Reviews (5)

Yawn...
I don't know how this guy managed to make insects boring, but he did. Also, his prose is not at all engaging.

Great story!
At first blush, this might just sound like a book with stories about insects but its so much more than tyhat! The chapters weave into each other, starting in April with the cecropia moth emerging from the cocoon and ending in the last chapter with the cecropia again in hibernation for the winter.Thhroughout the chapeters, the seasons change and life changes with it.Honey bees emerge, insects reproduce, polliation happens, colonies grow, and then fall/winter return and hibernation/preparation for the next generation ensues.Its a really neat book.Also, there's a drawing at the bottom of each page of a moth in flight so if you flick the pages fast its like cartoon moth flying throyugh the air - really neat.The writing is conversational and enjoyable, other neat authors like E.O. Wilson are referenced, there are a few poems/quotes sprinkled in.I learned a lot while ready but was also bitten by the bug to learn even more.I'm fascinated by the change in seasons and all that happens in our natural world!Definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in reading through the seasons from an insects' perspective.Lots of different insects talked about throughout.

Readable, worthwhile
This is the third book by Dr. Waldbauer I've read. I continue to thoroughly enjoy his books. The book is divided into chapters that follow insect activities through a year. Each chapter covers a type of activity that is appropriate for the time of year, such as breeding, getting enough to eat, hiding out, keeping warm (these are my paraphrases, not actual chapter titles).
The book covers a variety of different species. It's extremely readable. Only disadvantages I can see are that it is not organized well for reference, and it may not offer as much depth as you want if you are particularly intrigued with one of the dozens of subjects he discusses. You'll have to go to other sources for an all-in-one-place focus on one species. On the other hand, the book makes no pretense of being a comprehensive reference work--It is a readable overview, and never pretends to be anything else. So if that's what you are looking for, this book will serve very well.

Recommended for anyone with a non-academic interest in the subject.

"It was not until 1989 that humans first communicated
with honey bees through the dancing and buzzing of a robot bee."

Five stars for that sentence all by itself.

Beautifully written, awakening a sense of wonder
This was the first book I'd read devoted to insects, and I was so enthralled that I've gone on to read a good many others on the subject. Still, _Insects through the Seasons_ remains my favorite "bug"book.Waldbauer's prose is clear and yet has a lyricism that surprised me. He packs an incredible amount of interesting information into the book,yet I was never overwhelmed.Best of all, his enthusiasm is infectious. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Honeybee behaviour
Honey bees are among the most complex of the extant protostomes, and their behavior and central nervous system has been studied in some detail. This easy to read reference describes beekeeping, the life cycle of the bees and the bee hive, communication by pheromes, communication by sound, communication by the bee's 'dance language', navigation by a sun 'compass', navigation by a polarized light 'compass', navigation by landmarks, possible navigation by a magnetic 'compass', flower learning and memory, matching from memory, visual memory, and the possibility of limited insight in bees.

A surprisingly interesting study of bees and animal learning
The authors, in laying out an engaging and thorough discussion of bees, their 'honey dance', and other elements of highly structured language, illuminate the broader question of how animals experience and learn. The folklore -- and wonderful pictures -- will make this book a pleasure for nature lovers, while students of language and of the scientific process will enjoy it for the window it provides into how classical experiments are used to probe cognition and learning. Despite the apparently narrow scope of the title, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys popular-press books on science: there's a lot of wonderful material here, and its not hard to get at and enjoy. ... Read more

Book Description

Extraordinary in the diversity of their lifestyles, insect parasitoids have become extremely important study organisms in the field of population biology, and they are the most frequently used agents in the biological control of insect pests. This book presents the ideas of seventeen international specialists, providing the reader not only with an overview but also with lively discussions of the most salient questions pertaining to the field today and prescriptions for avenues of future research.

