Reviews (3)

Pleased and alsovery disappointed
I looked forward to receiving this book and the caterpillar photos are beyond compare except for a couple that are too dark. For those who have raised caterpillars and been interested in them these photos are magnificant.
The Beautiful Caterpillars
This book will change the way you feel about caterpillars. It transforms them from ugly pests into objects of beauty and of intellectual fascination. Based on more than twenty-five years of field research in the tropics by Janzen and Hallwachs and their assistants, it contains not only magnificent photos but also a wealth of information on the behavior and ecology of the species represented. It is at the same time a wonderful coffee table book and a great naturaly history read. In sum, I loved this book, and intend to give it as Christmas presents to all of my nature-loving friends.

Don't Forget the Larvae
We don't generally like insects much, remembering how they sting, sicken, or impoverish us, and forgetting that they do us invaluable service in the reproduction of new generations of countless plant species.We do like butterflies because they are so beautiful and harmless, but we do not like caterpillars because they are squirmy and eat our plants.There are countless books featuring pictures of beautiful butterflies and moths, but few featuring the larval forms of the insect.A look at _100 Caterpillars: Portraits from the Tropical Forests of Costa Rica_ (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press) by Jeffrey C. Miller, Daniel H. Janzen, and Winifred Hallwachs shows that the emphasis on the flying forms may be misplaced.The gorgeous, large-format pictures here show all the colors of which adult butterflies can boast, plus an enormous variation in patterns, spikes, hairs, body plans, and more.Indeed, after the hundred photographs, there is a section of the book devoted to detailed descriptions of the behavior and ecology of each caterpillar, and for each there is a small picture of the adult into which it will grow.Almost all the adults are more drab and less interesting than their larvae.
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Subjects:  1. Butterflies & Moths    2. Caterpillars    3. Costa Rica    4. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    5. Insects & Spiders    6. Nature    7. Nature / Field Guide Books    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Pictorial works    10. Butterflies    11. Insects (entomology)    12. Nature / Butterflies   

Reviews (3)

Nice general book
This is a very readable book - Bonney puts words together well. Not a "must have" in a beekeeper's library but a good general discussion of relevant topics. Assumes basic beekeeping knowledge. Overlaps with his beginner's book (Beekeeping: a Complete Guide); this would be aptly titled "Your Second Year as a Beekeeper."

This one is a keeper (pun intended).
In the past year I have borrowed from the library all the books I could find about beekeeping .This is one I plan to add to my personal library.

Excellent, very informative, a must have reference
Cover the subject in detail for good managemen ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Apiculture    2. Bee culture    3. Bees    4. Crafts & Hobbies    5. Hobbies/Crafts    6. Insects & Spiders    7. Nature    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Seasonal    10. Apiculture (beekeeping)    11. Nature / Insects & Spiders   

Reviews (4)

Enjoy Butterflies In Your Yard Or On Your Patio
I love the Stokes Nature Guides. I've owned The Butterfly Book for years. I found that when I followed the book's recommendations and put plants for both caterpillars and adult butterflies in my yard that my enjoyment of butterflies grew. I love all of the pictures of caterpillars and found the instructions for raising caterpillars helpful.
Bird lovers...become butterfly enthusiasts...
I've been enchanted with birds ever since I observed my parents whistling and mocking the mockingbirds who mocked them back. I've been a gardener forever, cursing those creepy caterpillers who devoured this and that. In the past few years I've taken a greater interest in butterflies, and lo what do I discover...the creepy caterpillers turn into the beautiful butterflies if the birds don't eat them first. I knew that of course because like lots of kids, I too brought home the cocoon found on some branch and kept it in a glass jar with holes punched in the top until it did not "hatch." Yes, I said did NOT. I never had any success with this effort so I forgot about caterpillers and cocoons--until I opened STOKES BUTTERFLY BOOK and there are those darn cocoons again. Handy guide
The two things I liked best about this book are the pages devoted toidentifying butterflies by color (it groups them so that if you see onethat is predominantly orange, you can look at the page of orangebutterflies to find the one you're trying to identify), and the pagesdevoted to creating an attractive butterfly garden, with schemes showinghow to arrange plants that attract butterflies. It's not a technical book,thereby making it a good guide for backyard butterfly enthusiasts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Behavior    2. Butterflies    3. Butterflies & Moths    4. Butterfly gardening    5. Identification    6. Lepidoptera    7. Nature    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Nature/Ecology    10. North America    11. Insects (entomology)    12. Nature / Butterflies   

