Product 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

Customer Reviews (23)

Handy Identification tool
Compact little guide and very useful in the field and in the laboratory. Students find the book easy to use.

BEST SINGLE GUIDE ON THE MARKET - READ THIS AND OTHER REVIEW BEFORE YOU PURCHASE IT.
I have quite a collection of the Peterson Filed Guides and have been using them since the early 1950s; the first being his field guide to birds.As to absolute usefulness, I find these books to have been extremely consistent throughout the years.Peterson has probably done more to encourage budding naturalists since the 1930s than any other individual in our country; indeed, probably the world.With this guide he has not let us down.

First, the guide I am reviewing here is the reprint of the 1970 guide, which I believe was published around 1974 by Borror and White.I am not sure about the mention of several reviewers that there are no color prints in this edition asthe one in front of me has 142 wonderfully done paintings and 1300 drawings.This little field guide covers 579 of the insect families and has at least one illustration of each of these families.The book is set up in the standard Peterson format and once you get use to it, make finding the insect you are trying to identify quite easy.It uses the trade mark "arrow system" to indicate the particular feature of the insect that make it unique to others.

Now I note that there is some disappointment for some who reviewed this work.I can understand that completely, but feel this disappointment is the product of not realizing just how broad an area that any guide to insects must cover.At present there are somewhere between 90,000 thousand and 100,000 species and subspecies of insect in North American (not counting Mexico, which is a realm unto its own), and this number keep climbing year after year as new species are discovered or change range or are introduced from afar.If it were possible to create a field guide that covered all of these insects, and covered them to the point of easy identification, the volume would be so large that it would make it impossible to carry.I for one doubt if a guide, portable or not, will ever exists. That is one of the fascinations of collecting, spotting, photographing or identifying these amazing creatures.Every time you think you have "seen it all," you are quickly proven wrong.I am certainly not an expert in this area, and I too have spent hours trying in vain to identify insects in only one small family, i.e. beetles.And trust me folks, I have really a lot of books on the subject!No one guide can fill all needs.

No, this field guide was written for the amateur who is curious about the world around him or her.It will certainly not win you a degree in entomology by reading it.What it will do though, is give you a starting point.I can think of no better single volume to give to a young person interested in the study of insects.I suspect that many of our PhDs working in this field got their start with this field guide, used it and were led to bigger and better things.That is the main value of this book in my opinion.

For those that are more interested in the study of insects, this work can act as a spring board.It will certainly point you in the right direction as far as family and species goes.I know that I can find a beetle, identify what order and family it belongs to using this guide, and then hit my larger collection of books at home, go online, or go to the nearby university library and find just what I want.

Each picture and each drawing in this work is meticulously done and the written description is actually readable for the lay person.One of the nice things about this work is that you can learn oh so much from it and actually never have to lay your eyes on a living creature.There is truly a wealth of information here for the curious.

This work includes a very nice glossary that explains, quite well I might say, the technical terms as to insect anatomy.This alone is worth the read for the interested.Latin names are used along with the common name of each insect addressed.This is extremely helpful...no, it is almost a must, if you want to do further research of a critter you have found crawling across your bedroom floor or across your forehead at night while camping.This is one of the guides that is always packed with me when I take one of my frequent trips into the bush.You can almost always stick one more book or one more dog in your truck if you really try.

Like all of the Peterson Guides, this one is well put together, tough, and easy to pack.There are also a plethora of other guides which are more family specific, i.e. beetles, moths, butterflies, etc. for those that want even more or have a more specific area of interest like me.

Bottom Line:You are NOT going to be able to find any one single guide that will identify all of the insects in North America...for that matter even in your back yard. A guide such as this simply does not exsist and probably never will.But for a good general starting point, this one simply cannot be beat.

I do highly recommend this guide.

A Field Guide to Insects
A good simple introduction to insects and a handy pocket book size, easy too carry in the field.

no phtoraphs
I was disappointed.The guide, although complete in many respects, has only black and white drawings.Also there were little in terms of interesting details about the insects, items such as folksy stories or enjoyable tidbits of knowledge.It was more of a science book for classroom.

Another Well Done Peterson Guide
This book is just another in the long line of Peterson Field Guides that provides good concise information of key characteristics to help identify the myriad of families of insects.Except for a few color plates, the majority is shown in black and white, so if you are looking for a book to identify strictly on sight, this might not be the book for you.I recommed using this book in concert with the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America which lacks some of the detailed identification characteristics, but uses photographs for all of it's insects. ... Read more

Product Description
The first-ever reference to the sign left by insects and other North American invertebrates includes descriptions and almost 1,000 color photos of tracks, egg cases, nests, feeding signs, galls, webs, burrows, and signs of predation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Invertebrate mysteries revealed
An impressive accomplishment by the authors.Unique subject matter.Identifies and explains myriad invertebrate signs, constructions, traces encountered in the micro landscape that are so often overlooked or ignored.Extremely informative.Filled with intriguing detail and excellent photo color illustrations.Very readable.

Book review
Totally complete with lots of picture data to really get a feel of seeing and comparing. Very complete

The Guidebook We've Been Waiting For!
When you spot an insect or other creature, there are any number of guidebooks that will help you identify it. But where do you turn when you see only the signs that an unknown something has been there?At last, here is the book for you!Whether it is a mass of eggs, a silk structure, an odd hole in the ground or in a tree, a tiny shed skin, a damaged plant or even a pile of droppings, you will probably be able to find the cause.
The book is set up in easy-to-use sections such as Eggs & Egg Cases, Webs & Other Silk Constructions, Burrows & Mounds, Tracks & Trails and a lot more,includingmany signs found in aquatic habitats. For those fond of forensic police shows, this book will even help yousolve the mystery of what killed the dead invertebrate you found.
Pupae, outside of those of common butterflies and moths, are often ignored in many guidebooks. Although they are part of insect life cycles rather than "signs," many pupae are pictured, including those of less-known insect groups.
The book is beautifully-illustrated with clear color photographs, and notes on the lives of the covered organisms are included.
This book should be a must for everyfield biologist, science teacher, extension agent, scout leader and camp counselor and should be on the shelf of every library.It is also a wonderful source of information and enjoyment for anyone with a love for nature and a sense of curiosity and wonder.

Excellent Addition for Naturalist's Library
This is an excellent beginning to a collection of tracking and animal sign books for naturalists and nature lovers in North America. It has a little of everything about invertebrates of all kinds in it, enough to satisfy the curiosity of most beginners like me and, I suspect, even a few of the experts. It certainly will add a great deal of knowledge to any library on nature and the critters we might encounter outdoors. And it especially focuses on the ones you'll most likely see rather than those rare invertebrates you might only see once in your lifetime. And the habitat coverage is vast, I don't think there is anything lacking, even the seashore! I love this book and am going to purchase a copy for my children's Nature Club. It's user friendly enough that even my elementary-age club members will be able to use it. Combined with some of the other excellent books on tracking the vertebrate species, like the ones by Elbroch and Rezendes, there won't be much you can't identify on your outdoor treks.

