Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America
*Starred Review* Insects, comprising more than 80 percent of the approximately 1.5 million animal species that have been formally identified by scientists, play a significant role in our everyday lives. Honeybees pollinate crops; mosquitoes are both a nuisance and potential carrier of disease; cockroaches are unwelcome house guests; butterflies delight children. Written at a level accessible to college students in introductory biology courses as well as motivated laypeople by an entomologist with more than 20 years' experience as a teacher, this guide focuses on families of northeastern North American insects. The geographic scope is loosely defined as east of the Mississippi and north of the state of Georgia.Arranged in chapters by scientific classification, this work furnishes general information on insect orders and families as well as more specific data on representative individual species. Chapters cover 13 big groups of insects, for example, "Cockroaches, Termites, Mantids and Other Orthopteroids"; "Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids"; "Butterflies and Moths"; "Flies, Scorpionflies and Fleas"; and "Sawflies, Wasps, Bees, and Ants." Each chapter begins with an essay highlighting the characteristics of the group, its natural history, and interesting sidelights on individual species. A separate chapter on observing, collecting, and photographing insects is included.Some 4,000 detailed color photographs of individual species in their natural environments afford the user the opportunity to view the insects as they appear in life. More than 50 pages of illustrated keys to the identification of insect groups are designed to be as user-friendly as possible; technical taxonomic terms such aspronotumandscutellumare illustrated within the key. Icons alert the user to corresponding photographs and further identification keys. A 21-page "Index of Photographs" refers the reader to page numbers of insects by genus and species as well as some common names. There are no references from broad common insect names such as ladybugs or mosquitoes; therefore, searching by genus and species yields the best results. A separate 23-page general index supplies page references to orders, superfamilies, and families of insects.Firefly is also the publisher ofFirefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders(2003), which, with its broader geographic range and lower price, might be a first choice for smaller libraries.Insects: Their Natural History and Diversityis notable for its numerous color photographs, accessible language, and relatively simple-to-use identification keys. It is highly recommended for public, academic, and special libraries, particularly those in northeastern North America.Nancy CannonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved