Customer Reviews

Peterson Field Guide(R) to Beetles (Peterson Field Guides)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are approximately one million species of animals on our planet; about three quarters are insects; and approximately 40% of those are beetles. There are 30,000 kinds of beetle in North America. They are plentiful and varied -- a real joy to observe or collect. This Peterson field guide begins with two chapters on collecting and preserving beetles, and then delves into their identification. An anatomical flow chart on the endpages directs you to the various beetle families, and there you will find a physical description, similar families, and information about numbers, range, habits, collecting methods and examples. There are about 600 line drawings and 65 color plates.

This is a solid field guide, but the meager percentage of color pictures is problematic. Beetles are quite colorful and that should be the most salient identifying characteristic, but neither the black & white drawings nor the often color-free descriptions help in that regard -- a real weakness for a guide to these beautiful insects. I would rather pay more for an all-color guide.

Really, when considering whether or not this book is any good, you've got to consider what you want out of it. If you want a field guide that you can use to easily identify beetles that you find, this really isn't the best choice. If you want a book with lots of nice photos or illustrations, again, this isn't the one you're looking for.
If, on the other hand, you're looking for a book that will give you a slightly more in-depth information on beetles than you generally get in a general insect field guide, then this may be what you're looking for. That's my two cents, anyway.

A great companion to the Peterson Field Guide to the Insects. Lots of great illustrations. Many picture examples from each family of beetles. Great descriptions of each beetle. A MUST have for collectors of Coleoptera. Good for layman, also.

This book is a spendid combination of text and pictures that is at once informative and inspiring. The text clearly points out critical information about North America's beetle families and specific examples of each, while maintaining brevity and readability for any backyard naturalist. The pictures, both b&w (predominantly) and colour, very nicely further the text by showing the overall appearance of major types of beetles, and by pointing out important features for the identification of each.
The book effectively accomplishes what any field guide sets out to do: quick and accurate in-field identification of major beetle families, with further examples of the most common subfamilies. This book would make an excellent addition to any home or classroom where interest in insects, and beetles in particular, exists.
For those wanting to identify Canadian/US beetles beyond backyard interest, consider Arnett's AMERICAN BEETLES.

This book, as with other Peterson Field Guides has excellent written descriptions and illustrations. As such, it is best used in conjunction with other guides for final verification. Take caution with scientific names, as many classifications have changed in 25 years. Also, don't expect more color plates than in Peterson Insect Guide.

Bottom line: no self-respecting bug hunter would be without this book. If this is you, buy it.

I grew up with the Peterson Field Guides and still love them. I think I used to fall asleep reading this guide to beetles (okay, weird, I know). I like the pictures better in some other guides but I still think the Peterson guides are the best for learning. This book has a nice guide to beetle structure and development as well as collecting. What I really like about the book are the notes: other guides give names, locations, and possibly the insects' size but these guides really give you a mini-education. Almost every family has a full page or so of notes concerning identification, location, collecting tips, and behavior. I don't think this can be beat for a general introduction the beetles.

Like most field guides, unless you already have a good knowledge of most genera and species, trying to figure out which family some belong to, in refining your search, can be a little daunting out in the field. As a insect collector, more color plates whould be more helpful, knowing how it helps in determination at a glance.

Not as easy to use as some other field guides. Finely detailed and informative guide, but the majority of photographs are black and white, making identification not so easy.

For the price this book is very good, but certainly not complete. For the low price one could not really expect much more information. I recommend it as a guide in purchasing further more expensive books on beetles.

This field guide will be very useful with it's diagrams and other study tools about the world of insects. I'm glad I added this book to my library.
The black & white pictures are very detailed as well as the color illustrations.
I recommend this Peterson Field Guide to other beetle enthusiasts.