A Guide to Observing Insect Lives (Stokes Nature Guides)

Rating:
Summary: unique and invaluable
Review: Since the day I purchased this book I have not stopped consulting it's pages of clear, simple information. Accompanied by a drawing showing the kind of habitat where the insect is likely to be found, a brief description of the insect's life cycles and observable habits are touched upon. This book isn't going to make anyone an expert on the subject of entomology but that isn't its aim. What it will do is to help you in locating many different kinds of insects throughout the seasons and enrich the experience of observing their behavior. The perfect companion book to all your more scientific texts.

Rating:
Summary: bit disappointing
Review: The information in this book is a bit generic and lacking in interesting factual information. I find the chapters disappointing when I read about a particular insect. The text is not particularly inspiring and does not capture the fascination of the insects' natural history. The topic is a fine one but it is handled much better by classic works like Fabre and Linsenmaier's "Insects of the World". We need to encourage writing on this topic by our best natural history authors and entomologists.

Rating:
Summary: terrific book!
Review: This is a great reference! It has all sorts of insects that you come across in your lawn/gardens/woods. I use it constantly when i'm out looking at butterflies and get distracted looking at other insects. Its great. It breaks the insects down into those that you'll see in spring, summer, fall and winter. It has reference tables on where to look for the insects (e.g. ponds, fields, ground, etc) and tells about their lifecycles. Its just facinating. You can learn a lot without being heavy into the science of orders and classes and things like that. Really a great resource

Rating:
Summary: terrific book!
Review: This is a great reference! It has all sorts of insects that you come across in your lawn/gardens/woods. I use it constantly when i'm out looking at butterflies and get distracted looking at other insects. Its great. It breaks the insects down into those that you'll see in spring, summer, fall and winter. It has reference tables on where to look for the insects (e.g. ponds, fields, ground, etc) and tells about their lifecycles. Its just facinating. You can learn a lot without being heavy into the science of orders and classes and things like that. Really a great resource