Best biology of insects & spiders books according to redditors
We found 177 Reddit comments discussing the best biology of insects & spiders books. We ranked the 57 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 177 Reddit comments discussing the best biology of insects & spiders books. We ranked the 57 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
>The best way to control mosquito transmitted diseases is proper sanitation and human behavioral changes.
Yes, perhaps in places that have the luxury to afford such things. The eradication of malaria in the southern United States is well documented, arising from the draining of swamps and the installation of permanent dwellings and screen doors(1). Unfortunately, many of the areas of the world in which mosquito-borne diseases remain endemic are quite impoverished.
Secondly, these engineered mosquitoes do not carry a mutation that prevents Dengue from being transmitted per se, but rather encode a developmentally lethal gene. If this system became defective, they would simply become ordinary mosquitoes.
Lastly, you are right to point out that the goal is to "cure" Dengue from the mosquito population, which does not necessitate eradication of the species, but rather a sufficient reduction of the population sustained for a period long enough to break the cycle of transmission. Again, think of the case of malaria in the southern US. The mosquitoes which transmitted malaria are still around, but the disease is not because the transmission cycle was broken.
(1) Spielman, A., & D’Antonio, M. (2001). Mosquito: A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly Foe (p. 256). Hyperion. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Natural-History-Persistent-Deadly/dp/0786867817
>What am I allowed to collect?
For the most part the vast majority of what you collect will not be treated or listed and you are totally allowed to collect them. Collections normally consist mostly of adult insects and since most insects have short lives so you are likely killing them after they have already reproduced and are near death anyways. It is all worth noting that insect population are also so large that when you are only take a small number for a collection you are not affecting the species very much at all. That being said there are only a few insects that are listed as endangered and you should avoid collecting. I assume you live in the US so you can look up endangered species here.
>Can I collect at a state park?
State parks are normally not ok to collect in but it depends where you are. A good rule of thumb is to collect on private property (your own or with permission), Bureau of Land Management land, and National Forests (not National Parks) link for more info and exceptions.
>Where's the best place to learn about preserving and mounting?
Short videos (scroll to the bottom of page for videos)
text
bugguide
more info on traps and advanced methods
I didn't notice this mentioned on the links but make sure to keep some sort of poison inside of the box you stope insects in. If you do not carpet beetles (dermestids) will eat your collection. My favorite method is to crush up a mothball (made with para-Dichlorobenzene not naphthalene) and sprinkle it in the box replacing when scent is gone. Also if you live someplace with high humidity consider putting in desiccant packs to keep things dry and help prevent mold.
>How's, uh, the odor of a mounting workbench?
I work on my collection in my bedroom and the smell is fine. Some big beetles can stink as they dry (insides rotting) and if you pin a stink bug or darkling beetle you will smell them but it isn't bad enough to warrant putting them in the garage and most things will have no smell at all. I would also encourage you not to store insects in the garage since it is best for pinned insects to stay dry and garages can be moist. The things that do smell, however, will be poison (ethyl acetate, acetone, and PDB) so store those in your garage.
>apparently a good starter's kit is ~120$
If you want to spend that much that's fine but you can really start a lot cheaper. You can start with only a few dollars by collecting things in jars then putting them in the freezer to die. I suggest that you buy directly from BioQuip, pretty much the only entomology supply company. I think this starter kit would be perfect for your needs and only costs $40. I believe you were looking at this which is nice and if you are wanting nicer quality things it works, I personally liked starting with the basic kit then upgrading piece by piece once I knew what I liked and wanted.
Identifying:
When IDing here are some good resources
If you can't ID something try:
Happy collecting!
This happens every year, often several times per year. The ants that fly are both males and virgin queens, and this is called a mating flight. Ants are really cool in that they are able to time the flight across different colonies and huge distances, so all the colonies send out their males and queens at the same time.
In about 24 hours all the males will have died, and the queens will land and lose their wings. They now have a few months to get the basics of a colony going before winter begins, and naturally only a small percentage will be successful.
Source: I've read this book.
EDIT: It's also called a Nuptial flight, and here is a Wikipedia article about it.