Reviews (1)

An Admirable and Admiring Scientific Tribute
Southerners hate fire ants.Let alone that they are convinced that fire ants ruin land and ravage gardens: fire ants hurt.Anyone stung by just one knows that they deserve their name, but so often people are not stung by just one, but by a cluster.So it is alarming to find a southerner who ardently feels another way about the creatures."I love fire ants," is the first sentence in chapter one of _The Fire Ants_ (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press) by Walter R. Tschinkel, who says he has written it for "professional biologists and for people still open-minded enough to be intrigued, charmed, or fascinated by the many results of biological research on fire ants."Besides, the stings aren't so bad.He cites the Pain Rating Scale of Justin O. Schmidt, a venom specialist.Bullet ants get a 4+ rating ("like walking over flaming charcoal with a three inch nail imbedded in your heel") but fire ants muster only a 1.2 ("Like walking across a shag carpet and reaching for a light switch."I think he understates!)People who are allergic to stings of insects must beware, but even thousands of stings don't do any real damage: "Inebriated persons using a fire-ant 'bed' have sustained over 5000 fire-ant stings without signs of general toxicity (other than that of alcohol)."That sort of writing is typical of the amused, light touch that Tschinkel has brought to a 700 page, three pound volume which Edward O. Wilson declares in the foreword "a masterpiece".(Wilson was responsible, in 1962, for steering Tschinkel from biochemistry and organic chemistry to his current studies.)
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Subjects:  1. Fire ants    2. Insects & Spiders    3. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    4. Nature    5. Nature / Field Guide Books    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Insects (entomology)    8. Nature / Insects & Spiders   

Reviews (6)

The Butterflies of Costa Rica
After traveling different countries and using various field guides, I can say that this one needs a lot of improvement. This book only covers a small section of species.The specimens that are used are tattered and some are difficult to use for ID purposes. In most guides, the photo description on the left usually include the page number for the text, this one doesn't. So, you have to check the name and look to the index to cross over to the text page.Speaking of names, they are only called by the Latin scientific name.This is probably not a big issue since most do not have one.
A wonderful book
The diversity of life in the tropics is such that a tome like this covers just three of families of butterflies, not the whole lepidopteran fauna as other reviewers have pointed out. Nevertheless, these three are both important and conspicuous, including some of the most beautiful and sought after of tropical butterflies such as the Morphos, Owl Butterflies and Heliconiids. And, because of the paucity of literature for this region, this guide will prove useful well beyond the frontiers of Costa Rica where many of the same genera and even species occur - I use it all the time in Venezuela for example.
butterly museum
This book along with the photo essay book "Costa Rica : The Last Country the Gods Made" should be owned by anyone who loves Costa Rica, even if they think they despise nature studies as dry and limited. Buy it just for the color plates. This book's spirit is undeniable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Butterflies    2. Costa Rica    3. Insects    4. Lepidoptera    5. Nature / Field Guide Books    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Insects & spiders    8. Insects (entomology)   

Reviews (14)

guide to insects
book is full of information, and easy to read,plenty of pictures also.

The best field guide to North American insects
"In this century," according to ecologist Paul R. Ehrlich, "no one has done more to promote an interest in living creatures than Roger Tory Peterson, the inventor of the modern field guide." Peterson's "Guide to the Birds" - "the first modern field guide" - was published in 1934. Its pioneering approach was to use visual characteristics rather than technical data to identify species. This was achieved by grouping similar species together on a plate, using clear, two-dimensional illustrations, and pointers to key field marks as well as succinct text, a combination known as the Peterson Identification System. That revolutionary style was later applied to a host of field guides covering anything from the night sky to moths and geology to mushrooms and including the present volume.
Field Guide to Insects
I have used this book many times in my entomology courses.This time, I ordered 2 copies to give as gifts.
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Subjects:  1. Entomology    2. Identification    3. Insects    4. Insects & Spiders    5. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    6. Nature    7. Nature / Field Guide Books    8. Nature/Ecology    9. United States   

