Amazon.com

There are about 100,000 kinds of insects in North America, so obviously they can't have a field guide in the same way the 650 species of birds do: something both portable and complete. The National Audubon Society has produced a remarkably useful compromise. This guide has photographs and descriptions of 550 insect species and 60 kinds of spiders. Most of the families of arthropods on the continent are covered, as are all of the most common species. It's a very useful resource for any North American naturalist, and the best choice for an adult who is not an expert entomologist. --Mary Ellen Curtin ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Generally and Excellent Book
Even if I am not actually "in the field" I love to read the descriptions and see the photos of the insects and spiders in this book. You learn something new every time you pick it up. The photographs are very clear, often capturing an image of a difficult-to-photograph insect (some of them only 1/32" in size). The thumbnails make it easy to get yourself in the right general area by body type, then you move through the section to identify the specific insect/spider in question. The text descriptions of the spiders is, for me, the most interesting part of this book, and you'll come to appreciate arachnids like never before.

My only criticism of this book is that the editors decided to spend relatively less time on some of the insects that you are more likely to actually see (just two examples that come to mind are millipedes and centipedes), while spending a lot of time on insects that are very unlikely to be witnessed by most amateurs (for example, there is extensive coverage of mites and fleas). Of couse, no one would expect Audubon to be able to cover every angle of the insect world, and no matter what choice Audubon makes they will please some people and displease others. In future editions, however, I would love to see the same coverage of the rare insects with some expansion.

For educational purposes, however, this book is terrific. Children could definitely use it to begin to appreciate the diversity and importance of the insect world. Reading about very tiny insects -- even if they never actually see them -- will reinforce for children the idea that the world is full of life, even in places they can't see. Every description in this book should ignite a child's -- or an adult's -- imagination of what else is out there...

Valuable reference and field guide for the amateur
The Audubon Society has put together a helpful field guide to the insects and spiders of North America. The book contains just over 700 photographs of insects and spiders in the front section of the book divided into 22 more or less taxonomic divisions. There is section of descriptive information nearly 600 pages long in the back of the book. The format of the book is such that it can fit into a back pocket or jacket pocket without a lot of bother.

The reference material is helpful in identifying insects/spiders, but I have one significant criticism about the book...why in the world didn't the editors include the scientific names along with the common names of these animals by the photographs in the front section? If one wants to use this book as an aid in scientific identification it becomes an exercise in page flipping -- though those engaged in serious taxonomic identification will doubtless use taxonomic keys for that purpose. Still, for the advanced amateur collector, the page flipping can get annoying.

The photographs are of generally good quality, though no photograph is the equal of a quality illustration.

While 700 photos sounds like a lot, that number is nowhere near the number of photographs it would take to do a comprehensive field guide to insects and spiders of North America. Still, this guide provides good introduction to the diversity of North American insects and spiders. This book will get you in the ballpark when you try to identifying these animals, but you'll have to use other reference materials if you are serious about taxonomy.

A helpful book, though it has a few flaws. You might consider using this book and the Peterson Field Guide to Insects together -- the latter book relies on illustations, and it includes a form of taxonomic keys that are not that hard to use.

4 stars -- well worth the price.

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College (IN)

Outstanding guide for macro photographers
Getting into macro photography, I was discovering all kinds of weird insects, and had no idea what they were. I knew that to be as professional as possible, I needed to be able to identify my tiny subjects as well as know their habits, preferred envirnonment and so on...

I like the way this book is organized. You have a table of contents of sorts that lists bug shapes. They are organized by similiar shape, and color.

Not ment to be read from cover to cover, this book is excellent for throwing into my camera bag for to be a field reference.

I have had this book for years
I first got this book when I started college, for horticulture, while the study only became a hobby in my later years, this book has been with me the whole time.
Every time I see a new bug or insect in my habitat, I run to the house and bring out this book. 80% of the time I can ID it by only using the plates. 15% of the rest I can figure it out by the description pages and the last 5% I usually have enough information to go look on the Internet to find out exactly what I am looking at. I think that it must say something to say I have had this book for 19 years and still use it every summer. And yes it is the same book- I looked at the screen shots Amizon.com so nicely provides and the contents and index is identical. And so are the pages I saw including the page #'s
This is a very good book to get you on the road to entomology and as a reference after that, one you too will keep a long time!

Too General Too much is missing
If you really want to ID insects in your yard or garden, I dont think that this is the book to use. It is way to general containing insects from desert, the south and the north, it omits many families and includes many exotics that are unique but not likely to be found. A more regional focus would help and a more complete key would also help. It just seems that they tried to do to much with the pages they had. As far as an alternative, I am still looking for a better key/field book. ... Read more

Book Description

Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile have revised and expanded their clear and comprehensive guide to cover changes in beekeeping. They discuss the crisis created by the parasitic bee mites. In less than a decade, for example, Varroa mites have saturated the North American honeybee population with disastrous results, devastating both managed and wild populations. The new edition of The Beekeeper's Handbook covers mite detection and control as well as the selection and testing of bees that may have some tolerance to mites.

Serves as a comprehensive well-illustrated introduction for beginners and a valuable reference for the experienced beekeeper.

Outlines options for each operation within beekeeping, listing advantages and disadvantages of each alternative.

Provides easy-to-follow directions and diagrams.

Includes glossary and updated bibliography suggesting more detailed information on the topics discussed. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Best Beekeeping book I've seen!
I have most of the "standard" beekeeping books in my library, but this book is the best! The most logical and complete book I have seen yet, and very well illustrated. Logically written and yet interesting just to sit down and read. But it also does a great job of covering details of beekeeping and answering both basic and more complex questions of the hobby. Highly recommended!

