Insects

DK Smithsonian Handbooks

by George McGavin

A recognition guide to the insects spiders and other terrestrial arthropods of the world. It features photographs and illustrations of more than 550 insect families. It examines 29 orders of insect.

Genres: Reference, Nature, Animals, Nonfiction, Science, Biology, Childrens

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

About the author

George McGavin, a renowned entomologist, is an honorary research associate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Department of Zoology of Oxford University. He has several insect species named in his honor. He lives in England.

Reviews

[Mark Hartzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations & photos in this book are excellent. There are small bullet point comments pointing to various identifying features that don't talk down to the amateur naturalist. The descriptions of the various insects and critters in the book are similarly intelligent.

For example, on p. 93, the following on 'Assassin Bugs': "These bugs get their name from being highly predacious. They vary from being stout bodied to very elongate with threadlike legs. Most species are dark colored, but some may have bright markings. The head has a short, curved, three segmented rostrum. The front legs are strong and shorter than the others - ideal for gripping prey."

The photos are large enough that one can readily identify those individuals listed in the book. BUT, and this is a big but, because the book covers all insects, spiders "...and other terrestrial arthropods", all over the planet, this is not a specific bug identification book. There are simply too many differences between insects in Africa, North America, Europe, etc... Instead, this is book is great at identifying TYPES of insects. A great overview of the topic, but if you want a greater degree of specificity, go to the Audubon field guides.

[Lauren Flesher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for a broad overview of insect diversity, but not good for learning differences between orders and families. I wish they would have talked more about distinguishing differences between taxa. Tidbits about random individual species made the book take a long time to read.

[Recensioni in tre parole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iconografico. Utile. Maneggevole.

[Zachary Marciano · Rating 5 out of 5]

One unique trait about me, is that I want to pursue the career of becoming an Entomologist, which is a type of scientist that studies insects and other terrestrial arthropods. So, of course I needed to include one of my favorite books I have read this year. One very interesting thing about the book is that it is written by an author who is from and lives in the United Kingdom, so it was very interesting to see how his British influence and details of entomology differs from the American influence of the study that I am very accustomed to. Although no matter what language or dialect you put it in, entomology is a world spoken scientific language which is one great thing about all sciences. The book coordinates and describes the different features and behaviors of many exotic arthropods, and if you are interested in entomology or even biology in general, I highly suggest you read this book.

[Alessandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun introduction but not useful as an identification guide. It covers too wide an area and too vast a field.