This book even includes a bit of the natural history of each of the creatures whose signs it identifies; and with color photos throughout! Just what you need to get you started toward learning more about these creatures. Take advantage of the "Look Inside!" option and view the table of contents, index and other sample pages for yourself. I was quickly able to indentify the coccoon of the polyphemus moth I found under one of my oaks some time ago...something I couldn't find much information on nor photos of in any of my other resources. Can't say enough about this wonderful reference. Added to a reasonably complete library of field guides or books on insects and other American invertebrates, this will give you that additional boost you've been looking for. It will quickly become one of your most-used and favorite references. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (20)

Never got book
After I had paid for this book, I was told it was not available so I never got it.I think they should have known that it was not available BEFORE the money was taken out of my account!

Great photos, well organized
This book is just what I had hoped it would be.The photos are well done and are placed next to the description of the creatures that they illustrate, unlike some other guides which require constant flipping between the plates and the text.The organization by type of insect (or spider) is helpful.I have not found every insect that I have looked for, but that is probably inevitable in a book of this size.After considering several other guides, I'm glad that I chose this one.

Easy to Use for Amateurs!(High School Biology)
After reviewing several versions of insect field guides(including Peterson and Nat. Audubon), this is the easiest to use for me.
I got this product for my biology collection for this year.
I recommend that if you are an amateur(like me!), doing a biology collection, buy this guide!

Great book
I call this my book of knowledge.Great pictures and descriptions and the waxy cover means it will last for a very long time.

fabulous
This book kept several in my family mesmerized at Christmas and still does, a month later.Great book.Very informative and easy to understand and read. ... Read more

Product Description

Garden Insects of North America is the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the common insects and mites affecting yard and garden plants in North America. In a manner no previous book has come close to achieving, through full-color photos and concise, clear, scientifically accurate text, it describes the vast majority of species associated with shade trees and shrubs, turfgrass, flowers and ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruits--1,420 of them, including crickets, katydids, fruit flies, mealybugs, moths, maggots, borers, aphids, ants, bees, and many, many more. For particularly abundant bugs adept at damaging garden plants, management tips are also included. Covering all of the continental United States and Canada, this is the definitive one-volume resource for amateur gardeners, insect lovers, and professional entomologists alike.

To ease identification, the book is organized by plant area affected (e.g., foliage, flowers, stems) and within that, by taxa. Close to a third of the species are primarily leaf chewers, with about the same number of sap suckers. Multiple photos of various life stages and typical plant symptoms are included for key species. The text, on the facing page, provides basic information on host plants, characteristic damage caused to plants, distribution, life history, habits, and, where necessary, how to keep "pests" in check--in short, the essentials to better understanding, appreciating, and tolerating these creatures.

Whether managing, studying, or simply observing insects, identification is the first step--and this book is the key. With it in hand, the marvelous microcosm right outside the house finally comes fully into view.

• Describes more than 1,400 species--twice as many as in any other field guide
• Full-color photos for most species--more than five times the number in most comparable guides
• Up-to-date pest management tips
• Organized by plant area affected and by taxa for easy identification
• Covers the continental United States and Canada
• Provides species level treatment of all insects and mites important to gardens
• Illustrates all life stages of key garden insects and commonly associated plant injuries
• Concise, clear, scientifically accurate text
• Comprehensive and user-friendly

Customer Reviews (34)

a good reference for the gardener
I had this book for about three days when a flock of bugs turned up in my back yard. I looked them up in the book; read what they eat and decided nothing needed to be done. A good book for the home gardener, who should not spread poisonous insecticides indiscriminately.

A Great Gardening Resource
This is a very comprehensive compilation.Thorough and well-organized,with great photographs showing variations of the insects' forms and stages of development, this book will be a standard for gardeners for many years.

Master Gardener Hotline Resource Library Selection
Although the volume is not a hardcover it is of durable material. Excellent photographs. This should be a valuable resource for the many questions that are presented to the Master Gardener Hotline Volunteers for identification.

Good bugs, Bad bugs
This book was on the suggested reading list for a Master Gardener class.I have found it to be very interesting and helpful in helping me to identify the "bad" bugs that invade and destroy my gardens and the "good bugs" that will help protect my garden.I am looking forward to warm, sunny weather and a chance to go play in the dirt!

Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bug
Another winner by Dr. Whitney Cranshaw.Excellent reference text for the office, laboratory, or library.Full of color photos and useful diagnostic and life history information.A worthy purchase. ... Read more

Product 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

Customer Reviews (9)

wrong book sent
I did not get the book I ordered. So I have no review of this book Seashores, Idid not order . I ordered Petersons First Guide To Insects of North America.

Not what I ordered
I thought I had ordered the original guide for the same price but was sent this book.Unfortunetly I had thrown out the invoice and did not realize until a few days later that it was a kids book.So I reordered the book I really needed for my class, as a reference book.

abridgedverison
This is not the full version of the peterson's guide, but it is nice and light to carry with you while collecting.

Great Reference Guide
I am always curious what things are, bugs, birds, etc., and this guide works great for me.There are larger, more complete guides available, however, I have yet to find a bug I couldn't find in this text.It is small and lightweight, perfect for camping or a hike in the woods.It fits great in my glove box where it stays for fast identification.

Bugs in your pocket
Like to know what knid of insect that was but all those big heavy books are a pain to carry. This little book is just the thing for your walk or trip. It is easy to look up an insect with over 200 common insects of North America inside. It makes a great gift too, kids or adult will all enjoy this handy little book. Don't get just one! ... Read more

Product Description
Spiders, bugs, moths, butterflies, beetles, bees, flies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and many other insects are detailed in more than 700 full-color photographs visually arranged by shape and color. Descriptive text includes measurements, diagnostic details, and information on habitat, range, feeding habits, sounds or songs, flight period, web construction, life cycle, behaviors, folklore, and environmental impact. An illustrated key to the insect orders and detailed drawings of the parts of insects, spiders, and butterflies supplement this extensive coverage.Amazon.com Review
There are about 100,000 kinds of insects in North America, soobviously they can't have a field guide in the same way the 650species of birds do: something both portable and complete. TheNational Audubon Society has produced a remarkably usefulcompromise. This guide has photographs and descriptions of 550 insectspecies and 60 kinds of spiders. Most of the families of arthropods onthe continent are covered, as are all of the most common species. It'sa very useful resource for any North American naturalist, and the bestchoice for an adult who is not an expert entomologist. --Mary EllenCurtin ... Read more

Customer Reviews (53)

Book review: National Audobon Society Field guide to insects
The book was recieved in a timely manner in excellent condition. It is a very informative guide to Insects and spiders normallya seen in North America, goes well with the rest of the volumes I have which includes NA Mammals and birds, thanks!