A wonderful informative book for any level of beekeeper
I found the authors style to be easy to read, the technical terms were explained in detail and multiple approaches to various beekeeping situations discussed. The discussion on bee biology was interesing and the step by step instructions were easy to follow and well written. The section on colony disease management is excellent. Of the two dozen or so books I ahve on beekeeping - this is the one I would most reccomend for the technical information

Excellent Beginner's Book
As a beginning beekeeper, I found this book to very well written and an excellent jumping off point. The way almost all steps and facets of beekeeping are given advantages vs. disadvantages in this book was also extremely helpful and thought provoking.

Beginner's textbook used by our club
"The Beekeeper's Handbook" is the textbook used by the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association for its beginners short course. The book has up-to-date information on mites, which was a big reason for selecting it. We also like the the way the book discusses several alterative approaches to most beekeeping situations. The book is well illustrated with drawings(no photographs). The physical construction of the book is good enough to take some abuse in the field.

Get "The Beekeeper's Handbook" if you are a beginning to intermediate level beekeeper.

W.G. Miller Montgomery County (MD) Beekeepers Association EAS Master Beekeeper ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (8)

A Good Beginner's Introduction to Non-Insect Arthropods
I was introduced to the early "Golden Guides" in the 1950s. My very first book on insects was in this series and I wore out numerous copies of the various titles. Of these I have always especially admired H. W. and Lorna Levi's "Spiders and Their Kin." This little guide had (and to a large degree still has) the most complete systematic treatment of any of the taxa covered in the "Golden Guide" series. Few books were available on these fascinating creatures when this work was originally published and "Spiders and Their Kin" was a considerable improvement. The drawings of spider eye arrangements were especially helpful for identification.

Unfortunately time does not stand still and the reprinted version of this book is somewhat behind in its treatment of spider families. There has been some attempt by St. Martin's Press to revise the classification (the sac spiders are shown to belong to several families), but some of the other families have also undergone major changes (e.g. "Ctenizidae" is now at least three families) and "brown spiders" (a name I really do not like- I prefer "violin spiders" as more descriptive) are now members of the Sicariidae. Neither of the last two changes made it into the revised book, either because they occurred after the corrected copy was submitted or because they were overlooked. The current revision does include the statement that urocteids and oecobiids have been united under the Oecobiidae - as it turns out, having a cribellum is a primitive trait and does not indicate relationships very well- but mistakenly indicates that the "oecobiids" are larger than "urocteids". It also still has the two "families" on different pages, so the revision did not include a rearrangement of the figures. In the scorpions there have been major taxonomic changes as well, but most of these were not noted (again several are probably just too recent to have been included). However, Hadrurus is correctly placed in the Iuridae, instead of the Vaejovidae.

Because of these major developments I cannot recommend this book as an up to date guide to currently recognized spider families, but it still is a good starting place for those (especially young people) who would like to know more about arachnids, millipedes, centipedes, and land crustaceans. Fortunately many, if not most, of the families (e. g. Theraphosidae, Oonopidae, Salticidae, Linyphiidae, Selenopidae, Theridiidae, Araneidae, Tetragnathidae, Lycosidae) are still valid as described in the original edition of the book.

A good little field guide
Upon first reading, it is unfortunate that "Spiders and Their Kin" shows but a select few species from among the Arachnid pantheon, but it has been a great read and a great reference over the ten-plus years since I first purchased an earlier edition.

Used as a sole reference, the book is lacking in many crucial details, but there are more specialized books available to those who find that the information within these pages is less than desired.

True, it will not go in-depth with regard to each individual species, and may not show one in particular, but it's a handier starting point for arachnid identification than its larger brethren and, that, I think, is the purpose for which it is intended to be used.

The bottom line: if you know little to nothing about arachnids at this time, or you just need a field guide to get you started on making identifications, go ahead and buy Levi's little gem. If you feel like you need to learn all that can be learned about an individual species of spider or need more specialized/more advanced field guides, then this is probably not the book for you.

Good Starter book
I think this is a good starter book for identfying spiders that are more common. There are a couple of pages on webs that I found interesting. In the front it gives a great visual on how the Arthropod group is broken out and how different spider types break out within that - all helps when trying to do the id. There are so many different amazing spiders - this can only scrath the surface but is a really good place to start. I just like taking pictures and having a general idea of what I'm looking at so for me it works...I will be checking out other books too though like "How to Know Spiders" if there is one in that "How to Know" series.

this is a little kids book
I bought this book because I was expecting to ID the brown recluse which has several variations. This book had one poorly drawn picture and 1 sentence about the Brown Recluse. I was disappointed to say the least. This is one of those little field guides for kids.
This would be a good field guide for someone about 8 years old.

Gross but interesting, even to an Arachnophobe
Last week I woke up when a spider bit me on my forehead. It was a shallow, burning pain rather like someone had injected a weak solution of hydrochloric acid under my skin. About a third of my forehead was flushed red when I first looked in a mirror, but the redness subsided within a few hours, leaving a dime-sized lump that is still visible a week later.

I used "Spiders and Their Kin" to tentatively identify the mangled remains of the spider as a small Brown Recluse ('Loxosceles reclusa'). Just in case I needed to go see my doctor, I put the spider into a baggie and froze it. Luckily, my forehead didn't dissolve---according to the Levis, "In severe cases...the wound grows deeper and does not heal for several months."

At any rate, "Spiders and Their Kin" is a handy book to have around. I bought a copy for my sister when she found what she thought was a Black Widow in her garage, and I also got a copy for myself in order to identify the gigantic black and yellow spider that was hanging head-down in my Japanese Spiraea (it was---or maybe I should say, she was a Black and Yellow Argiope ('A. aurantia').