> The flight requires clear weather since rain is disruptive for flying insects. Different colonies of the same species often use environmental cues to synchronize the release of males and queens so that they can mate with individuals from other nests, thus avoiding inbreeding. The actual "take off" from the parent colony is also often synchronized so that predators cannot eat the ants one by one.
I HIGHLY recommend the book Sex on Six legs if you're interested in insect behavior. It's fascinating.
Yes, actually. There's an excellent book I read a while back called Mosquito that goes into a lot of detail about it.
The ecological purpose that mosquitoes serve is similar to the ones that predators serve, namely population control. Species have evolved in such a way that they're actually reliant on parasites and disease, which mosquitoes spread like crazy.
That sounds dumb, I know, but bear with me. Let's imagine you have a bunch of rabbits in a field. Rabbits have evolved to eat as much grass and leaves as possible, and fuck when they're not eating. Predators have evolved to eat rabbits, but rabbits are sneaky and hard to catch so a given rabbit population will outpace a predator population pretty easily.
Rabbits will keep fucking no matter how much food is actually available, so what happens is you end up with a billion rabbits and they eat all the food. Then, all the rabbits just starve to death. It doesn't keep the population in balance, they just all die except for a lucky few. When that happens, the predators die off too.
Diseases and insects live and die incredibly short lifespans, though, so they don't need much time to suddenly show up and kill a whole bunch of rabbits. If there's suddenly a ton of rabbits, the foxes won't keep up with the population explosion, but the mosquitoes and their associated diseases absolutely will. That keeps the rabbits in check, and they won't eat all their food and kill themselves out of sheer stupidity.
There are also a number of other non-ecological reasons why we can't just wipe out mosquitoes. During the 50's and 60's, there were widespread campaigns of "FUCK MOSQUITOES," and they sprayed insecticide over pretty much the entire world. It killed a lot of mosquitoes, but what ended up happening is that the mosquitoes that were resistant to the insecticide just kept happily doing their thing. When you're trying to eradicate a species where a single individual can produce millions of offspring in a week, killing 90% of the population actually doesn't do much: they just show up later all insecticide-immune. The unintended effects of all the spraying was also... let's say not ideal for the people and wildlife in the areas where it happened.
This is a relatively uncommon (or maybe just not commonly noticed) type of cobweb spider - Theridula emertoni. Very cool find, I have never seen one of these posted here or any of my other "bug ID" groups. Thank you for posting!
Comparison images: (1), (2)
Quick edit to add that this spider is notable for being featured on the cover of the original "Golden Guide" to spiders and their kin written in the 1960s by the well-known arachnologist Herbert Levi.
As far as I know, Borror & Delong's Introduction to the Study of Insects is the go-to ordinal key.
You'll need to seek out other resources to narrow it down further, though. There's a lot of bugs out there and they all look alike. Stephen Marshall's Insects is also an excellent one to have lying around. It's full of photos and that's a quick-n-dirty way to help you narrow your ID down (I'd advise against relying on its arachnids section, however).
its not christians we bash ... its their ideas ... the fact that you think you diserve respect for your relgion is a joke as it is hate filled and does nothing but promote hate .... its funny i can not go to a church with out them saying life with out god is not worth living ( sooo rude to make jundgements on other peoples worth )
its not the people we bash on its their IDEAS and IGNORANCE .... its the fact the christian relgion is trying to drag us into the dark ages agian .. we have people who want to say that women do not have the right to save their own life ( abortion ) it is the fact that they are tying to force the teaching of superstition in schools ... ( ID )
xxxx
i also find it funny that christians are the ones behind the idea that gays are not people and do not deserve the rights other people have to live life the way they choose ... but its the bigoted Christians they say hate the SIN not the sinner but they do not understand that being gay for some people is not a choice but biologically driven if you do not think there is no room for people in our society because they don't make babies... ( IMHO that's fighting evolution and not seeing the worth they bring to our society not to mention its not very nice to treat fellow human beings like this ... but the Christians are not big into empathy for their fellow man i guess ... how big of them ... )
xxx
sooo when you talking of bashing please look at what current Christians are doing to nonbelievers and unlucky believers that get caught up into your religion ...
so to recap ... its less offensive to say " Love The Religious but Hate the RELIGION " i know i heard something like this before but the thing i heard is that its ok to hate gays unless they change who they are ... does not sound very nice ... fuck your religion .... but not you ...
ps lets not forget ... where Christians come from as moral leaders when it comes to bashing non believers ... stick and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me unless its the word of your god and then i am sure you fell ok hurting people in the name of your god and if you don't your religion did and you share in the blood your religion has split ... ....