You can always count on the National Audobon Society
This is a great book. I have the NAS bird field guide and the Mammells field guide as well. My only complaint is thatI wish that they would put photos of both the male and female on each of the species. There is such a difference in looks,, and it is very hard to identify a particular species sometimes without seeing both. I have had to go online with my sons several times allready to find out what type of spider we had found in our garage. It was a female Hobo Spider,, which defers from the male quite substantially. Same thing with the bird book.

Other than that,, bravo ! Love it.

field guide
I love these books. I have found plenty on critters that this book doesn't have, but I generally find with field guides, you need more than one. It is very handy, though, when in the field. Small and lightweight so it doesn't get in the way. Good to have around.

A good basic guide
These audubon guides are good basic guides. We got them to identify butterflies, insects and spiders in our midwestern back yard. It is often difficult to find the bugs we are looking for. We've had much more luck with Kenn Kaufman's "Field Guide to Insects of North America". In some ways it's more user friendly, with lots of bugs photos on one page and descriptions that are on the opposing text page. The Audubon guide is set up so that you have to flip back and forth between images in one section and text/description in another - which can be tedious - however, the Audubon descriptions are much more thorough than Kaufman's.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (National Audubon Society Field Guides)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (National Audubon Society Field Guides)
Great book thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
A detailed introduction to spiders and insects contains information about every major group of arachnids and insects, hundreds of thought-provoking facts, and full-color pictures and photographs." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

My daughter loves it.
I bought this book for my daughter who was afraid of bugs. She loves the book, now she thinks bugs are cute. She 'reads' this book at least once a day.

A great bug book for kids
My 6 year-old twins are just facinated with bugs of all kinds.This book has a lot of great pictures and information.My kids just love looking at it... Anytime we have company at our house, my kids get have to share this book with them.I highly recommend.

Bub Book
My 7-year old grandson is very interested in animals of all types.We originally rented this book from the library.He wanted it for our home library.He loves it and looks at it several timed a week.

toddler appropriate
My grandson, age 2 1/2 years old has a fascination with bugs. I purchase the book so I explore the world of insects with him. Now, we go in the garden looking for the insects you saw in the book.

As with most toddlers, he wants you to read the book over and over again. No problem! Each time I read it, I learn something new.

Daughter loves it!
Great illustration, nice weight and feel to book.Sturdy enough to withstand use by younger hands, but not too "high quality" that your afraid to let them touch it.Very pleased w/purchase and ideal for that 5-9 year old who loves their bugs! ... Read more

Product Description
First published in the 1950s by the late James Borror and Dwight Moore DeLong, this classic text, INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF INSECTS 7TH EDITION, leads the market by combining the study of insects with clear and current insect identification. In this new edition, Johnson and Triplehorn supply updated information on phylogeny using systematics while adding a greater emphasis on insect biology and evolution. This greater concentration on insect systematics necessitated many content changes. For example, a chapter has been added for a newly described order, the Mantophasmatodea, as well as a new chapter reclassifying Order Homoptera (Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Hoppers Psyllids) into Order Hemiptera (previously known as "bugs"). Nearly every order has been modified, sometimes substantially, to reflect new discoveries and scientific hypotheses. Many new families have been added throughout the book, some reflecting revised classifications, but many are the result of the discovery of new groups within the United States and Canada, particularly from the New World tropics. These include the families Platystictidae (Odonata), Mackenziellidae (Collembola), Mantoididae (Mantodea), and Fauriellidae (Thysanoptera), to name just a few. The results of molecular analyses are beginning to substantively contribute to the development of a robust and predictive classification. Thus, the phylogeny of insects has changed drastically from the last edition due to the incorporation of molecular data. The most conspicuous of these changes, for example, is the recognition that the order Strepsiptera is most closely related to the true flies (Diptera), rather than to the Coleoptera.Since it was first published in the 1950, this text has played an important role in understanding and preserving the diversity of the insect world. This title's long history, coupled with the authors' passion for currency and accuracy, make this book once again the classic text and reference ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Eveyone needs this book!!
Great book , in great shape. very excited to get it.There are a lot of valuable updates in the keys and a excellent buy!!

Book purchase
Product was in excellent shape as indicated.
I received the book quickly and would definitely do business with these people again.
thanks

REVIEW - Borror & DeLong
This is a keystone book that should be in every entomologist's library next to Chapman's The Insect: Structure & Function and Romorser & Stoffolano's The Science of Entomology.

Borror and Delong's Study of Insects
Great price...well over half off of the university's bookstore.Only black and white pictures and illustrations, but very thorough coverage of entomology.

Great for keying insects to family
As an amateur entomologist with interests in their taxonomy, this book was perfect for identifying insects to the family level.There are sections on insect morphology and ecology in the beginning to help the reader become familiar with entomological and taxonomic nomenclature, as well as sections and keys on Arthropoda as a whole, orders of arachnids, millipedes, and centipedes, and families of spiders, as well as the families of all orders of North American insects.A must-have for any insect collector's collection (of books anyway)! ... Read more

Product Description
Packed with over 650 crystal--clear photographs and illustrations with precise annotation to make identification sure and simple.Authoritative text, crystal--clear photography, and a systematic approach make this handbook the most comprehensive recognition guide to the insects, spiders, and other terrestrial arthropods of the world. Packed with photographs and illustrations of more than 550 insects and other arthropods, it is designed to cut through the process of identification, enabling you to recognize insects easily.Photo--Encyclopedic Approach: Focusing on over 300 of the main insect families, the Smithsonian Handbook of Insects, Spiders and Other Terrestrial Arthropods tackles the incredible diversity of this class. All 29 orders of insect are examined, as well as a representative selection of spiders and other terrestrial arthropods from around the world.Identification Made Easy: Written for beginners and enthusiasts alike, each entry combines a concise description with annotated photographs and illustrations to highlight the insect's chief characteristics, including physical features, life cycle, habitat, and larval stages. In addition, there is an explanation of what an insect is and a practical photographic identification key to the main insect groups, which guides the reader to the correct entries.Amazon.com Review
Dorling Kindersly publishing is known for their beautiful andinformative books, covering a huge range of topics, including scienceand nature. This DK insect handbook's lush photos and thoroughinformation make it an excellent beginning resource for theinsectophile. While not comprehensive enough to replace an entomologyhandbook, and not specific enough to be a perfect field guide,Insects rests comfortably in the handbook territory. Its sturdybinding and quick reference features make it a natural to take alongon family outings. Each page is lavished with full-color photo layoutsshowing close-up detail of major insect and arachnid groups, and theaccompanying text provides basic information on life cycles, ranges,special habits and features, and trivia.The author, GeorgeC. McGavin, is a respected entomologist specializing in insectecology. For quick identification of major bugs and arachnids, as wellas tips on how to observe terrestrial arthropods in nature, thishandbook can't be beat. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not worth the money for an adult!
I bought this book to gain a better understanding of bugs and insects in the US, first the book is not limited to the US, second there are no maps for quick identification of the insects population areas in the book, and third the coverage is very superficial and does not detail the beneficial and detremintal aspects of the insects identified.I would return the book if it wasn't worth the cost of return.