Reviews (1)

Beautiful presentation by internationally recognized expert
The more than thousand full-color specimen photographs in "The Encyclopedia of Butterflies" were taken at the Allyn Museum of Entomology/Florida Museum of Natural History, which houses one of the world's largest butterfly collections. This encyclopedia includes all of the world's butterflies, arranged in four family groups: the swallowtails (Papilionidae); the whites and sulfurs (Pieridae); the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae); and the hairstreaks, coppers, and blues (Lycaenidae).Read more

Subjects:  1. Butterflies    2. Dictionaries    3. Encyclopedias    4. Lepidoptera    5. Nature / Field Guide Books    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Insects (entomology)   

Subjects:  1. Dung beetles    2. Ecology    3. Entomology    4. General    5. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Animal ecology    9. Insects (entomology)   

Subjects:  1. Entomology    2. Insects & Spiders    3. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    4. Nature / Field Guide Books    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Science   

Reviews (1)

FABULOUS World for Butterflies!
As an educator and butterfly enthusiast I whole-heartedly recommend this book. Phil Schappert has done an amazing job at providing clear, easy-to-understand information about one of the world's most amazing insects. Remember learning about butterflies when you were a kid (probably learned a lot of incorrect material!)? Well, you will see pictures of what goes on in the butterfly world from this expert. The glossary provides a fabulous list of lep terms-just awesome! No butterfly afficionado should be without this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Butterflies    2. Butterflies & Moths    3. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    4. Insects & Spiders    5. Nature    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Nature Photography    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Reference    10. Wildlife Conservation    11. Butterflies - Identification    12. Nature / Insects & Spiders   

Reviews (1)

Nice idea, but very incomplete
First of all, I should acknowledge that there are hundreds of thousands of species of insects, and you can't expect a single book to cover all of them, even for a small area of the globe.That said, this book is still woefully lacking any sense of completeness.It seems to have gone overboard in covering "cute" insects (ten full pages of ladybird beetles, about half the book devoted to butterflies and moths), while leaving some things out completely.Earwigs and silverfish, for example, are entirely absent, as are the various aquatic bugs (water striders, backswimmers) that you find swimming on or under the water in most ponds.And while the book claims to cover some non-insect invertebrates, there's no mention whatsoever of pill bugs or even centipedes.
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Subjects:  1. Identification    2. Insects    3. Insects & Spiders    4. Invertebrates    5. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    6. Nature    7. Nature / Field Guide Books    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Northwest, Pacific    10. Nature / Insects & Spiders   

Reviews (3)

A great overview of the history of apiculture
I was enchanted by this book. Artfully written, it gives you a real sense of the history of the honey bee and of the people who cultivated it. Hattie Ellis incorporates a great diversity of viewpoints and imparts her love of the myriad flavors of honey, honey products and the foods they grew up with.

The stories of bees & honey from ancient to modern times
It's amazing to receive two books on honey and honeybees virtually simultaneously from different publishers, but that's how the publishing world goes, and Sweetness And Light is one of the two, following the stories of bees and honey from ancient to modern times. Hattie Ellis' history blends social issues, science, travel and nature insights, and comes from a columnist who specializes in writing about food. Lively anecdotes follow the history, especially the individuals involved in pioneering discoveries in the field. A 'must' for honey historians.
An Intimate Connection Between Human and Insect
Jonathan Swift, in _The Battle of the Books_, wrote about bees that they had filled their hives with honey and wax, "... thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light."The quote is the epigram for Hattie Ellis's book, Sweetness & Light: The Mysterious History of the Honeybee (Harmony Books).The book is partly a travelogue, as she visits different continents and describes their particular honeys, and a partly a review of bee literature, as well as an account of biology and natural history affecting human history.It is thus a wide-ranging tale, but anyone reading it will understand that bees and humans have had an intimate connection that surpasses in complexity any other we have made to domesticated animals.
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Subjects:  1. Entomology    2. General    3. Insects & Spiders    4. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    5. Nature    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Nature/Ecology    8. Nature / General   

