(a species of owlet moth (Noctuid)) Some caterpillars, after they emerge from their egg, can increase their weight by 25,000 times.

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Sir Hans Sloane's voyage to Jamaica, 1687-1689

By Tony Rice

Frontispiece from Sloane's account of the natural history of Jamaica and its neighbouring islands

Frontispiece from Sloane's account of the natural history of Jamaica and its neighbouring islands

Voyages of discovery were an important part of the search for a new order in the natural world. Tony Rice charts Sir Hans Sloane's seventeenth-century expedition to Jamaica, a voyage that produced one of the world's most significant natural history collections. Sloane amassed a hoard of thousands of natural history books, objects and artworks in his quest for a rationalist approach to the study of nature.

Sir Hans Sloane's voyage to Jamaica PDF (113.0 KB)

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Cartoon image of footprints leading through closing door

Our scientists study the snails that host the schistosomiasis parasite, which causes a disease that affects nearly 200 million people.