When I first bought this book, just looking at the cover made me itch. However, it is filled with fascinating little tidbits about Arachnids and their kin. I used to think that Hairy Mygalomorphs were the ugliest spiders on Earth (most especially the ones with ten inch leg spans), but now my vote goes to the Pirate Spiders ('Mimetidae'). Luckily, they are small spiders (4 - 6 mm), so you would have to use a magnifying glass to get the full impact of one of these hairy little dudes.

It is really rather impolite of me to make fun of 'Mimetidae,' since they help beautify my backyard by eating other spiders. According to the authors:

"Pirate Spiders invade webs of other spiders. The slow-moving Pirate Spider bites the web owner, which is quickly paralyzed and sucked dry through the legs, one after another."

Sounds like someone dining on crab legs.

The only fault I can find with "Spiders and Their Kin" is that it doesn't go into enough detail on the individual species and subspecies of Arachnids. And that's not a fair criticism to make, since Golden Nature Guides are meant to be used for quick identification, not detailed research.

Now, I've got to work up my courage, venture outside, and try to identify that big brown spider that has built her web from the house electrical line down to the clematis beside the porch door. Her abdomen is wider than it is long, she has striped legs, and she only comes out after dark...

By the way, "Spiders and their Kin" has a useful chapter on 'Collecting Spiders.' If you're an arachnophobe like I am, learning more about these critters might be the quickest way to cure yourself. ... Read more

Book Description

Detailed descriptions of insect orders, families, and many individual species are illustrated with 1,300 drawings and 142 superb color paintings.Illustrations - which use the unique Peterson Identification System to distinguish one insect from another - include size lines to show the actual length of each insect.A helpful glossary explains the technical terms of insect anatomy. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

This reprint of the 1970 field guide remains one of the best
The guide aims to cover insects in America north of Mexico to family level. Few families are illustrated by more than a single figure of an adult and, while generally a single sex is shown, exceptions are made for some insects, for example in the color plates of damselflies. Where the sexes are very distinct (e.g. tussock moths or butterflies) it would have been helpful to show figures of both sexes. The book is predominantly one designed for identification and while it provides excellent coverage and a wonderful selection of figures, it rarely includes keys to help the novice zero on a particular family. The endpapers provide a quick and helpful guide to the principal insect orders, but once that level is reached, the reader must hunt out the descriptions of each suborder and/or superfamily to determine the appropriate group. The significant criteria that distinguish these suborders/superfamilies would be much easier to learn and compare were their descriptions put together on the same page rather than scattered through the section waiting to be discovered by searching the text or looking up the appropriate page by using the index. There is good chapter on collection methods and a brief introduction to insect structure and growth. Deficiences include the following - The book was originally published in 1970: however, the publisher has not taken the opportunity to update the original bibliography in any of the reprints. Nor have resources like Entomological organizations been listed. While the worldwide web makes it easier to access this new information, it would have been helpful to see the experts' recommendations.

Tougher to use for the casual amateur, but a good book!
Most amateur naturalists tend to expect page after page of photographs or drawings when they purchase a field guide. That is not what you will get in this book.

The authors, Borrer and White, have developed a sort of mini-entomology book for use in the field. The first part of the book contains helpful hints and instructions on how to collect and preserve insects. That section is followed by about 15 pages on the biology and taxonomy of this huge group. Understanding this information is essential if one is put together a useful insect collection. It also helps the insect watcher better understand what they are seeing in the ecology and body plans of these animals. Those sections are followed by over 300 pages of information that will help the determined insect watcher/collecter figure out the kind of animal they are looking at.

You should be advised that this book will NOT help you identify insects to the level of genus and species. The taxonomic information in this book targets primarily the family level (the level above the genus level).

Some reviewers have commented that the lack of color illustrations renders this book nearly useless. You need to understand that, for the serious collector, there are characteristics much more important in figuring out what they are looking at than color. The book is loaded with the kinds of information used by professional entomologists to identify the animals they study.

You should also be reminded that there are thousands of insect species, and many regional variations of those species, so no single field guide could ever hope to provide a comprehensive treatment of the group.

If you want/need a bounty of color photos to supplement your study, I recommend that you use this book along with a field guide like those available from the Audubon Society (E.g., The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders, which has over 700 photos of these animals).

The Peterson guide relies on illustrations rather than photos (illustrations are, I believe, far superior to photographs for identification work). There are both color and B/W illustrations in the book. There are also many helpful line drawings of body parts important to helping you ID insects.

I give this book 4 stars only because it tends to be a bit tougher for the casual amateur to use, but recommend it highly for the advanced amateur, as well as for general reference for the professional.

Well worth the price -- but not a child's book.

Good luck!

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College

In-depth is an insufficient description for this book.
Most who use this book have the same general complaint -- no color. Color, however, can be one of the most useless characteristics in identifying insects (especially if there are multiple color morphs).

Since this is not a guide which was designed to identify every insect species within a given range (which is impossible within the scope of a single tome), it does its job well...and that job is to help narrow the possibilities of identifications for each individual insect. There are specialist books for more specific (excuse the pun) identifications. This book may be used to point toward the specialist books necessary for correct identifications and should be used in that fashion.

There is a lot to be learned from Richard E. White's book, and reading the book from cover to cover is recommended for every insectophile. That's why, in spite of the inability to correctly identify even every insect in my backyard, I give this book 5/5.

Extremely interesting book.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the lack of color photos or plates. I honestly read half the book when I first recieved it. I got it because I was worried that this creature I had found was a mutant or something (turned out it was a velvet ant). It does have quite a bit of information on the different animals that make up the order of insects. It does not though give detail into any peticualar family though. There are after all WAY to many insects out there to fit into just one book. Check out the other field guides for butterflies, moths, or whatever you are into. It can be a little technical for the layman (i.e. me) but will help get you started on your adventures in collecting and learning about insects.