After a general introduction, the book divides into three main sections: population dynamics, population diversity, and population applications. The first section covers gaps in our knowledge in parasitoid behavior, parasitoid persistence, and how space and landscape affect dynamics. The contributions on population diversity consider how evolution has molded parasitoid populations and communities. The final section calls for novel approaches toward resolving the enigma of success in biological control and questions why parasitoids have been largely neglected in conservation biology. Parasitoid Population Biology will likely be an important influence on research well into the twenty-first century and will provoke discussion amongst parasitoid biologists and population biologists.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are Carlos Bernstein, Jacques Brodeur, Jerome Casas, H.C.J. Godfray, Susan Harrison, Alan Hastings, Bradford A. Hawkins, George E. Heimpel, Marcel Holyoak, Nick Mills, Bernard D. Roitberg, Jens Roland, Michael R. Strand, Teja Tscharntke, and Minus van Baalen. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Reach for Wasp Farm before the can of Raid!
Many of us associate wasps with the uninvited guests at the family outing. Politely requesting the common yellow jacket to disarm and retreat never seemed to produce the desired result. In a flash, you are the recipient of a wound inflicted by an elite stinger. This imagery may conjure feelings of pain for us commoners; however, longtime entomologist Howard Ensign Evans delivers the elixir by educating his readers on the intricacies of wasp life.

In his book, Wasp Farm, Evans takes us to a place where wasps, not humans, are the ultimate landscape engineers. By sharing his own personal experiences, the author brings us into their world, an 8-acre parcel of meadows, sandpits and forest in upstate New York. He explores the life of these conundrums through his own observations of the habitats in which they live, their physical features, behaviors, and lives as predator and prey. A variety of topics are covered, but wasp evolution is the major theme. Through logical analysis and contemplation, not necessarily scientific means, the author makes inferences and generalizations about wasp evolution and provides numerous examples of radiation and convergence.

The chapters in Wasp Farm are organized into a logical format and each serves as a prelude to the next. Evans begins with a preliminary discussion of Wasp Farm and how it came to be. He effectively describes primitive wasps in the early chapters. For example, Priocnemis minorata (hunter of spiders) is common in the Northeastern states and emerges from its winter slumber in early April. It begins the new season by burrowing deep into the forest floor and spends much of its life hunting for spiders. Its stinger is not used primarily for defense, but instead acts as an apparatus for administering tranquilizers during the final phase of the hunt. The venom temporarily paralyzes a spider just long enough for her brood to feed on a living organism. Some spiders have been kept alive for 33 days by a single sting! Conversely, Cipogon sayi nests in pre-existing burrows of wood where it constructs a series of cells for its progeny. As the chapters progress, more advanced species of wasp are introduced and compared to the relatively primitive species in terms of similarity and improvement. Cleptoparasitic wasps, such as Evagetes parvus, need not hunt for spiders, but instead another species of wasp. By inconspicuously infiltrating the nest of Anoplius marginatus, E. parvus replaces the egg of A. marginatus with its own. Once the larva emerges, it will feast on the incapacitated spider. The final chapters conclude with the most advanced of the wasp species, the socialites: paper wasps and yellow jackets.

Prior to reading Wasp Farm, I assumed that all wasps behaved in an identical manner and had the propensity to sting at first sight. Fortunately, Evans enlightens and provides us with a deeper understanding of wasps. Most species of wasp are in fact solitary and go about their business without a care for humans. Once their emergence in either early Spring or Summer, the sexes mate and the male is virtually useless thereafter. Sounding familiar? Females rule this world and bare the responsibility of providing for the persistence of the species by digging burrows, hunting, laying eggs and much more. If it were up to the males, most wasp species would surely perish. Interestingly, the stinger that humans associate with pain is actually a modified egg-laying apparatus. Presumably, it evolved over millions of years through natural selection and evolution. If you are allergic to the wasp venom, it is certainly the female that you are leery of. Only certain male wasps have evolved a pseudo stinger, but fear not. Unlike their female counterparts, their stinger did not evolve from an egg laying apparatus and therefore lacks venom glands. Some wasps even utilize tools and all species have an interesting mechanism for sex determination. Read this book and you too can impress others with your newfound knowledge.

Howard Ensign Evans received a master's degree in entomology and a Ph.D. in insect taxonomy. He has written a number of articles for scientific journals and was also curator at the Harvard Museum of Zoology. He has successfully written a number other books pertaining to wasps. Another recommended title is Studies on the larvae of digger wasps (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae).