Wonderful, as you'd expect from a Smithsonian handbook!
These books are so helpful to use as references for painting.

Very clear photograhy. I would have liked a few close-up shots for some of the images perhaps, but otherwise a great book.

(Although I'll admit some of the inclusions in this book made my skin crawl!! I really just wanted the insects and not the spiders, but that's not the author's problem!)

Great guide--teach yourself to identify most insect families
This is really a nicely done guide and almost fits in my coat pocket.The pictures are fabulous and the insects are divided up into their respective families with very clear identifying traits.I'm really impressed, so much easy-to-use information in such a small book.This would be a great precursor to an entomology class.Some of my favorite critters are in the Psuedoscorpion order and are the cheliferids and chernetids, both of which look like tiny ticks with claws.So very cool.I actually found one once in Washington state--in my kitchen!It was very, very tiny.I digress.A book like this is handy if you are always finding insects and wondering what the heck you are looking at.A good value!

A great overview of insects
This book has a lot of useful information about insects. It describesbasic characteristics, life cycle, and much more. It also includes info onother terrestrial arthropods, such as spiders and centipedes. As a fieldguide, it focuses on families of insects, not species, which makes moresense because there are so many species that are hard to identify. Thereare great photographs and descritions as well. ... Read more

Product Description
Enjoy and Learn!
Expert Knowledge!
Easy-to-Read!

This handy guide to the most common, important and showy North American insects will help the novice begin a fascinating study.Includes:
A key to insect groups
Mature and immature forms
How insects grow and develop and what they eat
How to find and observe them

Full color pictures, nontechnical language, and up-to-date range maps make this a gem of a guide for beginners at any age.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Informative
This is a great book, gives lot of information.Was not expecting it to be a small book.It is very small compared to other books by the same company.

The Best of the Bug Books
Even if you didn't read a word of the educational information concerning the orders of insects this book is worth the photos alone. Outstanding as a field guide, the photos are excellent, and often include inset photos of larvae. Handy ID notes right on the photos point out details of the insect to make identification easier. A photo Table of Contents will help you zero right in on the order of the insect in question. This is not the only bug book I have, but by far the most used. Though featuring insects of all of North America, each photo and description tell you the range so you know if the insect you are questioning is even in your area. If you even have a mild interest in insects, this makes a great "picture book" to peruse, but for those who are seriously interested in ID'ing and learning it is an indispensable tool.

A lot of info in a small package
Price and size are what makes this guide so great. It provides a good overview of insects in a very portable format, particularly for my young daughter to put in her pocket before we explore the great outdoors.

The small size, however, means that the illustrations are not as large or detailed as we would prefer. It also limits the amount of specific information that can be included. We recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest and have found region-specific books (particularly from Lone Pine Publishers) to be superb.

I recommend this as a great resource at a very good price.

A wonderful book for even the youngest reader (3 years and up)
This is the first book I remember owning.Children are fasinated by insects and this book lets them see pictures of real insects which they can find them in their yards.I give a copy of this to anyone I know turning 3 or up.I have yet to have anyone NOT enjoy it.It is also a help to those childen (and moms) who fear bugs.It is a great way to teach respect for all creatures. Get this and an empty jar and you can have tons of fun with your child.

Still a Great Introduction to Insects for Young People
Almost the first book on insects that I ever acquired was a hardbound edition of this little guide in the early 1950s.Indeed, I wore out several copies before I graduated to Lutz's "Field Book of Insects" and later more up to date guides.While a bit behind in modern systematics, this guide still has enchanting pictures, mostly the same ones I poured over during my childhood.It was here I first caught the insect "bug" that eventually propelled me into a career in biological sciences. Zim's early "Golden Guide to Insects" was a magic carpet into the fantastic world of insects and I think that it must still be luring young people to at least appreciate the six-legged crowd. I know that the images in this book are still burned into my brain, especially that of the beautiful buckeye butterfly and the various horned scarab and carrion beetles.

I highly recommend this book for children as a first insect book, but I sort of wish they had kept the original yellow cover! ... Read more

Product Description
Ever since he was a wee mite (termite that is), Roberto wanted to be an architect. He longed to follow in the footsteps-all twelve of them-of such architectural greats as Hank Floyd Mite and Fleas van der Rohe. Discouraged by comments from family and friends that he is biting off more than he can chew, he decides to follow his dream all the way to the big, bug city. There he meets a slew of not-so-creepy crawly characters who spark in him the courage to build a community for them all. With quirky collage illustrations and witty text, the creator of the best-selling The Night I Followed the Dog, Private I. Guana, and When Pigasso Met Mootisse brings to life a funny and inspirational story to encourage readers of any age to reach for the stars.Amazon.com Review
"Even when Roberto was little, he went against the grain. Like most termites, he melted over maple, and pined for pine. Oak was okay, too. But Roberto didn't eat his food. He played with it."

Young Roberto has a burning desire to become an architect. Even when the other termites mock his ambition, Roberto is never derailed from his dream. So, like so many career-minded youth, this mite with a mission sets off for the big, buggy city. Here, sadly, he is thwarted by his heroes, Hank Floyd Mite and Fleas Van Der Rohe. But this inspired insect decides not to wallow in his sorrows but to help out other bugs with even greater problems. Soon, a fantastic, eclectic housing development is in the works. The mysterious architect chooses to remain anonymous, but ultimately can't avoid the grateful adulation of the carpenter ants, ladybugs, and house flies he has helped.

Nina Laden's fantastic collages use old catalog and magazine images, blueprints, cork veneer, and lots more, to create buildings, cities, and buggy creatures the likes of which you've never seen. The Leaning Tower of Pisa tilts away from the Empire State Building, with Gaudi's quirky sculptural edifices looming nearby. Some of the hilarious wordplay may fly over the heads of non-architects, but the overall humorous effect--and the go-for-your-goals message--will not be lost on anyone. For more charming and artistic pun-ishment, try Laden's When Pigasso Met Mootisse. (Ages 6 to 11) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Great Art Starter
As an art teacher, I am always looking for ways to fire up the students before we begin our project. This book was a big hit with k-2nd grade students. We talk about what an Architect does and what a neighborhood is as well as different kinds of insects along the way through the story. The collage illustrations are big and clear for an entire class to see well. The media is also helpful to tie into for a class project of a collage too! After the story the children are so happy and excited. When I ask, "Would you like to be an architect too?" The children all exclaim, "YES!" Great job Nina! Please write more art related books!

Good children's book.Good word play.
The book tells the story of a young termite aspiring to be an architect.The story and word play are entertaining to both children and adults.

Cute book
As an architect, I was so excited to find this book to give to my nephew.It introduces kids to the concept of an architect has cute references to the famous one like Mies.Cute story and illustrations.

Creative Book
This is a very sweet story with very unique illustrations.I am hoping it will spark the imagiination of my grandson and help him to identify and appreciate his mothers career path.