Reviews (3)

Still the Best Guide to the Orthopteroid Orders
Helfer's monumental guide to grasshoppers and their relatives was originally published by William C. Brown many years ago.Fortunately Dover reprinted this classic.While behind in taxonomy, this book is still very useful and by far the most complete guide available.I only wish they would revise it, but I doubt that it will happen any time soon.
Hundreds of hopping hoppers
Although scientific names are a bit out of date, this book helps the serious student identify almost all of the roaches, mantids, walking sticks, earwigs, grasshoppers, and crickets in the U.S. I had a copy some time ago, lost it, and am glad to find another to replace it. The information in this book is at the level of a good field guide, but more complete than any could be. This is a great reference for the naturalist or field biologist involved with grasshoppers and their kin.

Very complete
This book was recommended to me by a local naturalist and I'm so glad I took the advice to buy it.Its very complete.There are no photographs, its all drawings and text but the drawings are very good.Lots of detail.I think this is for someone who is already familiar with insect taxonomy since there are a lot of refernces to specific part such as pronotum, tegmina, etc.Its a fantastic book though and one that I for example have been able to grow into. Appearance ofthe insects, sounds they make habits etc are all discussed.Latin and common names are used.Its a fun book.For the id, I use this book in addition to others that have photographs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Insects    2. Insects & Spiders    3. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    4. Nature / Field Guide Books    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Orthoptera    7. United States    8. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS   

Reviews (3)

totally useless
if you are interested in spiders, this is NOT the book for you.If you are interested in anything else, this is NOT the book for you.Spend the big bucks and get a real book on spiders.This is a waste of time.there are only 4 spiders in it!!!! very annoyed.

Good pictures, consider it is a pocket guide.
Yeah, the pictures on this book are great, but dont ever forget that it is a pocket guide, so you wont find any insect, you will find common ones, but even some common insects are not listed, anyway it is a good book for begginer in order to learn the difference among different insect orders. Scintillating overview of amazing insect creatures!!!
This book is a must have for all die-hard insect fanatics.A triumph ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arachnida    2. Identification    3. Insects    4. Insects & Spiders    5. Nature    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Nature/Ecology    8. North America    9. Spiders    10. Nature / Insects & Spiders   

Editorial Review

"Nothing pleases me more than to come upon an impressive orb-web with a large spider sitting head-down in the middle," Paul Hillyard writes in the preface to this charming collection of spider legends and observations. And while many of us may not share his desire to get really close to arachnids, even a certified spider-hater can find something interesting in Read more

Reviews (3)

I love this book!
Only 3% of the human population enjoys spiders! If you are one of those rare folks or a lay scientist this little gem of a book will charm and educate you with hundreds of fascinating facts. The prodigious talents and feats of many different types of spiders are described accurately and precisely.Written in a conversational style the varied topics of facts, history, myth, are explored with an often whimsical and affectionate eye. Astound your friends with little known spider facts, recite lengthy, descriptive spider poems to your loved one. Includes an extensive biography for further research. It's a keeper for me, I look forward to impressing my grandchildren, having already amazed my 14-y/o for years with my spider facts and stories...

A spidery delight
This is not what you would call an information book, although there is plenty of excellent information in it, from a guy who really knows his spiders. It's more of a casual stroll through the sometimes unpleasant but never boring world of spiders, plucking the juiciest tidbits of information as it goes. If you need a systematic overview, this isn't the book for you. But as a good read that takes you through the highs (web-building) and the lows (how they eat) of the spider world, it's unbeatable. Come into his parlor ...
Hillyard is a friendly, engaging writer and his book is fine bait for any arachnophile. But he purports to be passionate about spiders, and this book doesn't show it. It's entirely too light on its subject ... for example,there isn't a single technical drawing or close-up photograph in the wholebook. Color plates for those fantastically varied species? None either. Andthe next-to-last chapter on significant spider classifiers, those Englishcountry parsons, is really a snooze. The most significant problem is thelack of a chapter on spider myths, an odd omission for a subject as murkyand maligned as spiders. He could have broken some new ground, as well ...For instance, the hobo spider, a wholly new venomous species, is spreadingthrough the Pacific Northwest ... how did it get here? Who found it? Whendo people bump into it, and how does it behave? What is its future? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Insects & Spiders    2. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Spiders    6. Zoology    7. Nature / Insects & Spiders   

