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Dragonflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to Dragonflies of North America (Butterflies Through Binoculars) 1st Edition

by Sidney W. Dunkle (Author)

4.2 76 ratings

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Dragonfly watching is fast becoming an enjoyable and exciting hobby for many of those who love butterfly watching.

This book picks up on that trend and brings it to the reader in an attractive and accessible format. A new addition to Oxford's acclaimed Butterflies through Binoculars series of field guides, Dragonflies through Binoculars allows for quick and easy identification of all the 300-plus species of dragonflies that have been found in the United States and Canada. In these well-illustrated pages, Sidney W. Dunkle answers any query the beginner or expert might have on the subject of dragonfly-watching on this continent--what kind of binoculars to buy, where to start looking for dragonflies, how to photograph these striking creatures, which clubs or societies to join, and so forth. Other important features for this handy field guide include detailed accounts of every species mentioned, useful information on habitats, explanations of mating rituals, full-color photographs of most of the species described, and range maps.

ISBN-10

0195112687
ISBN-13

978-0195112689
Edition

1st
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

October 12, 2000
Language

English
Dimensions

8.27 x 5.53 x 0.79 inches
Print length

368 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dragonflies have been around for over 250 million years, and it's about time they got the recognition they deserve...Now that shortcoming has been rectified for the 307 North American species in Dragonflies Through Binoculars, a compact book full of information...[Sidney W. Dunkle] has succeeded admirably with this volume, which is sure to delight the ever-increasing ranks of dragonfly enthusiasts...The range maps alone are worth the price of the book...Buy this book and spend a sunny summer afternoon along the shore of a stream, pond, or lake; your life will be transformed." -- Dennis R. Paulson, Science"This long anticipated field guide has filled one of the major identification gaps for the general naturalist in North America.... The species accounts...contain a wealth of previously unrecorded biological and field identification information."--Audubon Naturalist News"Until now...there has not been a good field guide for the dragonflies of North America. The new Dragonflies through Binoculars fills this need, and is sure to swell the ranks of those pursuing these fast-fliers.... The 47 color plates illustrate all but 14 of the 307 species of dragonflies found in North America....Each species has a very complete written account that provides extensive details on identification, comparisons with similar species, habitat notes, and information on seasonal occurrence. The author's personal comments on each species are particularly helpful, and reveal Dunkle's extensive knowledge and passion for dragonflies."--Birding Business"More than just a field guide, Dragonflies through Binoculars describes the habitual, seasonal occurrence, and natural history of 307 species of dragonflies."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Book Description

The best collection available of photos of living dragonflies, organized to facilitate field identification

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (October 12, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195112687
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195112689
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.27 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.27 x 5.53 x 0.79 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,532,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #710 in Biology of Insects & Spiders
- #2,659 in Zoology (Books)
- #2,880 in Literature

Customer Reviews:
4.2 76 ratings

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4.2 out of 5

76 global ratings

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ealovitt

It came from the Carboniferous

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2004

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I should have been clued in by this book's title, but I was still disappointed when I realized that damselflies were not included in the guide. Since one of my entomological challenges is distinguishing damselflies from their generally larger and faster-flying odonate cousins, it would have been nice to have both in one book.
Whining aside, "Dragonflies through Binoculars" contains a good, well-organized collection of photographs and descriptions of living dragonflies, with 47 plates in full color, plus information on all 307 species found in North America. These ancient insects are enameled in heraldic designs of stripes, checks, and diagonals as though they were about to fly off to an aerial jousting match---which is probably just what they will do as soon as you have your binoculars trained on them. I even saw one dragonfly with a miniature death's-head emblazoned on its thorax.
If you think I'm the only romantic concerning these fascinating Paleozoic-era hunters, tell me why they have been christened with such outlandish names as 'Ebony Boghaunter' or 'Stygian Shadowdragon.'
This book is more concerned with the current ecology of the dragonfly, rather than its 300-million year history. The author also gives advice such as what kind of binoculars to purchase, which clubs or societies to join, and how to photograph these elusive darters in their natural surroundings---there are no hints of kill bottles in this book!
Buy a copy of this book and see if dragonfly watching doesn't become your newest, most enjoyable hobby.

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

Brake4Moose

Dragonflies Are Most Awesome Creatures!

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2014

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This Dragonfly guide has everything and anything you need or want to know about them. Similar to the bird books that are out there, this informative guide gives you color photos so you can match up the dragonflies that you have seen then get the information about their habitat, where they usually are found and when as well as other stuff that pertains to them. I got this at the end of the season for us up north here but this will be in my backpack when I go out taking photographs next year along with my bird book. I highly recommend this if you are an insect lover or just love to traverse the edges of lakes, ponds, rivers or fields and would like to know what you have found on your hike.

Helpful

tool using primate

Disappointing and frustrating

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2016

Verified Purchase

Since many of the low ratings seem to be complaints about the kindle edition (for which I thank the commentors), here is a negative review based on the print edition, which I have had for years, but never use in the field.

I recommend Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies if you are starting out -- it is better organized, considers the needs of beginners regarding learning taxonomy and ID, and has more useful pictures. It is a bit bigger than a deck of cards, and can fit in a jacket pocket, let alone a daypack.

