Field Guide to California Insects

by Kip Will, Joyce Gross, Daniel Rubinoff

Beautifully illustrated and approachable, this is the only California-specific, statewide book devoted to all groups of insects.

Completely revised for the first time in over 40 years, Field Guide to  California Insects  now includes over 600 insect species, each beautifully illustrated with color photographs. Engaging accounts focus on distinguishing features, remarkable aspects of biology, and geographical distribution in the state. An accessible and compact introduction to identifying, understanding, and appreciating these often unfamiliar and fascinating creatures, this guide covers insects that readers are likely to encounter in homes and natural areas, cities and suburbs, rural lands and wilderness. It also addresses exotic and invasive species and their impact on native plants and animals. Field Guide to California Insects remains the definitive portable reference and a captivating read for beginners as well as avid naturalists.
 

Genres: Nonfiction

536 pages, Paperback

Published October 30, 2020

Reviews

[Scott Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second edition of "Field Guide to California Insects" is a major upgrade. There are many more high quality photos of insects (including my photo of an adult Caddisfly on p.335) representing approximately thirty orders found in California. The introduction section contains an informative overview of six California ecoregions: Sierran, North and Cental Coastal Ranges, Central Valley, Southern California Coastal Ranges, Great Basin, and Desert provinces. The authors remind us that insects occur in every world habitat except high polar regions and beneath oceanic surfaces. There are approximately one million known species in the world, a mere fraction of the total number of species estimated to exist. In California alone, scientists estimate there to be between 30,000 to 40,000 species. Obviously insect field guides must focus on representative species for each order of insect. The approximately 600 species covered in this book provides an excellent representation for understanding insect orders throughout the world. I also highly commend the authors for providing a well-organized bibliography and helpful online resources.