Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies (Paperback)

by Blair Nikula (Author), Jackie Sones (Author), Donald Stokes (Author), Lillian Stokes (Author) "Wings: Broad wings, with complete or partial coloration; butterfly-like flight pattern..." (more)
Key Phrases: perches horizontally, perches obliquely, black shoulder stripes, Flight Season, North America, Common Names of Genera (more...)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Acclaimed bird and nature authorities, Donald and Lillian Stokes have written more than 22 books. They divide their time between Carlisle, Massachusetts, and Sanibel, Florida.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316816795
• ISBN-13: 978-0316816793
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,480 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #21 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Entomology
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  #45 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Fauna > Insects & Spiders

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is what it says it is. Good value!, February 17, 2003

By	M. Broderick "mikebinok" (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is that funny looking bug?, June 8, 2002

By	Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

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.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Guide I've Been Waiting For, April 24, 2002

By	Nature Lady (Katonah, NY United States) - See all my reviews

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.