Dunkle's book continually frustrates me. The photos are all at the end of the book, and listed only by so-called 'common names', without proper taxonomic names (although the range maps on the facing pages have the Latin species names as well as common). If you have any serious interest in Odonata, all the professional literature uses proper taxonomic names. There is a movement in the Odonata hobby world to establish universally accepted common names, such as in the world of bird watching. I suppose that is is the motivation for the way names are presented here. I would rather learn proper taxonomy and learn one name than have to learn both so-called common AND taxonomic names. Publishers should at least give the proper taxonomic names the same graphic weight as the common names.

The photos here are so small as to be frequently useless, as well as being sometimes so dark that details are obscured. I believe this is the fault of the publisher, not the author. I don't kill or capture insects unless they are harming my garden. I photograph them and use detailed close-ups of diagnostic features for ID. If you ID bugs with the animal in your hand and magnifier handy, you may find the descriptive material in Dunkle sufficient. Be aware that there are species that can not be identified without the use of a magnifier or even a microscope for inspection of diagnostic characters. By avoiding capturing insects we must accept being unable to do positive ID on some species.

As proof that modern publishing technology permits better organization and graphics, consider the excellent "Dragonflies and Damselflies of Georgia and the Southeast", by Giff Beaton (2007, U of GA Press) which has very useful frequently life size or larger photos, excellent descriptions and better organization, with images integrated very well into the text. Although it is a bit heavy to be a pack-along field guide, it is only a bit larger and heavier than Dunkle's book, and I find my copy far more useful (I live in the area it covers). It is also better bound and constructed. Dunkle has glued in fascicles, while Beaton has sewn in fascicles and a cloth spine with sturdy card-paper covers. It will actually last as a field guide while the Dunkle will be more likely to fall apart. Again, the fault of the publisher more than the author.

For serious professional level work or citizen scientists, there are larger and more expensive professional monographs by Needham et al, with detailed anatomical keys and many excellent illustrations. Those are expensive, heavy, and not for the field unless you are working out of a vehicle with your dissecting scope by your side.

Ed Lam writes that he is in the process of illustrating a Petersen's Guide to Dragonflies of NA, and judging from the sample paintings on his website, it should be very good, and a genuine packable fieldguide. I hope his great artwork is allowed to be printed large enough to be appreciated and useful.

I bought the Beaton book after finding the Dunkle book too frustrating to use, and had I bought Beaton first, I would not have bought the Dunkle. Depending on where you live, you may find a regional guide more useful than either of these, but I like the Beaton book quite well.

I also have Butterflies through Binoculars, which has organization and construction similar to the Dunkle, but is somewhat more useful since butterflies are often more unique in appearance than Odonata, so the too-small photos at the end of the book are a bit less annoying. I think when these books came out they may have been an improvement on available field guides, but I think they have been superceded in utility and quality.

16 people found this helpful

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Evelyn Horn

from the Naturalist-in-Training

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2011

Verified Purchase

I'm soon to leave colorado's Western Slope for a long-planned trip to Aransas, Texas (near Corpus Christi). My purpose: to attend the 12th annual Whooping Crane Festival. But of course there will be many new things to experience! The information from their Chamber of Commerce included a link to dragonflies of the area: a bit skimpy but a clue to a life-form I've long wondered about.
Dunkle's book has given me a new understanding: the introduction describes the body parts which are new to me! And an explanation of those various parts. I'll arrive in Texas prepared (I hope) to recognize the dragonflies that I might encounter.
Evelyn Horn
author of three books (all available at Amazon.com)

Helpful

Disapointing

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2022

Verified Purchase

First, when the author says Dragonflies, he means just dragonflies. Damselflies are not covered in this book. Second, the title includes "through binoculars" and seems to promise special help those using binoculars. There's really nothing for binocular users -- save a paragraph recommending what general type of binoculars to buy. The plates are just pictures and not especially good ones. No graphic hints are provided to make ID easier. I live in Nevada (the West) and Paulson's Dragonflies and Demselflies of the West is far better. Best of all for field ID in Nevada is Manolis' Dragonflies and Damselflies of California, supplemented by a printed checklist for Nevada from Odanata Central.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Gustav A. Richar

Dragonflies through Binoculars

Reviewed in Canada on June 3, 2009

Verified Purchase

Since this is a field guide to dragonflies for the whole of North America, we marked the plates of the species that are living in our area, the north shore of Georgian Bay. This will ease the identification process. The book's dragonflies' groupings in spring, summer and fall species are of help.

For years we saw dragonflies on our walks. Then, becoming more sophisticated, we knew about Darners, Meadowhawks, and Skimmers. The next step, with the help of this guide, seems to be more difficult and time consuming than we believed it could be: now we want to identify every dragonfly we encounter.

One should carry this field guide on outdoor trips when looking for dragonflies, carry the book until one has become familiar with these species.

Much can be said about the separation of text from the plates. One has to get used to flip pages. I prefer photo and text together like in many bird and flower guides, but for a quicker initial identification check having the plates together may have a benefit.

Andrew Hodgson

Excellent field guide

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2009

Verified Purchase

This a great dragonfly guide.
The text section deals with all the usual field guide information, and is clearly presented and rich in content.
The photo section is separate, along with the distribution maps, which could make the book a little slower to use in the field, although it does have the advantage that you can see a lot of similar species photographed on one page, rather than having to flick bewteen several adjacent pages.
Excellent value for money. The butterfly books in the series are also equally good.

janet Briggs

great service arrived on time

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

Brilliant used for research

Bev

One Star

Reviewed in Canada on October 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

Pictures were not of great quality and most of them had the shot at one angle.

One person found this helpful

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