Customer Reviews

Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book will not make you an expert on dragonflies. It does give you sufficient information on them to help understand what you see when you view them in the field. And it helps you identify the most common ones in the USA and Canada.

A few pages in the front of the book give brief background information on dragonflies, and on equipment and strategies for observing them in the field. Then you go to page after page of species descriptions. Important identification information is given for each species, and at least one (sometimes more when appropriate) photo. The photos are usually of good quality both as photos and as identification aids.

A key in the inside cover of the book helps you pick out characteristics of a dragonfly you are observing, and the key then points you to the appropriate pages in the book using a color tab system.

I compared copies in hand of this book, and its chief competitor, DRAGONFLIES THROUGH BINOCULARS. I felt this book would be more useful in the field, so I ordered this one from Amazon.com, not the binoculars book. That's the best testimony I can give. I've since read and begun to use the book, and I am happy with my choice.

Only downside to this book is that it may tempt you to order one of the larger, more in-depth books on dragonflies, which are quite expensive!

This is the book I've been waiting for! I've been trying to learn about dragonflies for the past year and I found a very helpful guide with this book.

First, the inside cover has a quick identification table that helps you determine the family of dragonfly or damselfly right away. Then using the color coding in the book, you can flip right to the section for that family. If that's not enough, there is another page inside that steps you through how to make the identification. In other words, what you should look for first, then next, and so on.

There is also information on anatomy, behavior, life cycle, development, feeding habits and migration. And if you don't learn enough here, they've included a list of resources to learn more.

The illustrations are larger than some guides and very clear.

This easy to use guide includes "over 100 of the approximately 435 North American species"--some of the "most common, widespread and conspicuous," and does include representatives from each family.

It even suggests how best to spend your time in the field. So get your guide and get out and identify dragonflies.

Maybe I first noticed Dragonflies one of those summers I attended Girl Scout camp and I saw a pretty blue-winged insect shimmering over the lake where we went for our daily swim. Or maybe I saw my first fly when I sat on a creek bank waiting for the catfish to bite. I saw them so often when I was a child growing up in the rural South and Midwest, that I took them for granted. Not until the great Henry Mitchell, a local gardener and columnist with the Washington Post (and author of many books on gardening) wrote about his horse troughs and Dragonfiles did I sit up and say, "You mean there's more than one kind??"

Mr. Mitchell taught me that Dragonfiles can drown in deep water if they try to take a drink, and that Dragonflies, Damselflies and Butterflies all need shallow water. That's why you see them hovering over mud puddles and why every bird bath needs a shallow spot. In Mr. Mitchell's garden, the Dragonflies drank from the leaves on his water lillies. If you plant water lillies, you will see a Dragonfly or two or three.

The BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO DRAGONFLIES is destined to help me help my granddaughters develop an appreciation of Dragonfiles and Damselflies. According to authors Nikula, Sones, and Stokes, the major differences between the two are wing shapes, wing positions, eye positions, overall appearance and flight style. Some of the photos even depict Dragonflies that might be confused with Butterflies. We are going to learn about: 'Cruisers', 'Spiketails', 'Clubtails', 'Petaltails'
and a whole lot more. Seems that pretty neon blue insect I've seen hovering over the pond may be a 'Pond Damsel.'

Each of the illustrated "Identification" pages in DRAGONFLIES contains a photograph and text description of the fly and a map of Northern America depicting the range of the insect in question. Each map shows the entire country plus Canada. The pages of the book are color coded by family type so you can link the Dragonfly or Damselfly to it's family. Get this book and enjoy the summer fun.

Being one to generally dislike "beginner's guides" I make an exception for this one. Maybe because when it comes to dragonflies, I am a beginner.

The photos are generally of good quality and the key in the front of the book helps narrow down a specimen to the proper family without resorting to some of the quirky systems in some other field guides I have seen.

It obviously doesn't show you everything you might see, but so far everything I have seen has been in this book.

On advantage is it also contains damselflies. I would like to see Stokes come out with a full-blown field guide (or two, one for east and one for west) for dragonflies. Hopefully this is a first step in that direction.

Botton line, if you have an interst in answering, "What is that?" when you see one of these beauties in the wild, this book is a good starting point and at very comfortable price.

Clear and beautiful photos with helpful information make it easy to ID dragonflies. If you want to use it as field guide or as picture book this is the one to have.

Excellent identification book for beginners. Simple information concepts and good location maps with each dragonfly picture.

This book lives up to its title: it is an excellent first guide for someone just beginning to observe the marvelous "Odes." (Odes, short for Odonata, the scientific name for the Order of Dragonflies and Damselflies, is a word you're likely to become familiar with.) Besides a good pictorial introduction to the main families, the book provides a solid introduction to the life cycle, one that will probably inspire you to read more. The color tabs on the edge of the book are very helpful for quickly locating the right pages for identification. All in all, a great book.

Stokes does it again. Great first time book if you are interested in Dragonflies and Damsflies. Has great pictures and U.S map of where they live. I truly enjoy looking at this book over and over again. Great size for traveling or just having in you backpack.

This concise little guide is designed with the beginner in mind with its tons of information on distinguishing the difference between dragonflies and their cousins the damselflies. It come replete with lots of large photos of many of the major species of Odonata. Its only shortcoming is that is tends to lean more to species of the eastern United States. For this reason, family species like the Setwings, among others, are omitted.
Especially helpful is the introduction and easy id charts on the inside of front and back covers. This little book is worth its weight in gold on account of these charts alone!

Although I already had other more advanced books, I am glad that I bought this book also. It is well laid out, and very helpful to a newcomer to Odes. This book delves into many aspects of the Dragonfly life cycle, and contains many useful photos.