Most Used Insect ID Book
I have used this book for years. It is great for quick and easy insect identification. Good for the entomologist as well as the layman. Few color illustrations (lots of B & W) but since insects are very rarely identified by color, this is practically irrelevant. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Butterflies are among the natural world's most colorful and intriguing creatures, so what could be more useful than a handy field guide with more than 1,000 photographs of all the butterflies of North America north of Mexico, including all true butterflies, the most common skippers, and many migrants and strays. The color plates are visually arranged by shape and color, and thumb-tab silhouettes provide a convenient index to identification of butterflies in the field. The species account for each butterfly provides measurements, descriptions of each stage of the life cycle, and information on coloring or distinguishing markings, flight period, habitat, and range. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

As good as the Kaufman Guide! (The ultimate best.)
The Audubon Guide to Butterflies equals the completely perfect Kaufman Guide to Butterflies in every way. First, there are countless numbers of species listed, which is essential to identify a particular specimen. It is also very detailed in the description of the species in the back of the book. It is perfect for beginner naturalists and experts!
So, why is it so underrated? For one reason, many are too lazy to quickly flip to the back of the book and read the description. Anyone stating that this is for the very beginning amateur must have the wrong field guide altogether! Saying that the Golden Guides are for beginners is understandable, but saying that about an Audubon Guide is not.
This a "stonewall" entry in the long list of Audubon Guides, and may very well be one of the best!

Terrific Book!
I love this book. It has every catapillar & butterfly you can imagine in it. Nicely detailed & full of information. This was a great addittion to our other National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds.

all right ,I agree.
this is a wonderfull book with all that i need.

in the other books the butterflies shown are dead, and i dont like that. I mean, Iam a butterfly lover. I hate that.

This is a beatyfull book and i love it.

Nat. Audubon Soc. Field guide o North American butterflies
I could not identify all the butterfly caterpillars. I have many different kinds of caterpillars in my garden and would like to know what they will turn into. I recommend that each butterfly picture have on the same page a picture of the caterpillar. This would make identification of a butterfly to be much easier.

The book was not concise.

Up to the usual Audubon Society high standards
I use both Audubon Society and Petersons small wildlife identification guides and find that are quite good with their own plus and minuses. Petersons is better for taking into the field for things that move (animals and insects) due to the layout which allows for quicker identification. Audubon is better for things that can't get away (plants) and with animals and insects, for obtaining data about the creature's habitat. This guide is as good as any other in their series, which is to say that it is very good. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This one is a keeper (pun intended).
In the past year I have borrowed from the library all the books I could find about beekeeping . This is one I plan to add to my personal library.

Excellent, very informative, a must have reference
Cover the subject in detail for good managemen ... Read more

Book Description

Here is an accessible, informative, and highly illustrated book that offers a fresh view of butterflies in the East Coast states, from the Atlantic seaboard to the Appalachians. In addition to providing a wealth of facts and photos, the book is the first to furnish detailed and up-to-date photo-illustrated information on the host plants favored by particular species. With 234 full-page species accounts and accompanying range maps, plus more than 950 large-size color photos, it is an essential reference work for field observers, gardeners, educators, and conservation managers--or anyone interested in appreciating the lepidopteran world close at hand.

The introductory chapters detail the subtle ecology of the East Coast region, establishing a consistent ecological framework that enriches the individual species accounts. There is also an overview of current scientific literature and observational findings to help readers better interpret complex butterfly behaviors in the field, including seasonal movements, host plant and diapause strategies, defensive chemistry, and more.

The book is written by Rick Cech, a seasoned field observer who has spent years studying and photographing East Coast butterflies. His substantial first-hand experience with both the common and rare species in the region adds much depth and new insight to the commentary.

* 234 full-page species accounts and accompanying range maps
* 950 large-size color photos
* 215 photos of individual host plants and habitats
* 735 high-quality photos of butterflies and caterpillars
* Introductory chapters detailing the subtle ecology of the East Coast region
* An overview of current scientific literature and observational findings
* Descriptions of diapause and host plant strategies and defensive chemistry
* User-friendly with clear, concise text

... Read more

Book Description

With habitats ranging from sea level to over 3,800 meters, the small Neotropical country of Costa Rica encompasses more than fifteen distinct life zones and contains a large percentage of all the butterfly species known from Central America. In this field guide, a sequel to the volume on Papilionidae, Pieridae, and Nymphalidae, Philip DeVries provides the first detailed treatment of over 250 species of Costa Rican butterflies in the family Riodinidae. Drawing from his extensive fieldwork, museum research, and surveys of scientific literature, DeVries presents the means to identify riodinid butterflies to the species level and gives an overview of their natural history. This guide illustrates nearly all of the Costa Rican species in color and provides a large sample of detailed line drawings and scanning electron micrographs of riodinid early stages for the first time ever. The book's coverage makes it useful for identifying riodinids throughout Mexico, Central America, and substantial portions of South America.

The introductory chapter brings together a large body of material that applies directly to understanding riodinid butterflies in general. The taxonomy, distribution, and natural history of each taxon is discussed in detail. The author also provides sections on ecology, evolution, behavior, symbioses with ants, caterpillar acoustical calls, systematics, collecting and preserving, hostplant relationships, and the comparative diversity of riodinid butterfly faunas. A section on butterfly biologists of the last century provides a historical perspective to the basis of our understanding of Neotropical butterflies.

... Read more

Reviews (4)

butterly museum
This book along with the photo essay book "Costa Rica : The Last Country the Gods Made" should be owned by anyone who loves Costa Rica, even if they think they despise nature studies as dry and limited. Buy it just for the color plates. This book's spirit is undeniable.

