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Title: National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ISBN: 0-394-50763-0 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 12 November, 1980 Format: Turtleback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.8 (20 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Generally and Excellent Book
Comment: Even if I am not actually "in the field" I love to read the descriptions and see the photos of the insects and spiders in this book. You learn something new every time you pick it up. The photographs are very clear, often capturing an image of a difficult-to-photograph insect (some of them only 1/32" in size). The thumbnails make it easy to get yourself in the right general area by body type, then you move through the section to identify the specific insect/spider in question. The text descriptions of the spiders is, for me, the most interesting part of this book, and you'll come to appreciate arachnids like never before.
My only criticism of this book is that the editors decided to spend relatively less time on some of the insects that you are more likely to actually see (just two examples that come to mind are millipedes and centipedes), while spending a lot of time on insects that are very unlikely to be witnessed by most amateurs (for example, there is extensive coverage of mites and fleas). Of couse, no one would expect Audubon to be able to cover every angle of the insect world, and no matter what choice Audubon makes they will please some people and displease others. In future editions, however, I would love to see the same coverage of the rare insects with some expansion.
For educational purposes, however, this book is terrific. Children could definitely use it to begin to appreciate the diversity and importance of the insect world. Reading about very tiny insects -- even if they never actually see them -- will reinforce for children the idea that the world is full of life, even in places they can't see. Every description in this book should ignite a child's -- or an adult's -- imagination of what else is out there...
Rating: 4
Summary: Valuable reference and field guide for the amateur
Comment: The Audubon Society has put together a helpful field guide to the insects and spiders of North America. The book contains just over 700 photographs of insects and spiders in the front section of the book divided into 22 more or less taxonomic divisions. There is section of descriptive information nearly 600 pages long in the back of the book. The format of the book is such that it can fit into a back pocket or jacket pocket without a lot of bother.
The reference material is helpful in identifying insects/spiders, but I have one significant criticism about the book...why in the world didn't the editors include the scientific names along with the common names of these animals by the photographs in the front section? If one wants to use this book as an aid in scientific identification it becomes an exercise in page flipping -- though those engaged in serious taxonomic identification will doubtless use taxonomic keys for that purpose. Still, for the advanced amateur collector, the page flipping can get annoying.
The photographs are of generally good quality, though no photograph is the equal of a quality illustration.
While 700 photos sounds like a lot, that number is nowhere near the number of photographs it would take to do a comprehensive field guide to insects and spiders of North America. Still, this guide provides good introduction to the diversity of North American insects and spiders. This book will get you in the ballpark when you try to identifying these animals, but you'll have to use other reference materials if you are serious about taxonomy.
A helpful book, though it has a few flaws. You might consider using this book and the Peterson Field Guide to Insects together -- the latter book relies on illustations, and it includes a form of taxonomic keys that are not that hard to use.
4 stars -- well worth the price.
Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College (IN)
Rating: 5
Summary: Outstanding guide for macro photographers
Comment: Getting into macro photography, I was discovering all kinds of weird insects, and had no idea what they were. I knew that to be as professional as possible, I needed to be able to identify my tiny subjects as well as know their habits, preferred envirnonment and so on...
I like the way this book is organized. You have a table of contents of sorts that lists bug shapes. They are organized by similiar shape, and color.
Not ment to be read from cover to cover, this book is excellent for throwing into my camera bag for to be a field reference.
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Title: The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ISBN: 0394508246 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 12 November, 1979 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: National Audubon Society Field Guide to Butterflies by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ISBN: 0394519140 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 12 July, 1981 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals : (Revised and Expanded) by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ISBN: 0679446311 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 21 May, 1996 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees: Eastern Region : Eastern by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ISBN: 0394507606 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 12 May, 1980 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: National Audubon Society Field Guide To North American Wildflowers : Eastern Region: Revised Edition by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY ISBN: 0375402322 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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