I believe it is a Woolly Gray moth Lycia ypsilon. The coloration appears to be variable, but unlike the images on Bugguide the picture in Caterpillars of Eastern North America matches yours quite well.
An entomology Textbook would be a good place to start, or even a field guide.
https://www.amazon.com/Borror-DeLongs-Introduction-Study-Insects/dp/0030968356/ref=sr_1_43?ie=UTF8&qid=1479056077&sr=8-43&keywords=entomology
Get on google scholar and see what kind of research interests you. See what academic journals show up in your searches -- browse a whole journal and see what else grabs you. There's venom biochemistry, silk, ecology, conservation, behavior, genetics, neuroscience, taxonomy (describing new species, sorting species into genera and families) ... read Foelix and see what you like. Follow your nose, and reach out to researchers doing stuff you think is cool, whom you could contact for advice and/or a job in their lab. Most researchers are flattered when someone takes interest in their work, and are happy to mentor.
Zoo positions are scarce. Arachnids tend not to require much care, so the keeper/curator positions are usually broader (entomology).
>this spider is notable for being featured on the cover of the original "Golden Guide" to spiders and their kin
That's on my bookshelf - handed down through my family for generations. Cool to see a photo of one of the cover models!
For those curious, this is a Pogonomyrmex Badius (Florida Harvester Ant, http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/ants/harvester_ant.htm http://www.antweb.org/description.do?genus=pogonomyrmex&species=badius&rank=species&project=allantwebants) ant colony. The photograph is by Charles F. Badland. Walter Tschinkel made the cast and is standing next to it in the picture. You can find more pictures like these, and lots of awesome information about ants in the book The Superorganism by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson.
http://www.amazon.com/Superorganism-Beauty-Elegance-Strangeness-Societies/dp/0393067041/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417722107&sr=1-1&keywords=the+superorganism
For love of insects by Thomas Eisner is incredible, really interesting stories, beautiful photos and really good science
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Insects-Thomas-Eisner/dp/0674018273/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382145973&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+insects
A specific regional guide will usually be more meaningful to own than a general guide that covers all of North America.
That been said, I personally own and recommend the National Wildlife Federation's Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America. It's packed with pictures and organizes everything by order, and then by family (to really understand the groupings, you should familiarize yourself with taxonomic rank). For each order, it includes some basic anatomical diagrams to help you distinguish one order from another.
It's also printed on some pretty durable gloss paper and has a water resistant cover, as icing on the cake.
I have not compared it to the Kaufman guide, since my book store does not carry it.
Comparing it to the Audubon version, I find that the NWF's guide is better for beginners due to having a picture for everything it lists. I also noticed the toner was coming off on my hand on the audubon guide while I was flipping through it in the book store.
I scarcely use it now because I've gotten good enough at identifying orders and a good number of families to use bugguide to narrow things down, but it was nice to take along on a camping trip.
Note that if you want to learn how to differentiate families of beetles or butterflies or spiders based on their anatomical traits, you'll probably need a specific field guide pertaining only to that bug. I can't recommend any, since I don't own any. Or use online references - again, bugguide is pretty good for a lot of things, but I have learned a ton from just googling for the information on a specific taxon.
Try to find out what species you have. [Here] (http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/insects-spiders-nature-app.html) is an app to help you identify the little buggers. I haven't used it, but I have used their [field guides] (http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Paperback/dp/0394507630) which I would recommend highly to anyone interested in studying their local flora and fauna.
Try to find out anything you can about their eating habits, reproduction cycle, etc. Learning about them may make it easier for you to view them as fellow animals.
Also learn where the real danger is. Find out what lives in your area. Learn which ones, if any, are dangerous and what they look like. Knowing this information will give you an edge against your fear response, it should help you differentiate between danger and fear.
I haven't heard of any good insect field guide apps, but this is my favorite field guide:
National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America https://www.amazon.com/dp/1402741537/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_kbj-tb1X4SW2Z
This is a close second:
Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America (Kaufman Field Guides) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618153101/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_zfj-tb1ZVGNYF
Edit: it's probably worth getting both for those prices.
Take a look at Rainer Foelix's Biology of Spiders:
https://www.amazon.com/Biology-Spiders-Rainer-Foelix/dp/0199734828
It's very in-depth, and covers all spiders with a special section on Theraphosidae.
I once had the pleasure of hearing the feminist biologist, Marlene Zuk, speak. She was fantastic and I think you should check out her book [Sex on Six Legs] (https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Six-Legs-Lessons-Language/dp/015101373X)
Also, if you're not afraid of delving into psychology and neuroscience. I'd also recommend Cordelia Fine's [Delusions of Gender] (https://www.amazon.com/Delusions-Gender-Society-Neurosexism-Difference/dp/0393340244/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494261794&sr=1-1&keywords=delusions+of+gender)
Personally I'm a big fan of Steve Marshall's book:
http://www.amazon.com/Insects-Natural-History-Diversity-Photographic/dp/1552979008
It's well written in plain english, with tons and tons of pictures. I found it extremely easy to read when I was first getting into entomology, yet very accurate and informative. Covers all the major families you're likely to run into, and works well as a field guide too (except it weighs a ton!).
Plus, since it's not technically a textbook, it's relatively cheap.
For beetles north of Mexico, I recommend the old favourite, Peterson Field Guides: Beetles of North America. People who complain that the book should have photos instead line drawings don't know what they're talking about. Line drawings are superior for identification because diagnostic traits are more visible. The purpose of a field guide of identification, not to a pretty coffee book (if you want a pretty coffee book, The Book of Beetles is my favorite, and I have it in my living room at the moment).
For insects in general north of Mexico, I recommend the counterpart from the same series.
If you insist on photos, I recommend the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America (which, by the way, was written by a member of BugGuide.net). Since it has photos, I'd recommend it for beginners. Once they feel more comfortable with insect taxonomy, they should add the Peterson Field Guides to their collection. Avoid the popular Audubon series because it values pretty photos over practicality.
The Peterson Field Guides are great because they provide keys, diagnostic traits, similar families, collecting methods, and a plethora of amazingly detailed line drawings (and color slides). They also have great introductory material. The taxonomy is outdated, but it's not a big issue when you have online guides, like BugGuide.net, that keep their taxonomy current. The more important takeaway is that these guides will quickly teach you insect taxonomy, and you quickly develop a big-picture sense--that is, the diversity--and a granular sense--that is, the subtle difference between similar clades.
As for "state by state" guides, I have the California Natural History Guides: Field Guide to Beetles of California. There aren't line drawings like those in the Peterson Field Guides, but you do have some photographic slides in the middle section. For this, I would only recommend the book for those with enough familiarity with beetles.
Like you said, "the scope of insects is way too huge for a simple, small field guide." Many reviewers don't understand this, and complain about the lack of specificity. To satisfy their specificity, you'd probably need a guide at the city or county level (without exceeding a million pages, and assuming an entomologist is willing to take on that task LOL). Insects are so grossly misunderstood by most people (that is, most people compare the taxonomic scope of insects with that of let's say, mammals, which is like comparing travel guides for the Vatican with that of Russia--or the United States), you are better off ignoring most laymen reviews if your goal is to actually learn.
In undergrad, we primarily used the following textbooks:
The go to text for most entomology intro courses. It has a key to the orders, and in the chapter on each order, a key to the families of that order.
Maybe you could start by keeping one as a pet like everyone else lol. It's honestly a lot like having a fish. If you're feeling really bold you could try reading the short communications or other papers on the American Arachnological Society website. Good starter books:
3)(really hard spider identification book that goes through collection methods, microscope use and more)http://www.amazon.com/Spiders-North-America-Identification-Manual/dp/0977143902/ref=pd_sim_b5
Borror, Delong, Triplehornes Intro to the Study of Insects is the standard text for systematic entomology classes... it is not a "guide book" but a series of keys. It will get you to the family level, but you need to be comfortable with keys.