Anyone who is turned off by insects, particularly wasps, should read this book. It will certainly provide a refreshing point of view and newfound appreciation for these creatures and the ecological niches they fulfill. Wasp Farm is a clearly written masterpiece that will appeal to all ages, both male and female. Compared to other books in Biology that are highly structured and esoteric in speech, Wasp Farm grasps the reader's attention through the use of clear, concise language in addition to the effective use of illustrations and photographs. You will surely expand your insect knowledge and vocabulary for the author frequently uses Latin terminology. Do not fret if you are unfamiliar with the language, for the end of each chapter provides adequate definitions for each genus and species.

This book succeeds in convincing one that they need not spend any money to see unique life forms on this Earth. By venturing into one's own surroundings, you can explore the fascinating lives of these creatures and revel in their complexity.

Everything you need to know about Wasps!
Wasps are all around during the summer months here in Virginia and I was curious about them so I went in search of a book to learn more and found this one - glad I did.It hasore information that I could have guessed on wasps - It talks to what they eat, how different wasps form "nests/burrows", howthey carry food, why they're a beneficial insect, and even some wasp lore.Latin names are used when discussing different wasps.The text is easy to read, conversational most.I enjoyed it and gota lot out of the many details. It has photos and drawings too. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent for benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring
This excellent little wire-bound book is particularly easy to use in the field--and it lies flat on a lab bench.The book provides brief sections on introduction to aquatic insects, marine insects, frequently encountered non-insects, insect morphology, collecting and preserving, use of aquatic insects in water quality work, a section on how to use the book, and references.The bulk of the book consists of a key to orders followed by a series of keys to families or, in some cases, subfamilies.For the benefit of amateurs like myself, drawings are numerous and clear and a good deal of information about distribution, ecology, and appearance is provided in the keys.If one is getting started in benthic macroinvertebrate surveys or has students doing high school science projects on aquatic insects, this little book provides a lot of bang for the buck.

Aquatic insects and biological monitoring
Lehmkuhl does an excellent job with discription of life cycles, morphology, and how insects are used in biological monitoring. The bibliography is extensive and organized by major family and order. This is a good text for beginning aquatic biologists and teachers that want to start pollution monitoring of streams and rivers, however I would have liked to have seen more detail on collection methods, specifically kick net methods. Kick nets are build specifically for this method of collection and provide a better means than the "window screen" method described. It would have also been nice to go into the methodology of where and how to perform sampling. The only other improvement I would make would to have included more drawings of entire insects(ie. various genera and species of Plecoptera) and some photographs would have been a nice supplement as well. Otherwise a very well done and helpful text.

Thomas Smith Environmental Technology Instructor River Bend Career and Tech. Center ... Read more

Book Description

Often referred to as the butterflies of the beetle world, the active and brilliantly colored tiger beetles are the most recognizable and sought-after group of beetles in the field.

Countless hours of intensive field work culminate in this illustrated and comprehensive field guide to tiger beetles in Florida and the eastern United States. For every species, Paul Choate provides color photographs of living specimens and habitats (227 in all) taken in the wild, biological notes, and 70 detailed maps indicating the species' distribution ranges. A traditional identification key is included for those wishing to identify specimens using morphological criteria. The guide also contains an overview of the effects of Florida's geological history on the present-day distributions of the tiger beetles, a brief section for nature photographers, a discussion of the current conservation issues regarding these beetles, and an extensive reference list for those wishing to delve into more detail.

Unlike previous field guides, which have been both technical in nature and limited in range, Choate's guide serves both specialist and nonspecialist alike in identifying tiger beetles throughout Florida and the eastern United States. Beetle enthusiasts and collectors, entomologists, biologists, naturalists, and nature photographers will find this guide a must for the identification, collection, and research of these prized beetles. ... Read more

Book Description

Understanding the Infinite in the Small is less a book about insect biology and behavior than it is about reinventing ourselves as a non-hostile species. It is a unique psychological and spiritual perspective on insects and the recasting of our relationship to this Lilliputian world. The popular culture never rises above issues of power. It is in this mode then that we are caught between opposites: either we kill the insects, or we are defeated by them. We rarely see a third possibility. We rarely put down our weapons long enough to consider the effect we might have if we entered their world with empathy and compassion. Perhaps we underestimate the powers of providence that would suddenly appear if we could align ourselves with the earth and the small creatures that serve it so faithfully.It's time to try. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The Voice of the Infinite is MAGICAL - a MUST-READ!!!!
I can't stress enough how much I love this book. It would be almost impossible to pick favorite stories, as I truly loved them all.

