Book Description

The number of species that make up insects, arachnids, and myriapoda (centipedes and millipedes) is uncountable and has evolved to fill every possible ecological niche. This visual encyclopedia is a fascinating and informative study of these tiny and amazing creatures.Written by two brothers who have devoted their careers to investigating bugs and insects, this book even features a species never before documented! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A book for illustrator student
I wanted to add my 2 cents....I have been using it for the purpose of finding material to illustrate. And also as a bug enthusiast, it's been a very good book for seeing the most beautiful and weirdest bugs ever. As someone commented here, the pictures are very beautiful and high quality. AND HUGE. The book is a sight for sore eyes. :) Amazing colors...an illustrator student's heaven. So, my star rating comes from the visual looks of this book and I don't have anything to comment on the text part.

So far so promising, but no banana yet!
This is an infuriating book. If you want it just for the coffee table it is beyond praise, stuffed with stunning and fascinating pictures of a vast variety of arthropods, including myriapods, arachnids and insects. They are variously colourful, weird, frightening, endearing, agile, streamlined, camouflaged, armoured, bumbling or helpless, adapted to many niches, and generally haunting to the thoughtful viewer and entertaining to the idle time killer.

If what you want is a source book of pictures, this is a most impressive collection. The visuals are of excellent quality and amazing variety. They also are generally well composed and informative to the trained eye. To anyone with a biological background these are impressive virtues. The accompanying text is generally clearly written, cheerful, and sound, though it tends to be rambling and bitty, which is understandable in such a book.

Then what am I complaining about? Most of the attributes I have mentioned so far are beyond price, even in this day of hordes of competitive biological photographers. Heaven knows how many hours it took, of persistence in the face of boredom, illness, discomfort and danger, to accumulate the collection from which this compilation was drawn. What more could I want?

The trouble is that with so little more, without spoiling the book for either the ten-year-old, the browser or the stressed inhabitant of the waiting room, the book could have been a classic. It could have been treasured by generations of biologists, not only entomologists. It draws material from many ecotypes and most of the continents (I am not sure whether I saw anything about the very high latitudes, but in any case one can't have everything.)

But firstly, text falls between stools, and falls with a sickening thud. I don't know who is likely to read it. It is too technical for anyone using this as a picture book, insufficient for anyone trying to pick up much useful information as a layman, and frustrating to any entomologist who seeks serious information about the pictures. Most of the names used are common names. To a non-biologist this might sound like a pretty luke-warm criticism; after all, what is the point of all those Latin and Greek words that pretentious professors use? Plenty! Firstly having a scientific name permits one to look up information about the creature, anywhere in the world and in any language. Common names mean practically nothing, or are actively misleading; the same common name applies to many animals and many common names apply to the same animal, and the common names of one region are so much gobbledegook or directly contradict the use of the same names in other regions, let alone other countries or languages. Then again, many of the so-called common names have been coined by amateur biologists; even in English, they mean no more to the layman than the most obscure Greek or Latin might. Professionals can of course identify most specimens to some useful, informal level, but that leaves the most interesting cases begging. It is the ones you DON'T know that you needed the proper labels for. The book has pictures where I don't even know the family and can't guess it from the text!

In some cases you can guess say, that "darkling beetle" mean Tenebrionid; a few pictures are more helpfully labelled say, Nymphalid while in other cases you just have to take the picture as meaning hardly anything at all. This kind of inconsistency carries over to the index. A book such as this one, which is organised mainly around a number of regions in some chapters, and around biology in others, needs something special in the design of the index. This index is by no means special.
It is not as though the authors believe that no one will buy the book if it contains no scientific names; sometimes they specify them right down to the species. (Mind you, there are a few items where the editors had spectacular finger trouble with the spelling!) When I want anything in this book I most often resort to paging through it! Obviously this reduces its usefulness!

I do hope that the authors will produce a follow-up edition, slightly supplemented. It should not be difficult to tidy up the text and embellish it with a reasonably coherent thread of discussion and much more coherent terminology. I would have no objection if the technical terms were segregated to a table of illustrations or the like. I could cheerfully forgive a few labels that amount to "don't know!" That is simply how things happen in this field. Personally I should love a volume twice the size; these pictures must have been drawn from a collection may times as large and it could do no harm to make the showcase a bit more comprehensive; it would not even scare off the coffee table browser.

What this book needs is either a great deal more text, enough to make it coherent, or a companion volume of text, keyed to the pictures. Alternatively it could be keyed to discussions of each picture, by keying it to such standard a text book as say, Imms' General textbook of Entomology, or possibly some rival classic.

Oh, and I don't like the book's title. "Bugs & Insects" indeed! In civilised speech, bugs are hemipteran. Yes, yes, I know, but I still don't like it! I realise that that is my problem, rather than the authors' but I still, still don't like it. But that is not the basis of my criticism! If the title were my only problem, this review would be a rave, not a whine.