Edit: if you want specific guides to certain orders or families... you're best bet is searching google for posted keys (usually region specific) or searching academic sources for keys.
You will need boxes for keeping your pinned insects in, and vials for your alcohol-preserved ones (wingless). 70% isopropyl alcohol is what I have used for preserving wingless insects, so you'll need a good bit of that too. Don't forget the pins, and maybe a couple mothballs for keeping the dermestid beetles out of your lovely collection.
For field collecting, you should have a charged kill jar (http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/4h/unit1/mkjar.htm) and a butterfly net at the very least. I also carry a large jar of alcohol for wingless specimens which I later separate into vials at home.
Be careful with anything you use as the active agent in the kill jar- it IS poison. Always wash your hands after handling specimens.
Oh, almost forgot books. There are a lot of good bug books but you probably want a cheaper one to serve as a field guide. Kaufman's will have a lot of the more common insects that you find (assuming you are in North America). http://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Insects-America-Guides/dp/0618153101 It's my favorite. Others swear by National Wildlife Federation's or Audubon, which are slightly more advanced. It's a personal preference.
Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity by Stephen Marshall is a rather large book that gives some information on each of the orders of insects. Following the write-ups there are many pictures detailing the various families among each order with descriptions about those families. Then, toward the end of the book there is a dichotomous key that can be used to ID insects to family.
That is what was recommended in my introductory entomology class for identification, but the bulk of what I learned was from lecture materials that aren't commercially available. Hopefully other folks here might have a good idea for other books/media!
Here you go, these options should get you started.
https://www.elsevier.com/books/encyclopedia-of-insects/resh/978-0-08-054605-6?dgcid=shopping_low_priority&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7czEps2m3gIVg7rACh3HQAMzEAQYAiABEgK3lvD_BwE
https://www.amazon.com/National-Wildlife-Federation-Insects-Spiders/dp/1402741537
This book and this book I have appreciated quite a bit. But that only covers hexapods primarily. I think if you wanted something that gets to crustaceans or arachnids, among the other arthropods, you'd definitely want to check out other options.
https://www.amazon.com/Common-Spiders-America-Richard-Bradley/dp/0520274881
Not cheap at all, but I love this book, detailed descriptions and pages of excellent drawings
The Hive and the Honeybee is one of the greatest pieces of literature concerning beekeeping.
If you live in eastern North America, I highly recommend Stephen Marshall's Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity. It has a brief written overview for each insect order, and is filled with tons of captioned color photos showcasing common or interesting species. It's basically a mega field guide, so don't expect a huge amount of written discussion, but I love my copy so much!
I was listening to an interview on NPR a few weeks ago. The interviewee was a guy known as "the Indiana Jones of entomology," and he'd written a book about ants.
Apparently there is an ant war whose front lines stretch all the way across the state of California. It is between two super-giant ant colonies, one of which basically stretches from Los Angeles into parts of Northern Mexico, and one of which stretches from San Francisco to Los Angeles, or some such craziness. Ants are apparently incredibly nationalistic, and form nations by chemical scent, and have no concept of peace. If they run across another ant that smells different, they have no choice but to kill, and they do not retreat, ever. So there's this crazy long line of ants that just clash somewhere around San Francisco, across the whole fucking state and kill each other, endlessly.
Ants are motherfucking intense.
EDIT: Link to book.
The Superorganism is a great book all about ants and their social heirarchy. The wording in the book tends towards the academic but its still very enjoyable.
Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393067041
Sounds good to me: Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions
This is what i have been reading, unlike most other books this one has excellent photos in it.
I agree with the other post. AntsCanada is a great place to start, same with AntsAustralia. As for study material, I've been told this is the text book you'd use in year one entomology. I have a copy and it's great.
[Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America] (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1770859624/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_pMSRBb4VQ83QE)
It's not that cheap, but compared to many other textbooks it's really a good price.
Also starting a dry collection will help you a lot. You get to know insects better and you get really good at getting things down to family or genus just with a quick look. This is a good skill to have since you commonly have to take an identification course (so I've been told). I'm a hobbyist but I've been reading a lot about what people usually take in school.
