Customer Reviews

A Field Guide to Spiders & Scorpions of Texas (Gulf Publishing Field Guide Series)

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

 

 

This book is less suited as a field guide and more of a biology lesson on overall spider taxonomy. In my opinion a FIELD GUIDE should provide pictures of spiders that you would commonly run into in the FIELD, but this book does not fulfill that expectation. There have been only about one or two spiders i've came across that I have been able to identify by using this field guide out of literally thousands (I spend a lot of time in wooded areas). With the extremely low amount of photos in this guide, any other spiders I am absolutely not able to identify by using this guide. Out of all the Texas Field Guides this is clearly the poorest written one since it probably only has pictures of about 1% of the spiders in the state of Texas. I had originally bought this in order to see which spiders carry the most potent venom other than the obvious black widow & brown recluse, but that is not in here either...just biology. If you are looking for something to help identify spiders in the state of Texas this is about the only choice at the moment, although an average one at best.

I keep buying all the Texas Monthly field guide books to snakes, fossils, insects, trees, etc., but the spider guide has been the most disappointing. I am accidentally encountering spiders on a weekly basis that aren't in the guide. Maybe it's because I live on the coast and Home Land Security isn't checking the banana boats closely enough.

The only problem i have with this book is that, as a Texan living in Texas, i keep encountering spiders not identified or even remotely mentioned in this book. To top it off, neither can the county agent.

Dr. Jackman is a well-known entomologist/naturalist at Texas A&M University. This handbook is a well-researched guide to its subject and he enlisted the help of leading authorities (including W. David Sissom for the scorpion section) for information in areas in which he is not familiar. The book lacks in several areas, such as in the Orders Mygalomorphae, Pseudoscorpiones and Solifugae, but this is due in part to a general lack of literature and knowledge in that field for Texas. The full-color photographs, mostly by the author, are excellent, yet small. A great addition to the Texas Monthly Field Guide Series!

Well I was able to identify the Striped Bark Scorpion, or the tree climbing scorpion as some call it, and also some of the spiders I have seen. However, the most spectacular spider I have ever seen in Texas was not in this book. Once I saw a large black and yellow striped spider with a very elongated body and long legs, about 80-120mm across. It is clear it must have been a type of Longjawed orb weaver but that is all I know. It looked almost exactly like an African orb weaver but that can't be.

This book has 32 pages of pictures, but I think it needs about 100-150 pages of pictures to be really useful. Since the book contained information on scorpions, whip scorpions, pseudo scorpions, harvestmen, and ticks, I also think it should have included information on chiggers; they are after all a very noticeable arachnid in Texas.

Even though I wished the book had more pictures and a larger selection of species, especially common species, the book contains a lot of very interesting information and is difficult to put down. One of the many things I learned from this book is that even though some people call harvestmen "daddy long-legs" there are also "daddy long-leg spiders" and they are spiders not harvestmen. The two critters look a little bit alike but are not even in the same order (harvestmen are not spiders). In summary, a good and interesting book, but it needs more pictures and a little bit more content.

Awesome field guide with top-notch pictures. Perfect for campers, gardeners, fishermen, etc. Great for any Texan or traveler of the Southwest.

Like other reviewers I find this book is not at all helpful with ID'ing spiders I come across. It seem like a compilation of research data with little regard for the intended audience. Nothing against the author, who I understand is a kind and very accomplished researcher. I met Dr. Jackman once and developed instant respect for him.

My message to the A&M specialists who collaborate on these books would be to consider the reader. If you empower them, you will bring them in. You would need to offer a tool that enables them to understand what they encounter. Think of what Apple does. It EMPOWERS individuals and in turn their investment turns a huge profit.

Help turn Texans into competent naturalists. What a crazy thought. Teaching Texans to love their environment. Maybe that's a politically unfavorable thing to do here. Considering what happened at SMU in the 80s and to the A&M online digital flora, maybe that IS part of the problem here.

The most naturally diverse state in the nation with so few resources for naturalists. Oh well, if your thing is to kill ducks, fish, deer, hogs, trees, ecosystems, insects, ... you've got it made in Texas.

Here is what A&M wildlife education brings to mind instantly:

"When chemical control is needed, use products containing diazinon, chlorpyrifos, propoxur, bendiocarb, synergized pyrethrins, carbaryl, resmethrin, tetramethrin, malathion or mixtures of these insecticides."

Not an ounce of passion or inspiration.

Nick Mirro
Dallas, TX

A good source of information to help identify spiders and scorpions that you might find in or around the house.