In trying to at least pick a few that especially touched me, I think Sam Rodgers' Bees truly was one that brought about very deep emotional feelings to me.

Also, A Message from the Monarchs was a beautiful, tender, moving story.

The facts about insects were astounding!!! The more I read in the book, the more I found out how LITTLE I knew about these other nations!!!! (One such point: Ants being harvesters of turquoise!)

Even though I have grown over the years to respect and admire insects, this book enlightened me and educated me tremendously, and it has made my appreciation and reverence for them grow to even greater lengths!!!

And, in reading this book, I learned an awful lot about myself.

I just cannot praise Joanne Lauck enough for writing this remarkable, insightful, irresistible book about our fellow earth passengers!!

I wish so much that this book would be required reading in the school system!!!

Insects as Messengers
The Voice of the Infinite in the Small has opened up vast new understandings in my mind and psyche, about the beauty, dignity and yes, the sacred nature of the Insect Kingdom. Joanne Lauck holds a mirror up to the unnatural aversion, the hatred, and the venomous attacks by human culture on that which it cannot manipulate and control. She reveals how afraid we have become of a genuine give and take with our fellow species and with natural systems in general. This is the life threatening Crisis of our time.

Lauck also points out with tremendous richness of reference, from Aboriginal myth to current expressions of the New Sciences, how the insect kingdom can reflect and communicate the Natural Intelligence that pervades all- if encountered with CLEAR, RESPECTFUL INTENT. This book is amazingly detailed and thorough. It is an example of a powerful intellect placed in the service of wholeness and the original, natural self we are longing to recover for our human survival and ultimate success. I could feel the peace surround me and the love rush in when absorbing these ideas. May this book be circulated, appreciated, amplified throughout the world! It is powerful medicine in a dark and dangerous time.

A wonderful book--way ahead of its time
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time--and as a professional book editor, I read a lot of books. It is enlightening, entertaining, and very progressive.

A must read..
I have just read "The Voice of the Infinite in the Small" by Joanne Lauck. This book on insects is spellbinding. How can a book on insects be spellbinding? Insects... boring, right? Wrong! Not only does Joanne write eloquently she offers surprises on every page. New ways to look at the world of insects, not from the prelearned ways of our youth. She does not bore us with scientific jargon that only an enthomoligist would love. She offers the reader with a new look at how insects live in harmony with the earth and how we interact with them. There are those of us that produce such wonderful work. Joanne has done just that here. "The Voice of the Infinite and the Small" should be required reading for every school teacher/educator in Canada and the USA.

Lily-Dawn

A Book That Will Change Your View of the World
This wonderfully researched book is one of those books that comes along now and then that both can change your view of the world and confirm intuitions that had been buried. Respect and compassion toward all living things is makes the world a better place and us better people. Such compassion thus fulfills two of the major responsibilities of every human being on earth. I love Ms. Lauck for the vision, courage, and compassion which made it possible for her to write this book, which is destined to become a classic. Whether it becomes a best-seller or simply a perennial underground classic (like the One Straw Revolution) I cannot predict. But "The Voice of the Infinite in the Small" is going to be around for many years - until its message becomes apparent to us in the Western world. ... Read more

Book Description

A Wonderful Journey into the Insect World through Literature, Science, Art, and Popular Culture Aristotle on metamorphosis

• Alfred Russel Wallace on the rare butterflies of the Malay Archipelago
• Jean-Henri Fabre on the art of the dung beetle
• Dave Barry on naming the U.S. Official National Insect
• Charles Darwin on seagoing insects
• William Beebe on an army ant invasion
• Kevin Kelly on bee—and human—swarming
• Jonathan Schell on postnuclear insect survival
• Gary Larson on when insects take over
• May Berenbaum on maggots and murderers
• Henry David Thoreau on race wars among the ants
• Thomas Eisner on stealth bugs
• David George Gordon on appreciating the lowly cockroach
• Maurice Maeterlinck on the queen-bees wedding
• Edward O. Wilson on insect societies

…plus many other essays, illustrations, cartoons, screenplays, poems, recipes, tales, and observations on insect life.

