Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America (Kaufman Field Guides) (Turtleback)

~ (Author), (Author)
Key Phrases: common eastern species, larva that hatches, bee mimics, North America, British Columbia, Great Plains (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Many insects are difficult even for the experts to identify. In the new Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, readers will find a wealth of information on the amazing observable behaviors of insects and their fascinating life histories. Naturalists Kenn Kaufman and Eric R. Eaton use a broad ecological approach rather than overly technical terms, making the book accessible and understandable for everyone. The lively and engaging text emphasizes the insects that are most likely to catch our attention but includes information on all groups that can be recognized. The guide is lavishly illustrated, with more than 2,350 digitally enhanced photographs representing every major group of insects found in North America north of Mexico. Comprehensive yet compact, authoritative yet easy to understand, this is the perfect guide for anyone who wants to know more about the fascinating and diverse insects of North America.

About the Author

ERIC EATON is a writer and naturalist who has studied insects for most of his life.

Kenn Kaufman is a legend among birders. At sixteen he hitchhiked back and forth across North America, traveling eighty thousand miles in a year, simply to see as many birds as he could; he came back to tell the story in KINGBIRD HIGHWAY. A field editor for AUDUBON and a regular contributor to every major birding magazine, he is the youngest person ever to receive the Ludlow Griscom Award, the highest honor of the American Birding Association. His natural history pursuits have taken him to all seven continents, but he has made a special study of North American birds. His books include LIVES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS, the PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO ADVANCED BIRDING, and the FOCUS GUIDE TO BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. He resides in Tucson, Arizona.

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Product Details Turtleback: 392 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (February 28, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 0618153101 ISBN-13: 978-0618153107 Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.6 x 1.1 inches Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,828 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #4 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Entomology #4 in  Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Invertebrates #4 in  Books > Science > Agricultural Sciences > Entomology

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Eric R. Eaton

Kenn Kaufman

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
common eastern species, larva that hatches, bee mimics, wasp mimics, other low plants, larvae bore, ioo species, larval foodplants, most species feed, owlet moths, larvae feeding, aphid colonies, honeydew secreted, lady beetle, preexisting cavities, velvet ants, larvae prey, sand wasps, fungus beetles, larval hosts, composite flowers

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North America, British Columbia, Great Plains, Old World, Pacific Coast, New York, Great Lakes, New Mexico, North Carolina, Honey Bee, New Orleans, Bald-faced Hornet, South America, Gypsy Moth, New Jersey, South Dakota

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	77% buy the item featured on this page: Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America (Kaufman Field Guides) 4.4 out of 5 stars (24) $12.89
	8% buy National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America 4.7 out of 5 stars (15) $13.57
	6% buy National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides) 3.9 out of 5 stars (37) $14.25
	6% buy Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides) 4.9 out of 5 stars (29) $14.64

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews 5 star:  (12) 4 star:  (10) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.4 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 39 of 39 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Pictures, Not Enough Substance., February 15, 2007 By  Nemo T. Ocera (Ames) - See all my reviews Alas, a good insect field guide is hard to come by. When I ordered the Kaufman guide I was optomistic that it could replace the badly outdated Peterson's guide; sadly this is not the case. For a neophyte looking to ID your common backyard bugs this would suffice. There are plenty of wonderful pictures that can't otherwise be found in printed form. But for a serious student of entomology this 'guide' is of minimal use. There is virtually no information given to help in IDing a specimen. The guide goes with a purely visual approach which is simply not efficient for studying the great diversity of North American Hexapoda; unfortunately there is still no good choice for an up-to-date compact guide. For exhaustiveness, try picking up a copy of Borror & Delong's. Even with its faults, I would still recommend picking this one up. The Kaufman guide is a good value, even if it will only be useful for the weekend entomologists out there. 30 of 30 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Great for a Backyard Entomolgist, February 16, 2007 By  J. Clark (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This Field Guide sticks to the same tried and true format as the other Kaufman Field Guides (Birds, Butterflies, and Mammals). Every odd page is packed with digitally touched-up pictures of various insects and the even pages contain brief descriptions of the species/family, their habits, etc... Given the enormity of the insect fauna in North America north of Mexico (the region covered by this guide) it is obvious that a field guide such as this is not going to be able to cover but a fraction of what is out there. Additionally the target audience is not entomologists but rather more causal insect and nature lovers. As a result the selection of insects that are covered is limited. The authors in the introduction state that the guide focuses on "naked-eye entomology". There are a few pages in the beginning devoted to non-insect invertebrates (spiders, millipedes, ...). It would have been nice if this section was a bit more comprehensive, then again maybe this foreshadows a future Kaufman Spiders field guide! The pictures are all very nice and the book overall is very pleasing to the eye. The cover and binding seem like they will stand up to field use. Overall I am very pleased with this book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in insects. 32 of 33 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Great Photos Not Much Else, February 18, 2007 By  Kyle Roberts "Entomologist in training" (Muncie, Indiana) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    The pictures in this book are wonderful, the info is solid, but where are distriution maps, or any helpful info for finding the specimen? There is the occasional "It occurs in most of the mideastern states" or something along that line, but thats not narrow enough for me, plus all the info on the insects is just a paragraph or two about that insect family, not really specifing on individuals. All in all its a very nice book, but I guess I was looking forward to more, and I was let down, but I would still recommend it to anyone who is interested in seeing beautiful insect pictures and learning the very basic information about them.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for the beginner and the serious bugwatcher The Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America packs a tremendous amount of useful information into a book small enough to carry. Read more Published 19 days ago by Donald M. Patterson 4.0 out of 5 stars BUGS! BUGS! BUGS! This is a really fun and informative book for anyone with even a passing interest in bugs. The illustrations are great and the information is helpful and succinct. Read more Published 2 months ago by Michael A. Kearns 5.0 out of 5 stars Love Bugs?? I actually bought this book to donate to one of our schools in our area. The children every year have to do an insect project. Read more Published 11 months ago by Rita Feltes 4.0 out of 5 stars Kaufman's Guide to insects of North America Good enough for just identifying most insects, but no real information on "what" they are. Published 11 months ago by Anthony Mcpherson 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book I am an entomologist and have 2 copies of this - one for home and one for work. Pictures are great! Every time I thumb through, it I learn something new. Read more Published 13 months ago by Bug Lover 5.0 out of 5 stars Totally Bugged Out This book includes lots of good pictures and basic despcriptions of bugs-it has made it very easy to identify many bugs I have encountered. Read more Published 14 months ago by B. York 4.0 out of 5 stars Good intro field guide The strengths of this book are the excellent photos (digitally touched up, that is), good, basic info, and a clear but informative, non-technical writing style. Read more Published 15 months ago by magellan 5.0 out of 5 stars A Grown-Up Golden Guide! I think this book is perfect. It has just enough of everything so that the book is affordable and light enough to really be a FIELD guide. The pictures are terrific... Read more Published 16 months ago by Marilyn Jones 5.0 out of 5 stars Great for your nature library This is a great adjunct to the Peterson Field Guide to The Insects...A serious bug nut should have them both, the Peterson for the text and Kaufman for the many excellent photos. Published 17 months ago by Bruce T. Lockard 4.0 out of 5 stars Another hit for Kenn Kaufman Kenn Kaufman and his team have put out another easy to use and beautiful to look at field guide. Unlike many insect field guides out there, the reader does not need any... Read more Published 17 months ago by Donna L. Washburne Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Turtleback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (February 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618153101
• ISBN-13: 978-0618153107
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,828 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Entomology
  #4 in	Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Invertebrates
  #4 in	Books > Science > Agricultural Sciences > Entomology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Pictures, Not Enough Substance., February 15, 2007

By	Nemo T. Ocera (Ames) - See all my reviews

Alas, a good insect field guide is hard to come by. When I ordered the Kaufman guide I was optomistic that it could replace the badly outdated Peterson's guide; sadly this is not the case.

For a neophyte looking to ID your common backyard bugs this would suffice. There are plenty of wonderful pictures that can't otherwise be found in printed form. But for a serious student of entomology this 'guide' is of minimal use. There is virtually no information given to help in IDing a specimen. The guide goes with a purely visual approach which is simply not efficient for studying the great diversity of North American Hexapoda; unfortunately there is still no good choice for an up-to-date compact guide. For exhaustiveness, try picking up a copy of Borror & Delong's.

Even with its faults, I would still recommend picking this one up. The Kaufman guide is a good value, even if it will only be useful for the weekend entomologists out there.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Great for a Backyard Entomolgist, February 16, 2007

By	J. Clark (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This Field Guide sticks to the same tried and true format as the other Kaufman Field Guides (Birds, Butterflies, and Mammals). Every odd page is packed with digitally touched-up pictures of various insects and the even pages contain brief descriptions of the species/family, their habits, etc... Given the enormity of the insect fauna in North America north of Mexico (the region covered by this guide) it is obvious that a field guide such as this is not going to be able to cover but a fraction of what is out there. Additionally the target audience is not entomologists but rather more causal insect and nature lovers. As a result the selection of insects that are covered is limited. The authors in the introduction state that the guide focuses on "naked-eye entomology".

There are a few pages in the beginning devoted to non-insect invertebrates (spiders, millipedes, ...). It would have been nice if this section was a bit more comprehensive, then again maybe this foreshadows a future Kaufman Spiders field guide!

The pictures are all very nice and the book overall is very pleasing to the eye. The cover and binding seem like they will stand up to field use. Overall I am very pleased with this book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in insects.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Photos Not Much Else, February 18, 2007

By	Kyle Roberts "Entomologist in training" (Muncie, Indiana) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The pictures in this book are wonderful, the info is solid, but where are distriution maps, or any helpful info for finding the specimen? There is the occasional "It occurs in most of the mideastern states" or something along that line, but thats not narrow enough for me, plus all the info on the insects is just a paragraph or two about that insect family, not really specifing on individuals. All in all its a very nice book, but I guess I was looking forward to more, and I was let down, but I would still recommend it to anyone who is interested in seeing beautiful insect pictures and learning the very basic information about them.