Great first book for baby architect
I found out about this book from a fellow architect who was looking for architecture related children's books for her children. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased it for another architect friend's baby shower and will continue to purchase it for other architect friends in the future, as well as for my own children when the time comes. The story is very cute, the names are clever and the illustrations are fun. The perfect book for a future architect. ... Read more

Product Description
Meet the wild world of common Texas insects with this colorful and thorough introduction. Now you can identify that critter that just crawled under your bed or landed in your backyard. This extensive guide is packed with 384 color photos, thousands of facts and figures, and dozens of illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Specific
This is an exccellent resource for both novice and seasoned gardeners.I have gardened in California for fifty years and just moved to Texas.

Has had every bug I wanted to identify so far
They say that everything in Texas either pricks, bites, or stings, and that isn't COMPLETELY true, but it's close.With this book in hand, you can identify your multi-legged assailant rapidly and accurately and decide whether you need hospitalization and an exterminator or just a Benadryl and a fly swatter.Besides, not all the bugs of Texas are bad bugs--they might still bite and sting, but YOU might not be the target species and the target species might be your enemy: look them up BEFORE you swat.

High-quality resource
I was impressed by the overall quality of this book.I wanted an easy-to-use resource book to identify the hundreds of insects I routinely see at my central Texas home, and that's what I got and more!The book was clearly organized with well written description of insects, and in center of book were 63 pages of beautiful, high-quality color photos of the 381 most common insects found in Texas.My only constructive suggestionwould be that the "Life Cycle" commentary did not always provide the life expectancy of specific insects.

Very Helpful
This book is very helpful in identifying common Texas insects.Our children love to look up bugs in this book.The only bad thing is having to flip back and forth from the color pictures to the description of the insect.Otherwise, a good book.

A Field Guide to Texas Insects
I found this book to extremely useful for quick field identifications. The pictures are great, as is the accompying descriptive text. The book is well organized so looking up a particular insect is easy. Also the book not onlydescribes various insects but also gives vital information about them, suchas their life cycles, impact on man and the enviroment, where they can befound, and what they eat. ... Read more

Product Description
Meticulously researched and illustrated with color photographs, Insects is a landmark reference book that is ideal for any naturalist or entomologist. To enhance exact identification of insects, the photographs in this encyclopedic reference were taken in the field -- and are not pinned specimens.

Insects enables readers to quickly and accurately identify most insects. The more than 50 pages of picture keys -- containing hundreds of illustrations -- lead to the appropriate chapter and specific photos to confirm identification. The keys are surprisingly comprehensive and easy for non-specialists to use.

Insects features: - Detailed chapters covering all insect orders and the insect families of eastern North America - Brief examination of common families of related terrestrial arthropods - 4,000 color photographs illustrating typical behaviors and key characteristics - 28 picture keys for quick and accurate insect identification- Expert guidance on observing, collecting and photographing insects

Almost 80 percent of all named animal species are insects and closely related arthropods. With millions of insect species still waiting to be discovered, humans are clearly a two-legged minority in an overwhelmingly six-legged world. This book is required reading for anyone interested in entomology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Useful for all of North America
Even though the book is designated to be for the Northeast US and Canada, it is useful for all of North America. Order and Family descriptions are excellent as well as the wealth of photographs. Excellent key and very good taxonomic descriptions. Very well researched. This is now one of my 3 favorite insect guides of the 25+ insect guides that I have. This book is for the casual as well as the professional insect aficionado. Also note that the book is getting harder to find at a reasonable price.

Insect photographer's dream guide!
This hefty tome has it all for the amateur student of entomology. No, it is not a portable "field guide", it is a reference you will return to time and again if you have any curiosity at all about the insect world. I have been using it to identify the bugs, flies, wasps etc. that I've encountered while doing nature macro photography. It is also a wonderful browsing book for those with a keen interest in science and nature, like myself. Very highly recommended.

Bugs
This is a quite interesting book with lots of pictures, that can help us easily find what we need. For bug lovers this is a "bible". To me, is just another important book to my research.

Excellent Introduction
With thousands of species of insects in eastern North America, a comprehensive guide would be too heavy to lift. But Marshall's book offers the next best thing: an excellent summary of the world of insects, with stunning photographs and usable charts that outline definitive characteristics of the various insect groups found in this part of the world. Each insect group is represented by an extensive group of photographs. Each group of photographs is preceded by its own well-written introductory section. And, together, the introductory sections amount to exactly what the book's title promises: an expert's insight into the natural history of the diverse groups of insects found in eastern North America. This is not a field guide. It's the book you go to after your field guide comes up empty.

Best Insect Book!
This is without a doubt the best insect book I've ever seen.It's a wonderful reference book for identifying those creatures, good or bad, that are eating your plants.In addition, it's also a great guide for determining that caterpillar that may or may not be a butterfly.I realize it's expensive but I know it's absolutely worth every penny.Get this book.I guarantee you won't be disappointed! ... Read more

Product Description
Find out all you ever wanted to know about insects when the Cat and company get an up-close view of life as a bug. Kids will learn how insects -- from the spittlebug to the honeybee to the moth -- see, smell, communicate, and pollinate, as well as sometimes pester and amaze and generally make life better for us humans. Catch the bug buzz with the Cat in the Hat and all his friends!Amazon.com Review
A hilarious introduction to the insect world, On BeyondBugs will have your preschooler giggling away while learning allkinds of interesting entomology facts. Answering questions like "whydo flies buzz?" and "how do bees communicate?" in the musical rhymeslong associated with him, Cat in the Hat makes a delightful tourguide. Who else could manage "ants are so strong they can lift thingsthat weigh over ten times their weight and they do it each day?" Thesturdy, easy-to-clean-cover makes this book a good choice even forvery young children. For those just beginning to read, thephonics-based repetitions are a big help. (Preschool to early reader)--Jill Lightner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Not Seuss
Don't be fooled into thinking these are Dr. Seuss books; they are knockoffs done after Geisel's death. The rhymes are not nearly as good as real Seuss; I stumble over the awkward lines every time I read it.

Love this book
My girls are 5 and 3 and I wanted a non-fiction learning book for them that would still capture their interest.This series of books has really done that.The rhyming keeps them engaged and they ask questions related to the content.I recommend this and the others in the series to parents looking for a good learning book.

All about insects by Cat in the Hat library
You can't go wrong with the Cat in the Hat series of books.This one lives up to the high standard of excellence in every way.It even makes you love bugs!A great buy from Amazon.com.

Factual, but poor rhyming
This is not one of the best books in the series.While it is factual, the rhyming is sloppy--in one stanza a word is rhymed with itself and in another stanza, the word from the beginning of the next phrase is placed at the end of another phrase so that the stanza will rhyme.All in all, this type of sloppy rhyming is extremely disappointing coming from the "Cat in the Hat"!

