*Starred Review* Insects, comprising more than 80 percent of the approximately 1.5 million animal species that have been formally identified by scientists, play a significant role in our everyday lives. Honeybees pollinate crops; mosquitoes are both a nuisance and potential carrier of disease; cockroaches are unwelcome house guests; butterflies delight children. Written at a level accessible to college students in introductory biology courses as well as motivated laypeople by an entomologist with more than 20 years' experience as a teacher, this guide focuses on families of northeastern North American insects. The geographic scope is loosely defined as east of the Mississippi and north of the state of Georgia.
Arranged in chapters by scientific classification, this work furnishes general information on insect orders and families as well as more specific data on representative individual species. Chapters cover 13 big groups of insects, for example, "Cockroaches, Termites, Mantids and Other Orthopteroids"; "Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids"; "Butterflies and Moths"; "Flies, Scorpionflies and Fleas"; and "Sawflies, Wasps, Bees, and Ants." Each chapter begins with an essay highlighting the characteristics of the group, its natural history, and interesting sidelights on individual species. A separate chapter on observing, collecting, and photographing insects is included.
Some 4,000 detailed color photographs of individual species in their natural environments afford the user the opportunity to view the insects as they appear in life. More than 50 pages of illustrated keys to the identification of insect groups are designed to be as user-friendly as possible; technical taxonomic terms such aspronotum and scutellum are illustrated within the key. Icons alert the user to corresponding photographs and further identification keys. A 21-page "Index of Photographs" refers the reader to page numbers of insects by genus and species as well as some common names. There are no references from broad common insect names such as ladybugs or mosquitoes; therefore, searching by genus and species yields the best results. A separate 23-page general index supplies page references to orders, superfamilies, and families of insects.
Firefly is also the publisher of Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders (2003), which, with its broader geographic range and lower price, might be a first choice for smaller libraries. Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity is notable for its numerous color photographs, accessible language, and relatively simple-to-use identification keys. It is highly recommended for public, academic, and special libraries, particularly those in northeastern North America. Nancy Cannon
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
[Winner, General Competition, 2006 Science in Society Journalism Award] (
National Association of Science Writers 20070616)
[2007 Outstanding Reference Source, Reference and User Services Association] 'A wealth of information is provided for the work's less-than-$100 price.' (Jeff Schwartz, 2007 Chair, RUSA Reference Sources Committee
American Libraries 200705)
An impressive book.... Informative and fascinating. (N. Glenn Perrett
Sideroads of Caledon and Erin 200704)
Magnificent... thousands of photographs... a delight to read due to Marshall's wry sense of humor and idiosyncratic enthusiasms. (Frederic F. Burchsted
American Reference Books Annual 2007)
This is an outstanding contribution to entomology. It will play an important role in the training of insect lovers for the foreseeable future. (William E. Conner
American Scientist 200609)
[Outstanding Reference Sources, 2007] Afford[s] the user the opportunity to view the insects as they appear in life. (Reference Sources Committee, ALA Reference and User Services Association
Booklist 20070515)
[Selected as one of Booklist's Editors' Choice, 2006: Reference Sources] Detailed color photographs... designed to be as user-friendly as possible. (
Booklist 20070101)
Dazzling and tremendously helpful to anyone who wants to know about insects... I'm honored to hold it in my hands. (Ed Kanze
Hersam Acorn Newspapers (NY State) 20060914)
Winner of the 2006 Science In Society Journalism Award in the General Book competition (
Canadian Science Writers' Association 200710)
This volume is big, beautiful, well written, and informative... I recommend this truly valuable tome very highly. (Paul P. Shubeck, emeritus, Montclair State University
Science Books and Film 20080201)
Best Books 2007, Junior High & Young Adult, Zoological Sciences (
Science Books & Films 200607)
This volume is an excellent resource. The book has coffee-table quality combined with practitioner-level relevance. (Marvin K. Harris
Science Books and Films 20060803)
The perfect reference book even for those of us with a limited interest in bugs... perfect for birders. (Noreen O'Brien
Main Courier-Gazette 20060801)
Marshall designed this books so that a reader can easily identify just about any given bug by order or family. (Nathan Whitlock
Quill and Quire 200606)
Over 4000 color photographs taken...in the wild, this book is the most comprehensive photographic overview of insects ever published. (Jeffrey Cumming
Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Canada 20061101)
Magnificent ... indispensable ... an unmatched resource. Destined to become a fixture in all general entomological collections. Summing Up: Essential. (P.K. Lago, University of Mississippi
Choice 200701)
The photography is so spectacular that this volume could stand alone as a coffee table book of insects. (Clint D. Kelly, Postdoctoral Fellow, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University
BioScience (American Institute of Biological Scien 20060915)
It's the professional's solid reference to identification and habits, making it a top basic reference pick for serious science libraries. (
Bookwatch 20060101)
[Selected as one of the 'Outstanding Academic Titles' for 2006] (
Choice 2007)
[STARRED REVIEW] Simply bigger, prettier, and more comprehensive than any previous publication on insects... useful to amateur and professional alike (Annette Aiello
Library Journal 200710)
Visually stunning... accurate... highly accessible to a broad audience, including naturalists, amateur entomologists [and] seasoned professionals.... [I] recommend it whole-heartedly (Gina Penny, Department of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Canadian Field Naturalist, vol. 120, no. 1, Jan-Ma )
[Starred review] Notable for its numerous color photographs, accessible language, and relatively simple-to-use identification keys. (Nancy Cannon
Booklist )
[Selected as one of the 'Best Reference Books of 2006'] (Brian E. Coutts and Cheryl LaGuardia
Library Journal )
This volume is an incredibly important, masterfully written, and profusely illustrated work ... destined to become a natural history classic. (Arthur V. Evans, Research Collaborator, Dept of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution and Dept of Recent Invertebrates, Virginia Museum of Natural History
The Coleopterists Bulletin 61(3), 2007 )
Groundbreaking. (J.B. MacKinnon
Explore )
Clearly this represents the life work of a fine scientist.... I urge every library to make them available. (Gerry Rising, State University of New York Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus
The Buffalo News and Buffalo University www.acsu.b )
[A] jam-packed colorful reference ... for serious science libraries. (Diane C. Donovan
The Midwest Book Review )
(starred review) An invaluable resource...Highly recommended. (Barbara McMillan
Canadian Materials )
Big , beautiful, well written, and informative.... Very few insect books describe or show as many insects as this. (
Science Books and Film )