A Butterfly Museum
This book along with the photo essay book "Costa Rica : The Last Country the Gods Made" should be owned by anyone who loves Costa Rica, even if they think they despise nature studies as dry and limited. Buy it just for the color plates. This book's spirit is undeniable.

Not meant for your daypack
This hefty book is not a book you would like to drag along in you daypack (I tried, so I know). Yet, you will need it around (so, in your lodge or tent) when you're walking the rainforests and trying to make out what you've seen. It gives a clear description, added to clear drawings, of all the butterflies in the described families. That leads me to the only drawback: it's "just" a number of famlies described here, so the title is somewhat misleading. I'm eagerly awaiting the follow-up with the rest of the Lepidoptera, hoping that they will be covered in a similar way.

Butterflies for the whole family
For all of you who are looking for a good quality source book for your art projects this is the book that will provide you, not only, with detailed drawings but also with beautiful color images of Costa Rican butterflies. I only wish there were more color photographs of the insect, but since I researched line drawings to incorporate them into design this book even exceeded my needs. It also helped my seven year old daughter to understand and appreciate the complexity of this species not only its beauty. The text is easy to understand and can make a good vacation reading ... Read more

Reviews (1)

One Amazing Book about Bees
This is a special scientific book, for the author tells the reader not only WHAT we know about the inner workings of honey bee colonies, but also HOW we know it. Through simple but graceful writing, accompanied by many diagrams, Seeley takes you on a step-by-step journey through his experimental analysis of how the members of a bee colony work together to gather the nectar, pollen, and water that they need. I think anyone interested in seeing how a human has dissected the complex internal organization of a bee hive will find this a rewarding read. I especially liked chapter 6, where Seeley explains that the bees have several kinds of communication dances, not just the famous waggle dance, to activate more bees for making honey. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Wry, Charming Book
This is more than a "how-to," beginner's guide to beekeeping: it is a homage to a remarkable creature. The author's comprehensive knowledge and admiration for the fuzzy little guys is evident on every page. His advice is practical and free of mushy sentiment. A lovely book.

Beekeeping A Practical Guide
Mr. Bonney's Book was an easy read. I read it in 3 evenings. The 'Practical Guide' is just that - a 'Road Map'. I appreciated Mr. Bonney's opinions and lack of wishy-washy caveats. I did not find the short-falls another reviewer found.

I appreciate the Tables that present the Data and capsulize that Data or Information. For example, I finished the Book, went on line, Yahooed 'Beekeeping', found some vendors and successfully prepared a 'general' or 'ballpark' budget based on recommended hive dimensions, clothing and so on - in less than 30 minutes!

My demeanor is such that I prefer to make my own decisions and Mr. Bonney clearly stated when he held a view where others differed. This is not a 'my way or the highway' Book.

Good starter book, but lacking detail.
A very good starter book, but still needs more precise detail. For example, warns of swarms and to watch for, but does not say "what" to watch for. Assumes reader knows something about bees and their habits. I do not. Am a beginner from the word go, and need more information than this books holds. However, a good addition to the home collection.

Excellent for presenting the realities of beekeeping.
"Beekeeping - a practical guide" is is exactly what it says it is. It presents the facts of beekeeping in a way that fascinate you with the wonders of the hobby and mixes in the pitfalls that would, stated alone, send you away disappointed if you are are a beginner like me. By the time you finish reading the book and have weighed all of the information, the truly interested reader will be looking for another book to expand on all of the points Richard Bonney presents and also planning thier first colony. Good Luck. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Gosh some of those dragonflies look like Apache helicopters!
Two things that the other reviewers might not have covered:
1. It only contains dragonflies from North America.
*sarcasm on*
This is truuuly indispensable to someone living in Australia.
*sarcasm off*
2. The size. It is a lot smaller than I expected at only 4.5 x 7".
3. If you're more interested in general dragonfly facts, get the other book "Dragonflies of the world" instead, for it contains fascinating information on dragonfly flight behaviour, larval stages, camoflage, temperature regulation, etc.

It is what it says it is. Good value!
This book will not make you an expert on dragonflies. It does give you sufficient information on them to help understand what you see when you view them in the field. And it helps you identify the most common ones in the USA and Canada.

A few pages in the front of the book give brief background information on dragonflies, and on equipment and strategies for observing them in the field. Then you go to page after page of species descriptions. Important identification information is given for each species, and at least one (sometimes more when appropriate) photo. The photos are usually of good quality both as photos and as identification aids.

A key in the inside cover of the book helps you pick out characteristics of a dragonfly you are observing, and the key then points you to the appropriate pages in the book using a color tab system.

I compared copies in hand of this book, and its chief competitor, DRAGONFLIES THROUGH BINOCULARS. I felt this book would be more useful in the field, so I ordered this one from Amazon.com, not the binoculars book. That's the best testimony I can give. I've since read and begun to use the book, and I am happy with my choice.

Only downside to this book is that it may tempt you to order one of the larger, more in-depth books on dragonflies, which are quite expensive!

Perfect for the newbie
Clear and beautiful photos with helpful information make it easy to ID dragonflies. If you want to use it as field guide or as picture book this is the one to have.

What is that funny looking bug?
Maybe I first noticed Dragonflies one of those summers I attended Girl Scout camp and I saw a pretty blue-winged insect shimmering over the lake where we went for our daily swim. Or maybe I saw my first fly when I sat on a creek bank waiting for the catfish to bite. I saw them so often when I was a child growing up in the rural South and Midwest, that I took them for granted. Not until the great Henry Mitchell, a local gardener and columnist with the Washington Post (and author of many books on gardening) wrote about his horse troughs and Dragonfiles did I sit up and say, "You mean there's more than one kind??"