Great Fun!
I bought this book for my 4-year old son and he loves it!My husband and I love reading it to him and his baby sister who often also listens along.The book is educational yet great fun to read with its rhyming and fun verses.It teaches without being heavy-handed and even taught us, theparents, a thing or two we didn't know about the insect world!We allenjoy this book tremendously and love the other Cat in the Hat Learningseries books as well. ... Read more

Product Description
The author of Possession returns to the territory of her bestselling novel in two breathtaking fictions that explore the social and psychic landscape of Victorian England. Set in a proper country house with undercurrents of brutality and at a seance where historical figures yearn for one another, these works remind us of Byatt's powers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Morpho Eugenia Review
For my class in British Literature: Animal Antics, we read this short novella.It is a modern author who writes in a Victorian style and setting. The novella is both intriguing, and shocking as it comments on society's hierarchy and the morality that lies within. The narrator is a trustworthy voice who is caught up in a world of bugs and insects that he does not see the activities going on in the house he is in.A Victorian novel set in under 200 pages - you get all the bases without the dry, lengthy roundabout extra 200+ pages that follow Victorian tradition.

First story is worth the price of admission
I agree with the general run of opinion that "Morpho Eugenia" is superior to "Conjugal Angel."But I find the former so rich, so thoughtful, that it's worth the price of admission on its own.I don't think there's a reason to deduct points because of "Conjugal Angel"; its shortcomings don't detract from the brilliance of "Morpho".

"Morpho Eugenia" gives us at least as much to think about as most full-blown novels.Byatt gives us several different voices (the naturalist, the fairy-tale, and so on), invokes the conflict between science and religion, gives us playful allusions to the parallels between humans and insects, and all on top of a wonderful story.That she does all this in the space of a novella is, if anything, a credit to the story, even if it had to be paired with another story for purposes of publication.

Prisoners of ideology
Angels and Insects is an intriguing pair of novellas. At one level it examines the complexities of human relationships, especially those incorporated within marriage and the family. It identifies tension, dissipates it, anticipates expectations and then seeks resolution of conflict when they are not realised. In Morpho Eugenia, William, a suitor, pursues his beloved and she becomes his wife. They breed with regular success, but there is a darkness that separates them in their marriage, a darkness that becomes light when William comes home from the hunt unexpectedly.

In The Conjugal Angel we enter a spirit world. For the inhabitants of the world, the spirit reality is as tangible, as rational a universe as any other. It is a world with familiar landmarks that reveal themselves easily to the accepting mind. Powerfully and engagingly interpreted by an influential writer, their significance enters the participants' assumptions, their existence never questioned.

Angels and Insects is set in the mid-nineteenth century and, as such, deals with concepts, both social and intellectual, which are quite foreign, quite removed from those of the contemporary reader. In Morpho Eugenia, we have a scientist exploring the revolutionary ideas of evolution and applying these not only to the natural world he researches, but also the private human world, both physical and emotional, that he inhabits. Needless to say, his radical ideas are not shared by many close to him. In The Conjugal Angel, we encounter a group of people motivated by a reality they all share. But, for the contemporary reader, it is a reality that is utterly foreign, its literature and its analysis both apparently bogus in today's judgment.

Thus, eventually Angels and Insects is a novel about ideology. It illustrates how ideological assumptions about the nature of existence can drive an individual's and a society's approach to life, and how it can convince people of the truth of illusion, or vice versa. And in considering the works of contemporary poets, Angels and Insects illustrate how the literature of an age can become suffused with its ideology and, indeed, how this can feed back into the substance of life to reinforce assumptions.

As ever, A S Byatt's use of language is virtuosic, making the process of reading Angels and Insects a delight throughout. It is an ambitious project which almost achieves its design. The shortfall, however, becomes a frustration.

Fine Use Of Mid-Victorian Setting
Two novellas, both set in Byatt's favorite period, the Victorian era. The first novella carried, in my opinion, the weaker second, but both are good reads. The first story was later shot as an NC17 movie. It is about a biologist who comes back to England after a decade in Brazil and begins to write his great work on the civilization of ants. He falls in love with the daughter of his host family and marries her. For several years all seems well, if slightly askew, somehow, to him, and at the end of the novella, we learn exactly what is wrong with life in that house and what has been wrong all along. (Slightly shocking, really, giving the unsuspecting tone to the plot that led up to it.) The second novella is about the late-Victorian mania with séances and spiritualism. In it a woman whose husband, captain of a whaling ship, is presumed drowned at sea, and she is encouraged by her sister to seek the aid of a noted medium. Both these novellas may easily be partaken of in a day, and make superb reading material for a long flight or rainy evening spent alone.

Fly like an angel, sting like a bee
A.S. Byatt is best known for her lush, time-spanning historical romance "Possession." In "Angels and Insects: Two Novellas," Byatt revisits the intellectuals of the Victorian era. She dips into Victorian interests in spiritualism, insects, poetry and love -- not to mention their darker sides as well.

"Morpho Eugenia" introduces us to a young naturalist named William, who until recently had been studying insects in the Amazon. He was shipwrecked, then rescued by the wealthy Alabaster family. While continuing to study butterflies, he marries the beautiful eldest daughter Eugenia and for a time, lives the good life. The only problem is that unknown to him, Eugenia is wrapped up in a lifelong tangle of obsession and incest.

"The Conjugial Angel" introduces us to a group of mediums who gather to call up spirits. Mrs. Papagay is still in love with the dead Arturo. Emily mourns her dead lover, immortalized in her brother Alfred Tennyson's "In Memoriam" -- except she has married again. Now she struggles with her past emotions, her present doubts, and her longing to communicate with her love again.

As in her prior works, Byatt's writing is almost dizzily lush. She has a good sense of detail, describing ribbons, moths, butterfly wings, and the flames of gaslights. But pretty words are not all that Byatt has to offer -- she makes use of poetry (her own, and that of others), Darwinism and religious faith, Swedenborg, a family whose opulence covers their decay, and the nuances of love. Not to mention the dialogue: Eugenia's rambling explanation about her relationship with her brother is chilling.

Perhaps best of this collection is that Byatt has a fantastic grasp on period descriptions and dialogue -- it all sounds like a novel from the 19th centuy, with the polish of a modern book. Which is not to say that "Angels and Insects" is perfect. Byatt spends a little too much time on the moths and too little on the Alabaster family. And she's not at her best in "Conjugial Angel," which lacks the punch of the first novella. It's moving at the end, but takes awhile to get there.

Delving into such topics as survival of the fittest, poetry and love, Byatt produces a solid pair of novellas written in her usual sensuous prose. Despite some flaws that bog it down, this is a unique read. ... Read more

Product Description

Is a ladybug really a bug?
Is a honeybee an insect?
How about a spider?
How do you know?

Find out how you can tell if a beautiful butterfly or a crawling centipede is actually an insect or something else. Discover a hidden world of tiny creatures building their homes, stalking their prey, and hiding from their enemies right in your own backyard.