Reviews (4)

Definitely interesting
This is such a diverse book - each entry is pretty short so you can pick up the book for a short read. There are some humorous parts, some dense parts, lots of interesting facts. Each entry has a short intro by the author to give some context to who the writer of the piece was and sometimes a bit of background on the essay itself. There are some neat drawings too (grasshoppers through metamorphosis, moth ears, a walking stick to name a few) There's lots of variety in terms of subjects covered ranging from butterflies to bees to aphids to earwigs to ants, wasps and more. Defiintely a good book for anyone interested in insects and it would make an especially nice gift since the content is so unusual.

Unusual and interesting
This book is a collection of short pieces about every conceivable type of insect. A few are complete essays, but most are excerpts from longer works. At least one is a one-panel Gary Larson cartoon!

Most of the selections are entertaining, or at least interesting. Many are records of direct observation by naturalists in the 19th or early 20th Centuries. Usually they have some distinguishing feature such as freakish behavior, first observation, or an exceptionally interesting experiment included.

This is not a scientific book on insects--Although many of the authors are scientists, the excerpts don't fit together to make a textbook or organized survey of insects. What it is is very interesting and entertaining--A good bathroom or bedside book for the insect-lover. Definitely do not choose it as your first or only book in trying to learn about insects, but it makes a good addition to the insect library of an enthusiast.

An entertaining and comprehensive book
If you're interested in insects, this book is for you. An excellent collection of a a large quantity of writings and other materials, all about insects. Good bedside reading, as each excerpt is relatively short.

A cornucopia of creepy-crawlies
This is a beautifully and cleverly edited eclectic collection of stories, articles, poems, scientific treatises, and even cartoons about insects. There are quaint stories from the eighteenth century, studious articles from the nineteenth, and modern selections from such twentieth century experts as Edward O. Wilson, Roger B. Swain. Karl von Frisch, May Berenbaum, Harold Oldroyd and others. Charles Darwin is represented, Aristotle, Alfred Russel Wallace, Thoreau, even the Bible makes an appearance. There are selections from a novella, A.S. Byatt's "Morpho Eugenia"; poems, Wordsworth's "To a Butterfly," Robert Burns's "To a Louse"; and even a bit of a movie, THEM! (1954). Obviously, editors, Hoyt and Schultz are as intent at entertaining as informing. You'll find dozens of different insects here, from house flies and ants to dung beetles and glow-worms to ticks, wasps, silverfish, etc. Each selection is presented with a short note from the editors and followed by a bibliographical entry. There is an index of authors and one of subjects. The selections are collected under various heading, e.g., "Insects Praised," "Insects Reviled," "Insect Architecture," etc. The sheer breath of insect behavior presented here is unnerving: How multifarious are the realities of life! Noteworthy is the meticulous care taken with the editing and proofreading. This is a good and strange read. ... Read more

Book Description

This classic account of insect behavior shows some surprising similarities to human interactions.

“The patience and the nicety of M. Fabre’s observations are indeed amazing.His eyes see, and they see magical marvels.” – Daily Express

Considered "The Homer of Insects," Fabre's work laid the foundation for virtually all subsequent work in the field of entomology.

Jean-Henri Fabre (1823-1915) is well known for his popularization of insect natural history, especially in the ten volumes of Souvenirs Entomoligiques. Although a reclusive amateur, with no scientific training, he was an acute observer of insect behavior. He combined his observations (most made in his own backyard) with a humanistic writing style that made his books popular, at least later in his life; during most of his life, the successive volumes of Souvenirs Entomologiques attracted only mild attention. Fabre was 84 when the last volume appeared, and soon afterward he was "discovered." He was elected to numerous scientific societies, provided a government pension, and even the President of France came to visit him. ... Read more