Mr. Mitchell taught me that Dragonfiles can drown in deep water if they try to take a drink, and that Dragonflies, Damselflies and Butterflies all need shallow water. That's why you see them hovering over mud puddles and why every bird bath needs a shallow spot. In Mr. Mitchell's garden, the Dragonflies drank from the leaves on his water lillies. If you plant water lillies, you will see a Dragonfly or two or three.

The BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO DRAGONFLIES is destined to help me help my granddaughters develop an appreciation of Dragonfiles and Damselflies. According to authors Nikula, Sones, and Stokes, the major differences between the two are wing shapes, wing positions, eye positions, overall appearance and flight style. Some of the photos even depict Dragonflies that might be confused with Butterflies. We are going to learn about: 'Cruisers', 'Spiketails', 'Clubtails', 'Petaltails'
and a whole lot more. Seems that pretty neon blue insect I've seen hovering over the pond may be a 'Pond Damsel.'

Each of the illustrated "Identification" pages in DRAGONFLIES contains a photograph and text description of the fly and a map of Northern America depicting the range of the insect in question. Each map shows the entire country plus Canada. The pages of the book are color coded by family type so you can link the Dragonfly or Damselfly to it's family. Get this book and enjoy the summer fun.

A great guide
This handy little book should prove very useful to dragonfly and damselfly watchers. The pictures are large and show more detail than some of the larger, more extensive dragonfly guides. Though not as many species are covered as in, Dragonflies Through Binoculars, this guide is better in several ways. To begin with, it does make identification easier because the pictures are better. It is also lighter and easier to carry in the field. Finally, damselflies are covered in this book in addition to dragonflies. With all these added bonuses, I would recommend this book to long time dragonfly/damselfly watchers and beginners alike. ... Read more

Book Description

Imagine beetles ejecting defensive sprays as hot as boiling water; female moths holding their mates for ransom; caterpillars disguising themselves as flowers by fastening petals to their bodies; termites emitting a viscous glue to rally fellow soldiers--and you will have entered an insect world once beyond imagining, a world observed and described down to its tiniest astonishing detail by Thomas Eisner. The story of a lifetime of such minute explorations, For Love of Insects celebrates the small creatures that have emerged triumphant on the planet, the beneficiaries of extraordinary evolutionary inventiveness and unparalleled reproductive capacity.

To understand the success of insects is to appreciate our own shortcomings, Eisner tells us, but never has a reckoning been such a pleasure. Recounting exploits and discoveries in his lab at Cornell and in the field in Uruguay, Australia, Panama, Europe, and North America, Eisner time and again demonstrates how inquiry into the survival strategies of an insect leads to clarifications beyond the expected; insects are revealed as masters of achievement, forms of life worthy of study and respect from even the most recalcitrant entomophobe. Filled with descriptions of his ingenious experiments and illustrated with photographs unmatched for their combination of scientific content and delicate beauty, Eisner's book makes readers participants in the grand adventure of discovery on a scale infinitesimally small, and infinitely surprising.

Reviews (8)

The Reviews
For Love of Insects

Thomas Eisner
Foreword by Edward O. Wilson

Although insects are not usually the stars of popular-science writing, this engaging look at how one scientist studies their lives may add them to the most-requested lists of science- and animal-loving readers.
--Nancy Bent, Booklist

For Love of Insects is especially valuable because it explains the steps missing from the research reports in Nature and Science: [Eisner] tells the story from first noticing a bug on a walk in the woods, through experiments and analytical chemistry, to a final understanding of each phenomenon...For Love of Insects is a fascinating introduction to a world we poor humans--barely able to detect most chemicals--seldom notice.
--Jonathan Beard, New Scientist [UK]

[Eisner's] new book is a personal memoir of a lifetime in science, engagingly written and stunningly illustrated with photographs of insects doing astonishing things...What makes Eisner a world-class entomologist is not access to million-dollar scientific instruments, but a mind that never stops asking 'Why?'
--Chet Raymo, Boston Globe

This is one of the best nature titles in the last several years.
--Kim Long, Bloomsbury Review

[P]repare to be amazed. Brimming with enthusiasm, Eisner reveals a world of unbelievable majesty and complexity in the simplest of insects. The photographs alone are worth the price of the book, but the text crackles with the electricity of a brilliant genius at work, as Eisner leads the reader from simple observation to major scientific breakthrough. In fact this book should be required reading for every biology student because it illuminates the basic principle that passion and curiosity are the twin pillars of all great science.
--David Lukas, Los Angeles Times

The world has eagerly awaited these enchanting tales of insect life, brimming with discovery, insight, and wry humor. They're a master entomologist's masterwork. The photographs are also extraordinary, both illuminating and exquisitely beautiful.
--Diane Ackerman, Cornell University

I don't know whether I like the text or the photographs of For Love of Insects better. The former is brilliant, the product of the dean of chemical ecology and a world-renowned expert on insects. The latter are spectacular, the work of an outstanding photographer -- once again Tom Eisner. No naturalist or natural scientist will want to be without this book. Indeed, if everyone would take the time to read it and look at the amazing pictures our society would benefit greatly from an enhanced appreciation of the insect world.
--Paul Ehrlich, President, Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University

Love of insects? Hell, that's barely the half of it! Better Tom Eisner had called this book Love of Life and the Lively of progeny and all provenance! With boundless verve and grace and marvel and delight, Tom Eisner proves himself, across these dazzling pages, to be one of the all-time great biophiliacs. Ah, the blessing, for the rest of us, to be alive alongside him!
--Lawrence Weschler, Director of the New York Institute for the Humanities and author of Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder

There are few books which present the fullness of a life in science as powerfully, as modestly, and as enchantingly as this one. The excitement of Tom Eisner's fundamental investigations are mingled with vivid descriptions of his many other loves and enthusiasms--for music and literature no less than for the natural world--in seamless and beautiful prose. For Love of Insects is not only a delight to read, but, with its amazing photographs, a visual feast, too.
--Oliver Sachs, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Publishers comments
Publisher Comments:
Imagine beetles ejecting defensive sprays as hot as boiling water; female moths holding their mates for ransom; caterpillars disguising themselves as flowers by fastening petals to their bodies; termites emitting a viscous glue to rally fellow soldiers--and you will have entered an insect world once beyond imagining, a world observed and described down to its tiniest astonishing detail by Thomas Eisner. The story of a lifetime of such minute explorations, For Love of Insects celebrates the small creatures that have emerged triumphant on the planet, the beneficiaries of extraordinary evolutionary inventiveness and unparalleled reproductive capacity. To understand the success of insects is to appreciate our own shortcomings, Eisner tells us, but never has a reckoning been such a pleasure. Recounting exploits and discoveries in his lab at Cornell and in the field in Uruguay, Australia, Panama, Europe, and North America, Eisner time and again demonstrates how inquiry into the survival strategies of an insect leads to clarifications beyond the expected; insects are revealed as masters of achievement, forms of life worthy of study and respect from even the most recalcitrant entomophobe. Filled with descriptions of his ingenious experiments and illustrated with photographs unmatched for their combination of scientific content and delicate beauty. Eisner's book makes readers participants in the grand adventure of discovery on a scale infinitesimally small, and infinitely surprising.

For Love of Eisner
For those people lucky enough to meet Dr. Eisner, they will know that he is a very intelligent, very humble man. Dr. Eisner has devoted his life to studying insects, and his passion comes across in his words and his photographs. It is difficult to get this man to speak about his accomplishments, and this book gives the reader a wonderful opportunity to get to know one of the greatest biologists of this century, and learn why he has earned that title.

The photographs are exquisite and they alone are worth buying the book. The stories are fascinating tales that seem like they should be science fiction, yet they are science fact. An enlightening book for those that fear "creepy crawlies" as to why these creatures deserve respect, even if they are still worth fearing.

You can be the fly on the wall watching the fly.
Imagine beetles ejecting defensive sprays as hot as boiling water; female moths holding their mates for ransom; caterpillars disguising themselves as flowers by fastening petals to their bodies; termites emitting a viscous glue to rally fellow soldiers--and you will have entered an insect world once beyond imagining, a world observed and described down to its tiniest astonishing detail by Thomas Eisner. The story of a lifetime of such minute explorations, For Love of Insects celebrates the small creatures that have emerged triumphant on the planet, the beneficiaries of extraordinary evolutionary inventiveness and unparalleled reproductive capacity.

To understand the success of insects is to appreciate our own shortcomings, Eisner tells us, but never has a reckoning been such a pleasure. Recounting exploits and discoveries in his lab at Cornell and in the field in Uruguay, Australia, Panama, Europe, and North America, Eisner time and again demonstrates how inquiry into the survival strategies of an insect leads to clarifications beyond the expected; insects are revealed as masters of achievement, forms of life worthy of study and respect from even the most recalcitrant entomophobe. Filled with descriptions of his ingenious experiments and illustrated with photographs unmatched for their combination of scientific content and delicate beauty, Eisner's book makes readers participants in the grand adventure of discovery on a scale infinitesimally small, and infinitely surprising.

NOT ALL WORDS. PICTURES TOO !!!!!!!

Not just about insects
The book has a superb and greatly readable text, as well as beautiful photos by the author. And, it's not just about insects. The tale told celebrates not only the wonderful mysteries of insects, but exemplifies a life of play and passion, and should be subtitled "Wonder is All." Or, perhaps, "Do what you love, the best will follow." The book is destined to be a classic, not only on insects but on life well- lived. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

THE definitive guide to bees in this region of the world.
Written by the top-notch experts working in bee systematics today, this book is extremely well conceived and executed.It would be very useful for pollination ecologists and others who encounter wild bee species and are ata loss as to what they're dealing with. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

a beautiful coffee table book
This book has great photography and discription of various insects, however. this is a large book so you can't take it outdoors to try to identify a certain insect. It is a very good reference book

FABulous book
Wonderful photos and quite interesting text...and here I thought this was going to be a hokey little book. ... Read more

Book Description

Peterson First Guides are the first books the beginning naturalist needs.Condensed versions of the famous Peterson Field Guides, the First Guides focus on the animals, plants, and other natural things you are most likely to see.They make it fun to get into the field and easy to progress to the full-fledged Peterson Guides. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent Moth Guide
I have been looking for a guide like this for years. This book shows great pictures of all the bigger moths of North America including their caterpillars. Loaded with maps and drawings of the cocoons this book is a must have. Don't let the price scare you away.

The most comprehensive book to date on N.A Saturniidae!
Very impressive coverage on the Wilk Silk Moths of Noth America. Most known species are shown in exellent photographs,some in the larval stages also. Good range maps and detailed text make this the laymans best friend when exploring and learning about the habitats and life histories of some of our most magnificent moth species. The best book I've seen on the subject period!

Impressive details of each moth's life cycle. Easy to read.
For each moth there is a color picture of last instar caterpillar and one or more pictures of the moth. There is also a range map and detailed descriptions of each stage of the life cycle with notes on rearing.
This is a well-written, well-researched, easy to read book. I would recommend it to anyone interested in these largest and showiest of the U.S. moths. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Imagine looking up to see an ominous black cloud on the horizon. Nowimagine your growing horror as you watch that cloud reveal itself as animmense, miles-wide swarm of ravenous insects. In Locust,entomologist Jeffrey A. Lockwood reveals the bizarre history of a bugresponsible for killing countless settlers on the American plains.First-hand accounts of the Rocky Mountain locust's horrific depredationsare reproduced in the book, and Lockwood adds his own vivid reconstructions:

We expect grasshoppers and locusts to consume our gardensand fields, but when these insects begin to feed on fabric and fleshsomething seems demonically amiss.... Although the settlers may havebeen astonished by the locusts' voracity, they were appalled by theinsects' fierce cannibalism.