Customer Reviews (9)

Terrific Bug Books
I love this let's read and find out science series.I purchased this book for use with a science unit on living things for level 1 students (Ages 3-6).The book exceeded my expectations.The illustrations are fantastic.I am now looking for more books illustrated by Steve Jenkins--very impressive.Not only is the book great for science, I also use it for math, reading, and language arts.The author also lists several learning activities at the end of the book and she provides curriculum support websites for extention activities.

A Nice Addition to a Science Collection, but Not Essential
This is a science picture book about different kinds of insects and their characteristics.Targeted for the preschool-kindergarten age, it introduces basic concepts to differentiate insects, bugs, arachnids, and other kinds of creatures.The artwork is unusual for a science book in that it is collage art rather than drawings or photographs; but it is colorful and interesting, a nice addition to any bug-loving child's library.

Great book but...
After seeing this book for the first time at a museum I decided to buy it.My son also remembered it after a short viewing at the museum, so it apparently had a good impact on him too.

I love the simple yet detailed illustrations - colorful & textured cutouts of each insect with no background noise.And the text has lots of info.

Not five stars because reading it feels kind of cumbersome.With the type of info presented,it would've been more effective in a more freestyle format w/ bullet-type text instead of trying to mimic a storybook.Simple text to match the simple pictures would've been nice.

There's also an odd statement in the book that made me wonder if the editing was done overseas or something... It states- "Crickets have long back legs for jumping" and "Grasshoppers have long legs for making music".uhh...isn't this switched around?I suppose it could work either way (but has anyone actually heard it that way?)

Anyway, this book is still a pleasure to look at and well worth the purchase.It's still much better & more comprehensive then the several other bug books we saw at the museum.And very preschooler-friendly.

Solid, Easy to Read and Understand Science Book!
This book is great because it is easy to read, clear in terminology and fun to read at the same time.My students are middle school students learning English, this book can be very informative and clear up any misconceptions of English words and definitions regarding bugs and insects.That can be enormously important in learning science in a language a student is not fluent in.

Perfect for the Bug Lover
This book and a bug box and you're set for the summer.My son often asks for this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Some of the most popular selections from the formidable Eyewitness backlist are now available with a clip-art CD included-with no increase in price! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Terrific introduction to insects for young readers
Most Eyewitness Books begin with a definition or perspective on the subject of the specific book.This one, an introduction to insects, begins with a discussion of "The parts of an insect." The discussion (Pages 6-7) proceeds from wing to internal anatomy to thorax to antennae, with all manner of tidbits in between. This reminds me of why I'm not dons of insects!

The next subject is the distinction between "What is an insect?" and "These are not insects." The answer to the former question begins with a simple statement that (Page 8) "Insects are the most successful creatures in the whole of the animal kingdom." Kind of puts us mammals in our place. . . . Insects are defined as arthropods (having "a hard, protective exoskeleton") with six legs. Most, too, have wings. How many insects are there? Maybe more than 1,000,000 (million) species are already known.Not insects? Scorpions, prawns, tarantulas, centipedes, earthworms, and wood lice.

Enough for introductions. What does the rest of this volume, again written for the 8-12 year old young reader, address? There is discussion of the first insects (emerging 300,000,000 years ago), an insect's senses, feeding, and metamorphosis. There is also discussion of some of the main types of insects, such as butterflies and moths, beetles, flies, wasps and their kin, and so on.

The book concludes with some perspective, including contributions that insects make.

All in all, a very satisfying entry into the Eyewitness Books series.Young readers with any interest in insects will find this an attractive volume.

Insect (DK/Google E.guides)
Just perfect for the budding entomologist, lots of really interesting facts that the whole family has enjoyed.Highly Recommended.

Plenty of pics and info
I have an avid seven year old reader.With all the little captions and detailed drawing, etc- he has been reading and rereading this book and loving it.

Not just for 8 year olds
Both my children, 5 and 2 love this book and all the others that we have purchased in this series.The pictures are fantastic and the text informative.Depending on which child I read to, I either just point at the picture and tell them what it is or read them some of the text.My older child is fascinated at even the most detailed information...not that many kids that age know how to say and describe metamorphosis (in fact I couldn't remember the word now and I ran to ask my son what it was!) but mine does.Later, when they can read, I know that they are going to love going to even more detail by reading the books themselves.And when my children ask me questions, then these books are great to look up answers you don't know. These books are excellent!

Even our 23 Month Old Likes It
My son was covering "bugs" in preschool, so I picked up this book. Knowing it was going to be really for older kids, I wasnt sure he was going to like it.These books are so well designed however that for 2 weeks now, he requests the "bug" book every night before bed.The only problem is that the pictures are so detailed and zoomed in that some of the images gives my wife and I the heebeegeevees.

The other great thing, is that this book will be a great book from him to grow into.

We are picking up more! ... Read more

Product Description
To come ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Excelent
The product arrived before the expected, in perfect conditions.
Personally I have to say that this book is one of the best books in this topic, if you have a chance to buy it, you won't regret.

A "must-Have" Book!
This is simply a GREAT book. I am not a scientist! The book is technically more than sound and yet accessible for the natural history buff, bug fans, those interested in flower/insect symbiosis. Anyone curious about the natural world "must-have" this book on their shelves--or rather intheir hand. The book is beautiful. It is also an appropriate "gift" for a PhD specializing in etymology, although he probably already has it? Or the bright, curious high-school girl. I couldn't put it down!

A Superbly Written and Illustrated Compendium
The illustrations are stunning.

The writing is judicious and comprehensive, but never tedious or stale.

The citations are comprehensive and up-to-date, and the discussion based on them synthesizes the views of naturalists, entomologists, paleontologists, biologists, and systematists, but without ever burying important contemporary controversies.

The authors are active researchers, who somehow found the time to put this gorgeous volume together for the rest of us while pursuing their own fresh interests.

You need not be a professional to read, enjoy, and benefit from this volume.Any intelligent layperson with an abiding interest in science and the deep evo-devo connections between ourselves and this most successful animal group will gain enrichment and goggle at the photos, paintings, charts, and other graphic content.Recent fossil discoveries are particularly well discussed and displayed, but the graphics are superb overall--the illustrations of grasshopper dentition are alone worth the price of admission!

Really, what more could you want?

Any tome of this size and production quality is bound to be pricey.But there are solutions to that--encourage your local public library system to obtain a copy, or indulge in a "guest researcher" membership at your nearest university library, or simply grit your teeth and get a copy now.

Because you know volumes like these don't stay in print forever, and are not the kind that diminish greatly in price over any reasonably near term.

A precious textbook
The book was in our hands before the predicted day and in excellent conditions. It is the recommended literature to the PhD course of Entomology, in this field.

