Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects (Fireside Book) (Paperback)

by Dr. Ross H. Arnett (Author), Dr. Richard L. Jr. Jacques (Author) "Insects live wherever a living organism can sustain itself with food and find a mate..." (more)
Key Phrases: hairlike setae, middle tibiae, chewing type, United States, North America, Habitat Adults (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Whether you are a novice or experienced collector, student, farmer, or weekend gardener, you will find Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects a highly authoritative, startlingly beautiful field guide to 350 insect species commonly found throughout North America.

The introduction to the text explains the anatomy and behaviors of these amazingly diverse creatures, as well as the easiest, most efficient manner in which to preserve and mount your insect collection. Each entry is stunningly complemented by one or more color photographs and contains information about the habitat, distribution, length, recognition marks, and other pertinent details concerning the particular species. A three-part visual key provides instantaneous identification of the insect's primary activity, its habitat, and its ecological significance. This is an indispensable reference tool for anyone fascinated by the insect world.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

1 ORCHESELLA CINCTA
Slender Sphagnum Springtail

Family Entomobryidae

Order Collembola

Length ± 1.8 mm.

Recognition marks Pale yellow to blackish purple; antennae are 6-segmented. This group is very distinctive because of the large fourth abdominal segment, at least twice the length of the third segment as seen from dorsal view.

Habitat Found on sphagnum moss growing in woodland pools.

Distribution This species belongs to a family of 138 species in northeastern United States and Canada.

Note Springtails are among the most abundant of insects, yet they are very seldom seen by nonprofessional collectors. Nearly any moist soil sample will yield hundreds of individuals. If you watch the activity going on in a bowl containing wood's moss, you will see these creatures plying their way through the vegetation. Springtails undoubtedly are a main food source for many small beetle larvae and for centipedes. Very few details are known about their lives. It is known that the males place spermatophores in strategic positions on the soil so that the females will encounter them. She engulfs these gelatinous masses into her reproductive tract where the sperm are released and fertilize her eggs.

2 ACERELLA BARBERI
Soil Proturan

Family Acerentomidae

Order Protura

Length ± 1.8 mm.

Recognition marks Body white; front pair of legs projected forward and used as sense organs rather than for locomotion.

Habitat Soil; these insects are seldom seen.

Distribution Poorly known, probably throughout eastern North America.

Note These primitive insects need further study. Some authorities do not consider them to be insects but a separate group by themselves. They show some relationship to the springtails. Spiracles and Malpighian tubules (excretory organs), both characteristic of insects, are absent in this and similar species of the order. In addition, unlike "true" insects, they add abdominal segments during each molt. Other insects have a complete complement of segments upon hatching.

3 THERMOBIA DOMESTICA
Silverfish

Family Lepismatidae

Order Thysanura

Length ± 12 mm.

Recognition marks Uniformly slate gray; body is covered with scales; eyes are small with separate elements.

Habitat Warm, humid places, including home, but also in the wild in southern Florida and in other tropical regions.

Distribution Cosmopolitan.

Note This species is often a pest in homes and libraries. It feeds on starchy materials, such as glue, but requires high humidity. It can be reared in glass jars where it will feed on oatmeal and other starchy foods. Potatoes will provide the necessary water. Do not let it mold or let the jar get too dry. Other species of this poorly known order can be captured in the wild. They are found in leaf litter and among rocks and in debris along the shore. These insects are considered to be very primitive, perhaps the most primitive of living forms. The appendages on the ventral surface of the abdomen are one indication of this even though these are not functional locomotive appendages. Silverfish might well be considered living fossils; they are much older than the dinosaurs.

4 HOLJAPYX DIVERSIUNGUS
Slender Dipluran

Family Japygidae

Order Diplura

Length 8-10 mm.

Recognition marks Elongate; pale tan, with central portion of each abdominal segment darker, apical segment dark brown, with a pair of stout forceps.

Habitat Soil-inhabiting species.

Distribution Widespread, but local, spotty distribution.