Meanwhile, I seldom take the book off the shelf. The frustration is bad for my blood pressure.

beautiful photographs
"The Natural World of Bugs and Insects" is filled with beautiful photographs of a variety of insects. The text is very basic and written for the amateur entomologist or wildlife enthusiast. However, the photographs of rare or cryptic insects make this book fascinating to all professional entomologists as well. Most of the captions contain at least a genus level name of the insect depicted. I would highly recommend this book to anyone captivated by the incredible diversity of arthropods. ... Read more

Book Description

Lively compendium of fascinating facts about insects arranged in handy question-and-answer format. Sure to interest and inform naturalists, students, hikers, campers, nature lovers, many others. Extensive index permits quick and easy reference to a particular species or topic. 49 illustrations. Bibliography. Index.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

1001 Questions Answered About Insects by Klots
This book would be perfect for a science project. It describes the unique characteristics of insects in a factual context.
For instance, an insect has a compound eye, antenna, 2-3 simple eyes and a 3-part thorax. There are approximately 11 abdominal segments and a characteristic respiratory system. Worldwide, there are approximately 700,000 species of insects. In North America alone, there are 90,000 species. Insects live everywhere on earth. Plant life needs insects. Man needs insects for honey,
silk and shellac. Hairy-winged beetles are among the smallest insects. An insect can pull up to twenty times its weight.
A locust can fly up to 9 hours continuously. African beetles are
the largest insects in the world. Insects have multiple
types of antennae. i.e. Plumose, lamellate, setaceous, clavate,
pectinate, filliform and aristate. An insect can fly up to
15 MPH. The wings of a mosquito can vibrate up to 1000 times
per second. The "Great Moth" has up to 4000 muscles.

This work is a goldmine if you have a specific interest in insects. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Practical guide that you take right into the field!
This book has some of the best details I've come across in terms of the biology, habitat, predators/hazards, defenses, night observation, and tools of the trade for collecting, rearing, photographing these insects. It's written in layman's terms yet has so much information that you can really learn a lot. There are great pictures throughout (more are B/W but there is a section of color plates with incredibly good detailed pictures). One of the things I really like about this book is that the species of caterpillars, moths/butterflies are relatively common species that I've seen around our gardens here in Virginia so there's immediate relevance. This is definitely a good companion to a field guide as the sub-title suggests. A field guide will give you the highlights while this book will really enable you to dig in deep and learn about these marvelous, beautiful beings. ... Read more

Book Description

* Chosen by Booklist (American Library Association) as one of the 'Top 10 Sci-Tech Books' in 2000.

Butterflies are the most charismatic species of the insect world. Their brilliant colors, ability to fly, complex behavior, ecological relationships with plants and animals, and their broad distribution in a wide variety of habitats have fascinated people for centuries.

With over 300 color photographs and drawings, A World For Butterflies is a lavishly illustrated guide to the world of butterflies providing a wide range of information about this colorful and graceful insect.

The book is divided into five chapters, each focusing on a major question:- What are butterflies?- How many kinds of butterflies are there?- Where do they live?- How do they live?- What can we do to help them survive?

Among the many topics discussed in detail are evolution, life cycle, courtship and reproduction, anatomy, geographic distribution, migration, demography, as well as butterfly-watching.

A World For Butterflies is the first book to feature photographs of butterflies in their natural settings, accompanied by fascinating text, such as:- Only one or two out of a hundred eggs will survive to become a butterfly- Strategies to deter predators include false eyespots, heads and bright wings that 'disappear' when folded up- Butterflies without strong anti-predator scent or taste have evolved to look exactly like those that do.

Accurate, comprehensive, and beautifully illustrated, this is the ultimate guide to the world of butterflies. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

FABULOUS World for Butterflies!
As an educator and butterfly enthusiast I whole-heartedly recommend this book. Phil Schappert has done an amazing job at providing clear, easy-to-understand information about one of the world's most amazing insects. Remember learning about butterflies when you were a kid (probably learned a lot of incorrect material!)? Well, you will see pictures of what goes on in the butterfly world from this expert. The glossary provides a fabulous list of lep terms-just awesome! No butterfly afficionado should be without this book! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beautiful presentation by internationally recognized expert
The more than thousand full-color specimen photographs in "The Encyclopedia of Butterflies" were taken at the Allyn Museum of Entomology/Florida Museum of Natural History, which houses one of the world's largest butterfly collections. This encyclopedia includes all of the world's butterflies, arranged in four family groups: the swallowtails (Papilionidae); the whites and sulfurs (Pieridae); the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae); and the hairstreaks, coppers, and blues (Lycaenidae).

