Customer Reviews

A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada: Identification, Natural History, and Distribution of the Cicindelidae

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was college student I was also a avid tiger beetle collector. I lived then in southern Arizona and this is about as close as you can get to heaven for tiger beetles. However the guides available were basically technical treatments on the genera. Most of my identifications were made using a key to the genera and a monograph of the genus Cicindela in Mexico. Needless to say these were illustrated in black and white and did not come close to rendering the beetles as they were in life.

David Pearson, et al. have produced the one book that I would have given just about anything to have owned at the time in "A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada: Identification, Natural History, and Distribution of the Cicindelidae." This is a beautiful and indispensable book for any coleopterist and especially those who are involved with tiger beetles.


From the giant Amblycheila to the tiny Cicindela debilis, all of the North American tiger beetles north of Mexico are here. All are illustrated in color as well! The range maps, sections on natural history, identification, conservation and study of tiger beetles are just what the beetle enthusiast needs to make the interest as pleasurable as possible. I do not collect tiger beetles any more except to add to our university collection. But now, with this book, a modern closeup binocular or monocular, a camera, an aerial net and a magnifying lens the amateur or professional coleopterist has a real kit for enjoying and learning about these fascinating denizens of woodland pathways, sand dunes and wetland shores. I had the last three, but not the first two. I certainly envy the modern student of these beetles!

As an entomologist, I have seen and used many a field guide. This guide is one of the best. Color plates are not cluttered, and each has a scale bar. Distribution maps are crisp and easy to understand. Keys are excellent, with plenty of illustrations. Checklist is included, and the sections on ecology/behavior and conservation are well done. This is a must-buy for any Cicindelid enthusiast!

This book is a godsend for the casual tiger beetle enthusiast. The key is easy to understand, and the individual species accounts are superb. Tons and tons of truly useful information for the collector, and for the conservationist.

The only problem I have with the book is the use of common names while discussing each species. As most people that have been into tigers for awhile use the scientific names exclusively, it will be a problem when it says 'The Boreal Long-Lipped Tiger Beetle has three distinct maculations, versus the Alpine Long-Lipped Tiger Beetle, which only has parts of a marginal band." You'll find yourself flipping back and forth between the page youre reading and the 'index' which explains that the Boreal is actually C. longilabris and the Alpine is C. nebraskana, or whatever.

Dont let that dissaude you from buying this book, however. I have never, ever found a more thoroughly enjoyable and useful resource on Nearctic tigers, including Werner's Kafer der Welt volumes.

As a 4-H entomology leader it was pretty frustrating not being able to help my kids find what kind of tiger beetle they found. Unless we got lucky, species IDs were almost impossible without a trip to the University of Michigan libraries. With Pearson's work, I no longer have those problems. Although scientific in its presentation, it's still accessible enough for my 10-year-olds to figure and use. Beautiful scale photos and illustrations. Thanks !

This is a "must have" for collectors and researchers such as myself. It was long overdue. Finally we have a comprehensive piece on the tiger beetles (including subspecies) of North America. Yes there are a few odd and end errors, but comparatively few. I suggest an edition 2 will eventually be needed. This is not only to perfect it, but also to add some of the new information that is rapidly coming in on this group from across North America.

A wonderful guide with at least one picture of each beetle!! I haven't seen a comprehensive photographic fieldguide to tiger beetles as nice as this one. Definately worth the price!

This is a very good book to help with the identification of tiger beetles. I use the information presented in other chapters every day in my pursuit of tiger beetles.

A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada is an excellent, concise, and eminently useful guide. It makes identification of these hard-to-identify insects almost easy, and provides the kind of information on life history that is valuable to the veteran entomologist or the amateur. The guide is presented in an easy style that finds the happy medium between scientific accuracy and readability.

Anyone interested in these beetles should own this book. I would also consider buying it as a gift for a kid who is starting to show an interest in nature. Tiger beetles are very watchable, and this book just might lead a young person into a lifelong pursuit of learning in the outdoors.

I like everything about this book, from the distribution maps, through the identification keys, to the color plates. If you want to collect and identify tiger beetles, get this book.

My wife and I were delighted to find that we have a good population of tiger beetles living on our property and we set about trying to identify them and their larvae. This is no easy task since there is a large number of species and many of them look a lot alike. Frustrated, but not deterred by our efforts on the web and with other sources, we purchased this book and were thrilled with the wealth of information, illustration, and inspiration that flowed out of the pages. It is similar to Peterson's bird guides and highlights the beauty of what most people consider lowly "bugs." Tiger beetles are fascinating, beautiful animals, and this book will certianly help anyone learn more about the diversity of beetles living in their own backyard if they're lucky enough to have them.