Swarms of locusts would touch down like tornadoes on homesteads andfarms, stripping away every growing thing and desperately eating otherinsects in search of much-needed fat and protein. These hordes werethought by many, including the Mormon settlers in Utah, to be divinepunishments, or at least signs from above. After describing the effectsthis insect had on the American frontier, Lockwood delves into theentomologic mystery of the locusts' abrupt disappearance. Had theybecome extinct? Or gone into hiding in some ecological refuge? WhenLockwood abandons history for science, his glee for his subject keepsthe book moving, albeit slower than in the first few chapters.--Therese Littleton ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Plague of Locusts
Dr Lockwood has written a very readable and carefully detailed biography of the encounter of the pioneers with the Rocky Mountain Locust and the modern day entomologists' investigations of its dissappearance. He lays out a good case for the most recent hypothesis for the 'Extinction' of the migratory form of M. spretus. He also lays the groundwork for us to accept that M. spretus is still with us. His paragraphs about describing something as a PROCESS rather than an object is an epiphany that many people will never have. Also valuable and which rings true is his dicussion about how science gets done and how its as much tied to ego as it is to data. He also alludes to the stagnation now currently found in many sciences.

One thing he misses is comparing the locust to other "plagues" seen in North America that are gone - the huge bison herds, the huge passenger pigeon flocks, the huge prairie fires, huge salmon runs, etc - the North American continent used to run at a much higher energy state than it now does.

Dr Lockwoods book falls in with other Natural History investigations that introduced a new paradigm - of which the best example is the Imbries' "Ice Ages: Solving the Mystery" that popularizes a new theory while describing the challenges that led to its acceptance.

Solving an Ecological Whodunit
It is, according to entomologist Jeffrey A. Lockwood, "perhaps the greatest ecological mystery of modern times." Lockwood has studied the mystery for years, undergone grueling mountain expeditions to get evidence, compiled a solution to it, and had his solution accepted by his peers; it might be, therefore, that he has a slightly exalted sense of just how great the mystery is. But in _Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier_ (Basic Books), he has set the matter clearly for non-specialists, and has shown how he made his convincing answer to "What killed off the locusts?" You may never have wondered about this particular ecological question, but Lockwood's detailed, multi-faceted, and fascinating book provides a refreshing look at entomological and agricultural history, at how field and research science is done, and how evolution works in mysterious ways.

The impression the locusts made on pioneers in the nineteenth century cannot be overstated. They darkened the sky and ate any crops down to stubble, fed on clothes, and gnawed even the handles of farm implements. There was nothing that could be done. Of course there were religious appeals to remove the plague, and inchoate government plans to help the starving farmers. Eventually the federal government did set up programs to investigate the swarms scientifically, and huge amounts of data were collected, but it did not do a great deal of good in the short term. The farmers wanted to get rid of the locusts then and there. There were many methods of locust control, including a horse-drawn flamethrower. Finally, but through none of these efforts, the locusts vanished forever. Entomologists have thought about this for more than a century, and some interesting hypotheses have been forwarded, each reviewed here, each eventually unsatisfactory.

Lockwood's solution was from evidence gathered, among other places, high in Wyoming ridges, in the glaciers. There are very few locusts pinned in collections, but after much grueling effort he and his team found them encased in glacial ice. Before finding full bodies, they were able to do some identification by looking at the remains of mouth parts, which are distinct in grasshopper and locust species. For exact identification, though, bodies with intact penises had to be found. The penises of grasshoppers and locusts display many grooves, hooks, and curlicues that ensure that the key of the male fits only into the lock borne by a female of the same species, so a penis is the best way to know exactly what species one is dealing with. Lockwood's solution, which is too interesting to be revealed in detail here, involves some fascinating aspects of the locusts, which were in one form in their home nesting ground but developed a different body type for the migratory (swarming) phase when the home got crowded. Lockwood also drew upon the lessons we are learning from the Monarch butterfly, which also has a now-endangered home in Mexico from which it sends out migrating waves. Lockwood's whodunit is beautifully organized and clearly written to tell an esoteric story which he has in many ways fitted into larger ecological, historical, and social frameworks, and in doing so he convinces a reader of a larger importance than just the loss of one species. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

good information, but. . . .
I like this book a fair amount. It's an overview of the bees of the world, with good no nonsense information about miners, masons, carpenters, and so on as well as the more social bees. I especially loved their effective use of diagrams for the shapes of various bees' nests.

The thing I didn't like was their intrusive and oftentimes nonsensical (and certainly slavish) adherence to the nonsensical notion that the natural world is based on strict competition. They bend over backwards to try to show that the activities of all bees are based on competition, and they strain to use crazy metaphors to support this view. Instead of perceiving bees and flowers as a wonderful example of the way that different members of natural communities work together for the benefit of the larger community, they actually resort to citing Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations as bee/plant interactions being a form of selfish capitalism!!![.] It's nonsense.

One other problem, and this is one reason I hate science. I'll just give a quote. Speaking of a bee being driven to extinction by logging, they say, "Recent reports of forestry activities on Bacan give rise to concern that the bee might become extinct before yielding up the secrets of its biology." If the authors weren't "free market scientists" they would be ashamed of this statement. It implies: Who cares if the creature goes extinct for its own sake? We just need to mine the knowledge before it does.

Once again, all this said, the book does provide some good information. ... Read more