Subjects:  1. Fossils    2. Insects, Fossil    3. Invertebrate Paleontology    4. Nature / Field Guide Books    5. Paleontology    6. Quaternary    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Insects (entomology)    9. Palaeozoology   

Reviews (4)

Fascinating world of nature.

bit disappointing
The information in this book is a bit generic and lacking in interesting factual information. I find the chapters disappointing when I read about a particular insect. The text is not particularly inspiring and does not capture the fascination of the insects' natural history. The topic is a fine one but it is handled much better by classic works like Fabre and Linsenmaier's "Insects of the World". We need to encourage writing on this topic by our best natural history authors and entomologists.

terrific book!
This is a great reference! It has all sorts of insects that you come across in your lawn/gardens/woods.I use it constantly when i'm out looking at butterflies and get distracted looking at other insects.Its great.It breaks the insects down into those that you'll see in spring, summer, fall and winter.It has reference tables on where to look for the insects (e.g. ponds, fields, ground, etc) and tells about their lifecycles.Its just facinating.You can learn a lot without being heavy into the science of orders and classes and things like that.Really a great resource ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Behavior    2. Entomology    3. General    4. Habits and behavior    5. Insects    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Nature/Ecology    8. Seasonal distribution    9. Wildlife watching   

Reviews (1)

Joy of gardening
I thought this book was like an encylapidia to gardening, it had so much helpful information, and was so easy to understand and use. If you are a first or pro gardener this book will fasinate you, and give you intrestinggarning ideas. This book is a must have. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Encyclopedias    3. Entomology    4. Insects    5. Insects & Spiders    6. Nature    7. Nature / Field Guide Books    8. Reference   

Reviews (1)

Grasshoppers and Mantids of the World
* Covers the world's grasshoppers, katydids, crickets, cockroaches, mantids and stick insects - the orthopteroids
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Subjects:  1. Insects & Spiders    2. Nature    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Nature/Ecology   

Reviews (8)

I loved this book
I LOVED this book.As Joanne Lauck in her book The Voice of the Infinite in the Small says, "The affinity of beekeepers for their bees is called `bee fever.' Its onset might be slow or fast, but the end result is the same.You fall in love with honeybees and get your first hive.Later as puzzled friends and relatives ask you why, you try to explain, calling the malady a blessing."William Longgood caught his bee fever after he got his first hive, and this is the story of its manifestation.I have discovered something in the reading of his book..."bee fever" is contagious.I think I have caught it.Mr. Longgood, a Pulitzer Prize winner, brings his deep observational skills to bear in this delightful book.I recommend it to anyone who has an affinity for other forms of life on our planet.I HIGHLY recommend it for someone who is afraid of bees as I was before I read this book.I still have a bit of the shadow of my former fear, but much of it has been replaced by respect and curiosity.I truly believe that affinity and compassion is the best defense against fear, and certainly Mr. Longgood's book aides the development of both for the honeybee.I was very sorry to discover that Mr. Longgood has passed into the Infinite in August of 2000, but I cannot imagine he would need a better legacy than this wonderful book.

A wonderful read for those who love bees
I have always loved this book and I am glad to see it is still in print.Without using a lot of technical jargon, the author explains the comings and goings of the Queen Bee quite well.Those who enjoy a good read about bees will appreciate this little gem.

Don't bother!
As a critic once said of humorist/musician Tom Lehrer, "...plays piano acceptably."So Mr. Longgood, who teaches writing, writes acceptably, at least stylistically.And he does betray some knowledge of bees and beekeeping, although his unreasoned anthropomorphising of them quite gets in the way of any real understanding, either on his part or that of his readers.Read more

Subjects:  1. Agriculture & Animal Husbandry - General    2. General    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Apiculture (beekeeping)    5. Insects & spiders