According to the author, this is the first butterfly encyclopedia to exclude the skippers (Hesperiidae), as they are now thought to show more similarities to moths than to butterflies. Also, butterflies previously classified as separate families, i.e. Satyridae, Danaidae, Nymphalidae, and Libytheidae are combined here as one family, Nymphalidae, "since they have one overriding characteristic: four functional legs. Their first pair of legs are [sic] redundant: they do not function for locomotion." As soon as I read the author's allegation that Nymphalidae had only four functional legs, I rushed out into the backyard. As luck would have it, the first two butterflies I spotted--- a Monarch and a smaller Painted Lady---were both perched on the butterfly bush using only four legs! The Cabbage butterflies over on the zinnias had six legs apiece. Dr. Feltwell, who is an internationally recognized expert on butterflies and who serves as a consultant on the management of butterfly farms in the United States and Great Britain was right! Isn't it odd how after a lifetime of watching butterflies, I never noticed the difference between families until a book like this pointed it out to me? Three things will probably prevent "The Encyclopedia of Butterflies" from being used as a field guide: it is quite a large book; it covers too much territory (the whole earth); and its familial classification scheme doesn't really support a quick field identification.

However, it is a marvelous 'rainy day' book. The photographs are gorgeous, and the clearly-written text covers all of the major butterfly families in detail, including taxonomy, structure, life cycle, migration pattern, habitat, and protected status. Read "The Encyclopedia of Butterflies" at leisure, when darkness or weather prevents you from venturing outside with your field book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The best book on African entymology I know.
I have an edition of "African Insect Life" from the year 1979, with photographs by Anthony Bannister. When I was young, this book gave me immeasurably much information about African nature. At that time, my family was living in Tanzania - my parents were missionaries. It was an invaluable book; I don't know where else I would have learned so much about African insects. The photos by Anthony Bannister are superb, it's amazing that he got such good pictures with older camera equipment. I have seen an older edition of this book without Anthony's photos, and I must say that the photos add much to this book. I am not aware of newer editions - please forgive me if there are editions available with newer photos! Anyways, this book has been a wonderful influence in my life. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

totally useless
if you are interested in spiders, this is NOT the book for you. If you are interested in anything else, this is NOT the book for you. Spend the big bucks and get a real book on spiders. This is a waste of time. there are only 4 spiders in it!!!! very annoyed.

Good pictures, consider it is a pocket guide.
Yeah, the pictures on this book are great, but dont ever forget that it is a pocket guide, so you wont find any insect, you will find common ones, but even some common insects are not listed, anyway it is a good book for begginer in order to learn the difference among different insect orders.

I consider it a good book for experts on the matter to because of the detailed and colorful photos.

Scintillating overview of amazing insect creatures!!!
This book is a must have for all die-hard insect fanatics. A triumph ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Moths of the Limberlost
I love the way this authors writes, but I am told that the original copy has wonderful colored pictures of the moths.

This book makes you feel like you are growing up with Gene Stratton Porter and helping her with her nature studies.

This is an incomplete reprint of a wonderful book on moths.
Gene Stratton-Porter, 1863-1924, was a naturalist, photographer, and writer. This book is derived from her "Moths of the Limberlost, with water color and photographic illustrations from life" published in 1912 by Doubleday, Page, and company. This brings me to my one objection to the book. It has no pictures! The original book contains 106 of her photographs including 20 that were hand colored. The pictures include moths, their eggs, caterpillars, cocoons, and pupa cases, along with pictures of their food plants and the environment in which they are found. While photography of her day did not produce nature pictures of the quality we expect today, they are, never-the-less, an integral part of the work. I was very disappointed to find them missing. On a minor note, five verses quoted in the original book are not in this one. Otherwise, the text does appear to be intact except perhaps for a few references to illustrations.

Given that finding a copy of the original book for sale is difficult, this reprint is well worth obtaining even without the illustrations. Gene Stratton-Porter was a keen naturalist and an excellent writer. The first chapter is an introduction. The second is an overview of the natural history of moths. It is only slightly technical. She has studied the research issues and questions of the day and comments on them. While she guesses wrong on at least one point: whether male moths find their mates by smell, her opinions are always based on observations and her reasoning clearly stated. In some areas, her observations are at the boundaries of what is known about moths at the time. But even in this technical chapter, she presents material in terms of her experiences, both experiences with with moths and experiences studying the writings of lepidopterists.

