Brief Tales of Close Encounters: The Top Five in the NIW2008 'Close Encounters' Competition

摘要

One of the innovations in National Insect Week 2008 was an open competition for a short true story (just 150-250 words) about a memorable 'Close Encounter' with insects. This was made possible by a donation from The Entomological Club that allowed usto offer three cash prizes for the best stories. There was a good response from members of the public and the submitted stories were assessed for their entomological information and human interest, plus their celebration of an understanding of insects and the appropriate use of language to tell the story. The judges were Prof. Mike Claridge (the RES Honorary Editorial Officer and The Entomological Club's Honorary Secretary), Ms Di Burton (Managing Director of Cicada Communications) and myself (NIW Coordinator).