Jessa Thurman is the author of the 2022 Whitley Award winning, Australia's Incredible Insects. Originally from Arkansas, USA, she discovered her passion for entomology during university, shifting her focus from English to biology after a class with Dr. Maureen McClung ignited her curiosity about insects. In 2016, she travelled to Australia to study weaver ants and fell in love with the country's extraordinary insect life. Returning in 2018, she dedicated herself to researching and photographing Australia's unique species, including the giant wood moth and the newly identified dancing leaf insect, Walaphyllium monteithi, which she named alongside collaborator Royce Cumming. Her work continues to uncover the hidden lives of insects, aiming to inspire others to understand and protect our natural world.