Each of the remaining thirteen chapters deals with one (or in one case, two) moths. Rather than create a comprehensive book on moths, she has focused on those that have caught her interest. These are moths that she has photographed and, in most cases, raised from egg to caterpillar to pupa and back to adult. Each chapter is not only an essay on a particular moth, is it also a bit of her own autobiography. In them she describes her experiences with moths from her childhood through the years she spent developing the book. These include her great joys in discovering and learning about the moths and her disappointments at loosing moths or at failing to successfully raise them through a life cycle. The book describes her family's participation in her love of moths and describes the friendships she made in the pursuit of these beautiful insects. It is a window into her personality and her passion for nature. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A wonderful book that exposes the wonders of the small.
A fantastic book very much along the lines of Sigurd Olson's brilliant nature prose and yet not far from Aldo Leopold's writings. A must if you like or have any interest in sound or insects. You'll never listen to the world outside the same way again!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

There is a story, possibly apocryphal, that an English cleric asked the noted evolutionist J.B.S. Haldane what could be inferred about the Creator from the works of nature. Haldane is reported to have replied, "An inordinate fondness for beetles."

! In fact, approximately one-fifth of all known species are beetles--350,000 and growing (and yours truly even discovered a beetle species in 1986)--yet most people know very little about this remarkable group of organisms. This is one of the best coffee-table books I have ever seen about the creepy critters, and the full-color photos of iridescent,brightly colored, or architecturally elaboratebeetle gems is sure to instill an inordinate fondness for beetles among children, artists, and anyone with a love of nature. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Gorgeous and well-written--recommended
The photographs by Lisa Watson are the first thing to catch your eye about this beautifully produced book. The majority are of museum specimens, which oddly is what makes the pictures so attractive: we're used to seeing high quality pictures of wildlife, but the displays here juxtapose many different beetles and have more impact than wildlife shots would.

The pictures are beautiful but the text is high-quality too. The authors start by reciting some statistics on the number of beetle species. Linnaeus, two hundred and fifty years ago, described 654 species; and Fabricius added another 4,112 species between 1775 and 1801. By 1876 Gemminger and von Harold's catalog contained nearly 77,000 species; and when Junk and Schenkling's catalogue was completed, in 1940, it listed nearly 221,500 species. It's now estimated that there are 350,000 described beetle species. However, recent work by Terry Erwin, extrapolating from detailed studies of a small area, suggests that there are more than eight *million* species of beetle just in the tropics!

The rest of the book is a fairly detailed survey of beetles in all their aspects. The authors are enthusiasts as well as experts, and it shows in their writing, which is crisp, clear and engaging. They cover beetle anatomy, fossilized beetles, habitats and niches, the beetle life cycle, and mimicry. There is also substantial coverage of beetles and humans: naming, appearance in mythology, use as jewels (really!), a discussion of pest control, and use in education. The book has more scientific depth than is usual for a coffee table book, without sacrificing interest value.

There is a website that appears to be maintained by one of the authors (Evans) that contains some material from the book; I recommend you take a look if you are hesitating about buying this. I found it by searching for the book title using a standard search engine; when I looked it was on the Lorquin Entomological Society's website, but it may have moved.

Recommended.

Jaw-dropping beauty
This is one of the most gorgeous books I own. I look at these pictures, and I think that human beings could not dream up jewelry that touches the beauty of these creatures. It is utterly unbelievable! Every time I page through this book my jaw is open in disbelief. They are so breathtaking they almost bring tears to my eyes. Okay. Confession time. They HAVE brought tears to my eyes.

This book is stunning!
Not only does this book have absolutely gorgeous photographs of many species of beatles, the factual content of the book is also very good. Not dumbed down, yet not inaccesible by the general public. Overall Excellent!

By far one of the best books I have read about insects
I have read large numbers of insect books, and this is my absolute favorite. Cover to cover, it is an interesting and informative book. The photography is simply stunning and amazing, and the text is easy to read and well planned to cater to the well informed entomologist and amateur alike. It describes all aspects of beetle lives, with special emphasis on how many beetles there are in the world and how they effect human cultures in ways we rarely notice. Anyone who has any interest in beetles, insects in general, or excellent photography should get ahold of a copy of this book. I assure you that you won't regret it!

Fascinating natural history and wonderful photographs.
If a single example of every living species, plant and animal, were lined up, every fifth organism would be a beetle! This amazingly beautiful book combines fascinating natural history about the most common form of life on earth with spectacular photographs. Brings the appreciation of beetles closer to the way many of us already feel about birds, butterflies and wildflowers. Look closely--beauty lies beneath our feet. This is a coffee table art book simply in a class by itself. It is rich in content as well as beauty ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A fascinating read
I picked up a copy of this book in a used book store recently. I initially thought it was going to be a dry, scholarly tome that would put me to sleep in between interesting parts. I was wrong.

The book was fascinating. Crompton's dry British wit and side stories were very amusing. His descriptions of the spider behaviors brought them to life almost like they were human. However he never went overboard to where he ascribed human emotions or thoughts to them.

It's easy to find books that cover the topic in greater technical detail but I doubt if you could find a more entertaining book that manages to cover a great deal of information about spiders and their habits.

I fully intend to track down copies of Crompton's other books on Bees and Wasps. ... Read more