Customer Reviews

Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders

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The Firefly Encyclopedia series are uniformly excellent. There are several current volumes (Insects & Spiders, Reptiles & Amphibians, and Birds). With luck additional volumes will be added (I'd be especially keen to see one on fishes). The series picks up the tradition started with the David Macdonald's "Encyclopedia of Mammals" by having numerous experts contribute information about the organisms they study. Thus, each species or group of organisms is described by the scientists who know them best. The result is a truly amazing compilation of information about each type of organism.

The Insects and Spiders volume contains information from 23 separate contributors about all types of insects and spider-like creatures. Contents include:

Overview of Arthropods: 6 pages
Millipedes and Centipedes: 6 pages
Insects, general information: 14 pages
Separate sections on (sections without indicated page lengths usually 2-3 pages long): Bristletails, Mayflies, Dragonflies & Damselfies, Cockroaches (4 pages), Termites, Mantids (4 pages), Earwigs, Stoneflies, Crickets & Grasshoppers (12 pages), Leaf & Stick Insects, Booklice and Webspinners, Zorapterans & Thrips, Parasitic Lice, Bugs (16 pages), Snakewings & Alderflies, Lacewings, Beetles (16 pages), Scorpionflies, Fleas, Flies (16 pages), Caddisflies, Butterflies & Moths (24 pages), Wasps & Ants & Bees (24 pages)
Arachnids, general information: 4 pages
Spiders: 14 pages
Mites & Ticks: 6 pages
Scorpions & other Arachnids: 4 pages

The book is lavishly illustrated. There are tons of amazing photographs and lots of beautifully rendered drawings. The text is well written and generally easy to follow. Some sections are fairly technical (I have a Ph.D. in Biology and got lost a few times), but probably 90% or more should be accessible to anyone. I strongly recommend this book for biologists, naturalists, and people interested in wildlife. It would make an excellent gift for a young person (probably junior high +) who likes animals.

finally i found it. THE BEST INTRODUCTORY ENTOMOLOGY BOOK! My father has a new-found interest in insects, and I spent all of the Christmas season trying to find an entomology book that was informative, yet concise and visually stimulating. This book is FAR OUT. It has great photographs and HIGHLY educational, without going into boring list/description jargon. This book is great for anyone interested in insects or just an entertaining read.

Also ten stars, if possible! No more words needed, this an excellent compilation on insects and arachnids. Beautiful pictures, tons of information, diagrams and charts. Just like the other book from Firefly "Reptiles and Amphibians", this is one of the best encyclopedias to have in your personal library. Marvelous book, indeed.

This is a very attractive and interesting book, very well organized. I have a few quibbles: You can't find the brain and nervous system in the drawing of spider anatomy on p. 200 (maybe hidden under the digestive tract, in green). Fang placement in the drawing of a salticid face on p. 204 is a little off (should originate at lateral distal margins of chelicerae), and there are many spiders with much more powerful chelicerae to illustrate the point here. Classification jumps directly from "suborder" to "family" (intermediate clade levels, as studied recently, are quite interesting), and the spider section is all-too-brief. However, the insect material is quite diverse and interesting. In general, the drawings are very skillfully done. This is a good book for general interest, or for a public school libriary