could the next step be: Not without each other – flowers, insects and humans?