Decent book, but not all it's hyped to be
This book was a textbook for a course on insect fossils I took a few years ago and we read it cover to cover.My fellow classmates and I (all professional entomologists) had mixed reviews of this book.While it undoutedly provides a lot of good information and is a tremendous contribution to the field of insect fossils, it also contains several mistakes and leaves out a lot of important information.For example, the professor for my fossil insect course is one of the world's experts on giant water bug fossils and was appalled to see what was clearly a giant water bug fossil, from a formation in Germany he has studied himself, labeled as a naucorid, a completely different insect.A description of a dryopid beetle fossil on another page said that all stages of dryopids are aquatic when the larvae are terrestrial.My classmates and I found several such errata throughout the book and felt they seriously undermined the reliability of the information it contains.We were also all annoyed by the lack of molecular support for the arguments presented by the authors.While morphological data is certainly important to consider in systematic studies, it is blatently obvious that the authors don't think much of molecular phylogenetic data.This is unfortunate because in several cases, molecular data has cleared up long standing controversies over taxnomic deliniations where morphological data alone could not.It is clear from the text that the authors are more comfortable with the morphological data than molecular (as expected - they're experts on insect fossils), which would be fine if the book was called Insect Paleontology.However, this book is called Evolution of the Insects.Molecular data is a huge part of modern insect systematics and phylogenetics and any book purporting to canvas the subject of insect evolution should take advantage of the entire wealth of knowledge available and report on it all.That said, this book does what few other books does: it contains information on both extant and extinct linages and it covers the groups we know only through fossils as thoroughly as it does the living taxa.For me, that information alone makes this book worth reading, and is the reason I give it 3 stars insted of 2. ... Read more

Product Description
Professional entomologist and amateur gardener Eric Grissell suggests that it might be time to declare a truce with the insects in our lives. With a sound basis in science and a practical grounding in gardening experience, Grissell introduces the reader to the role of insects in garden ecology. His insightful account of insect biology is supported by gorgeous photographs, which reveal a captivating beauty and illustrate the vital interdependence between insects and plants. Now available in paperback, this book will be loved by anyone seeking a greater appreciation and understanding of these often-maligned garden visitors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

The insect role in garden ecology
This book is written from a gardener's perspective.However, it might be valuable reading for the entomologist, the ecologist, the environmentalist and the botanist.Insects are considered the most dominant animal in terms of biomass, outweighing and outnumbering humans by 600% and more than 600%, respectively.Some of the primary functions performed in the garden by insects include pollination (vital to the production of the majority of plants of importance to man, which keep us alive), herbivory (eating plants; and plant and animal decomposition),and balancing garden ecology.In the section on interactions between insects and plants, we learn how roots (and tubers,corms, bulbs and rhizomes), crowns, stems, branches, shoots, trunks, leaves, flowers and buds, and seed, pod and fruits can be attacked by insects.Lastly, the author introduces us to a garden in balance where the beneficial insects (pollinators and predators) keep the herbivores in balance.To create this balance, one needs to create diversity in the garden--diversity of plants and of animals, including insects, keeping in mind that some insects can have both beneficial and detrimental activities in our gardens.And, when the gardener intervenes to prevent insect destruction of a plant or plants, it is essential that the treatment be the least toxic substance that works, that it is applied at the best time in the life cycle of the insect, that it is applied in the best fashion to achieve the greatest success and that it does not harm other insects (especially beneficials) or the environment.

Great Help for Any Gardener
Insects and Gardens by Eric Grissell is a solid primer on how to help your garden grow the natural way. It helps you keep track of which insects assist your plants, and which ones are going to cause trouble.

The book starts with the basics - just what is an insect? What are the different types, and how do you tell them apart? There are gorgeous photos here, which help you really understand what is being explained.

Then we get on into the garden-care section. the book provides great advice. For example buying ladybugs in a box, as fun as it might seem, is apparently not very helpful - they tend to all just try to "fly home" and leave your garden the way it was.

We learn about habitat diversity - by planning out the garden so that we have a natural habitat that encourages "good" bugs, we let the local, natural beneficial bugs take care of any problems they find. By removing stagnant water, we help to minimize the problem of mosquitoes.

There is a lot of practical advice. For example, sure you want to plant flowers that butterflies love to eat. However, if you really want butterflies around, you need to plant flowers that their LARVAE will eat so the butterflies stay and lay their eggs here.

There's even a section about stings and bites, to help you manage any accidental encounters.

Well recommended!

a new appreciation for bugs
The most informative book I've read, without being overbearing on the subject. It is as if the author is having a light but descriptive chat with you.Great humor.I,ve been an organic gardener for many years, but I look for, and at, insects differently now.I recommend this book to established as well as new gardeners.

Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology
I recommend this book often on my online gardening group.It is a valuable resource for all gardeners not just for the information, crash course, if you will, on entymology, but also for the author's own personal advice on gardening near the end of the book.The book goes through each group of insects one by one explaining all about them very well.He explains why spraying for insects is a bad idea whether you are spraying chemical, or organic spray formulas.That goes against most current teaching, but in applying it in my own gardens I found to be incredible for its truthfulness.He explains why spraying once creates a cycle of forever spraying the garden because it kills off the predator insects that would otherwise kill the bad insects, and drives away other creatures that would do the job for you....that it is better to create a balance to do the job and how to do that.It is a book you may well refer to often in your gardening experience no matter whether you follow his advice on spraying, or not.

A must read for every gardener
Even if you are a casual gardener and not building a wildlife habitat you should read this book.The first half is a basic Entymology 101 for the gardener with the second half covering practical application.Every gardener should have an understanding of what is happening out there.It should be on every gardeners 'essentials' list.And on top of all of the great information in this book it also is interesting enough to hold your attention. ... Read more

Product Description
End your worries about garden problems with safe, effective solutions from The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control!

* Easy-to-use problem-solving encyclopedia covers more than 200 vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs
* Complete directions on how, when, and where to use preventive methods, insect traps and barriers, biocontrols, homemade remedies, botanical insecticides, and more
* More than 350 color photos for quick identification of insect pests, beneficial insects, and plant diseases

Newly revised with the latest, safest organic controls.

A New York Times Best Gardening Book
... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

bugs galore and so much more !!!
I love this book....I have already learned so much from it. I am one of those rare women who is not afraid of bugs...as long as they do not bug me by getting inside my clothes-ha !!!Seriously, this is a wonderful publication. My thanks goes to the author.

A Must Have for "Green" Gardeners

For those of us who don't like having chemicals in and around our homes, much less our food, this book is a 'must have.'It helps with identification of what insect or disease is causing plant damage and then gives great advice about what organically combats plant diseases or how to get rid of the bad bugs without also killing the good bugs.

A must have reference!
A must have for your reference library!Easy to use with separate sections for problem identification by plant or by insect with lots of color pictures.Handy to have even if you don't garden organically.

Pest Pest go away, but do it the Natural way!
I really despise the fact that people use harsh chemicals to eradicate pesky insects and other "living" garden problems.I have used many of the solutions to these problems, and I have to say, I don't have aphids anymore, nor do the white flies live in my garden anymore; and all done organically.Get this book if you care about the damage that chemically enhanced gardening can cause.Really easy reading and the solutions have worked for me.

Great Book on Insect Control
I bought this book for my husband, mainly because we tend to have problems with ants where we are living.He was so pleased with it, and says it has so many great ideas for controlling bugs naturally. ... Read more