Note Although all of these primitive wingless insects are rather small and devoid of attractive colors, they are worthy of study if for nothing more than the fact that so little is known about them. The wingless primitive insect pictured at the introduction to this section is a wild thysanuran. They are fast runners. They must be closely examined to distinguish them from the nymphs of some other order. Perhaps this is why they have been overlooked for so long.

Copyright © 1981 by Simon & Schuster Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; 2 edition (May 4, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671250140
• ISBN-13: 978-0671250140
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #268,312 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable quick reference guide for organic gardeners!, March 11, 1998

By A Customer

It would be impossible for any single book to be a total guide (and I have many!), but this book has EXCELLENT photographs - which is especially helpful with hemiptera (true bugs), since there is a shortage of identifying guides for them. I not only found photos of insects that I (and my county ag agent) had been unable to identify, this book is wonderfully keyed to indicate whether insects are beneficials, pests, neutral, etc. This "at a glance" keying (by color, symbols and single alpha's) is very helpful for gardeners since most books do not give good information on what insects eat (a predator can develop into a pest as an adult, and vice versa), etc., but rather only provide physical identification information. Organic gardeners can frequently find information only on the worst (most common) pests, and may live in areas where they have worst pests that are not indigenous elsewhere, or identification of the most common predators, that may not be universally common. The author give life histories and other valuable information frequently lacking in "identification" books. Scientific names are provided for the more serious reader - and to help in identifying similiar insects in more complete but poorly illustrated books. Because of the beautiful photos, it would be a good "beginner book" for a budding entomologist too! This book is a real bargain!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for the Casual Nature Fan, May 17, 2000

By	William T. Parnell (Sherman, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great general reference guide with photos by renowned insect photographer Dr. Edward Ross. A well done eighty-three page introduction covers such topics as classification, anatomy, behavior and collecting. Not for real die hards as the number of species is limited. Great though for students, naturalists, nature photographers and others interested in a good general introduction that uses top quality photography.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Exercise in Frustration, November 22, 2004

By	Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Consider the lucky birders. In North America there are less than 900 species of birds. While some may be only 3 or four inches long, others are measured in feet. New birding guides are issued every year. And while a few species, like the empidonax flycatchers may be difficult to tell apart, all of the species are illustrated in most guides, and 90% are identifiable if the birder gets a good look at them.

Now consider the amateur entomologist. There are over 80,000 species of insects in North America. Most insects are relatively small. Telling the difference between species may require examining the vein pattern in wings. The field guides to insects illustrate at most 700 insects. No wonder there are more bird watchers than insect watchers. And no wonder there hasn't been a major insect field guide published since 1981!

A field guide to insects then probably can't help you identify most specific species. The authors feel they have done their job if they can help you identify the family. Unfortunately most, including the Simon & Schuster guide, may not even do that.

To test insect guides I took a series of pictures of each of three insects and then tried to identify them with the help of the guides. They were pictures of a butterfly-like insect, a bee and a fly. Simon and Schuster helped me identify the insect order with a table that provided common features of an order and gave its name. I then was required to flip through the pages describing the orders, which are arranged taxonomicaly, to find a description of the order and the entry numbers of the pictures and descriptions of that order. (It would have been convenient if the table had listed the page where I could find the order description and the pages where I could have found the initial entries.) Next I had to flip through the entries, examining each photograph to find an insect that most closely resembled my specimen.

I should note that some guides use drawings while others, like Simon and Schuster use photographs. My experience is that either method may be more advantageous in a specific case.

For my butterfly-like insect, I immediately identified it as a Brown Skipper. My bee looked most like a Carpenter Bee, an identification I felt more comfortable with after consulting other guides. But I could not identify my fly at any level lower than order.

Of the field guides I examined, I found this to be the least satisfactory, both as to convenience, and as to the number of insects shown. And since one is unlikely to make a precise identification unless on finds exactly the species on is looking for, the more insects the better.

Even though they are only a little better, most people trying to identify insects will probably be happier with the Peterson Guide, "A Field Guide to Insects" by Donald J. Borror and Richard E. White or the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders" by Loris and Margery Milne.