> /u/kona_worldwaker: Do they see 8 images of what they look at or does each eye see an 8th of what they see all together?
> Do they see in color?
> I know in general spider vision is considered poor, but what does this mean? Blurry? No depth perception?
A lot of this information comes from Biology of Spiders, and I would encourage you to get a copy of this book if you want to learn more about spider anatomy, physiology, and behavior.
In short, how well spiders can see depends on species. Not all spider eyes are created the same. As noted in Biology of Spiders, "the efficiency of any eye is determined by the design of its optics and by the structure of the retina."
Most spiders don't rely heavily on vision but tactile and chemical cues. For example, web dwelling spiders like orbweavers, cobweb spiders, and funnel weavers can only see differences in light levels, which helps them entrain their circadian rhythms to the day/night cycle. Their eyes don't form clear images, and they rely mostly on the vibrations transmitted through their webs to know what is going on around them.
Hunting spiders (such as jumping spiders and wolf spiders) tend to have better eyesight, which is usually indicated by the presence of two large median eyes. The input of these two eyes is probably merged into one image, with the slight difference between the eyes helping with depth perception. (Just as we see only one image even though we have two eyes.) The other six eyes, which are much smaller, do things like sense motion and light levels.
Jumping spiders have the best vision of any spider. Not only do they see in color and have binocular vision for gauging distance, but they can see ultraviolet and polarized light. However, even they can only see sharp images within a relatively short distance (we're talking inches, not feet).
I'd also suggest ditching the Audubon guide. Quite frankly, it's rubbish. Poorly organized, and a number of the photos are incorrectly ID'd. I highly recommend the Kauffman Guide to Insects by Eric Eaton for a broad overview of North American insect fauna.
Otherwise, if you're focusing on butterflies, the Peterson guides are quite useful. The eastern and western volumes by Opler are both useful, but lack quality keys.
The recently revised Peterson guide to Northeastern moths by Beadle & Leckie is impressive in its coverage (but by no means comprehensive) but similarly lacks any sort of useful key for identification.
If you're looking for other field guide recommendations, I'd be happy to share!
The best field guide in the US is the Kaufman insect guide, hands down
https://www.amazon.ca/National-Audubon-Society-Insects-Spiders/dp/0394507630
Got it as a gift and it isn't bad, groups bugs by appearance which can be helpful or annoying depending on your experiance
also don't limit yourself to the woods only, some of our largest insects are in the water up here in canada, maybe less so in the south
I use the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America.
[You can preview it here] (https://books.google.com/books?id=aWVi0IF_jcQC&pg=PA302&lpg=PA302&dq=Ocyptamus+fascipennis&source=web&ots=N-2Sq3PNbM&sig=B7-AH3uIPt40SJtTr_v1SIKNdFA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result#v=onepage&q&f=false) to see if it's got everything you're looking for.
This one? I've used it a lot and it's quite good.
Edit: Amazon says "May 31st 2007" so I'm not sure if that's the publication date or just the date it became available on Amazon but that makes me think it's probably not this one. This is a good guide so if you can't find the one you had in the 90's I'd recommend either this one or the Kaufman field guide.
I've had difficulty finding a good print resource on chrysalises , but that's likely because it's very difficult to identify a butterfly by its chrysalis. This website has a few pictures of the most common chrysalises you're likely to encounter on the east coast. This book is pretty good for identifying caterpillars, while this one is decent for identifying adults. Its not great for taxonomy work, but if you're just looking to ID them it should be sufficient. It does have a section on caterpillars and chrysalises, but as I said, it can be difficult to identify them so the book doesn't devote a lot of space to it.
I think that depends on how you're defining learn. You'll certainly learn interesting facts about ants that you didn't know, but it's not a textbook like Superorganism/The Ants. However, it's probably my favorite or a close second out of the books listed above, and you really can't go wrong with Wilson and Holldobler. They're really the gods of ant research, and if you're interested in ants you should probably just read everything they've written related to ants.
I just realized that I forgot this:
http://www.amazon.com/Leafcutter-Ants-Civilization-Instinct/dp/0393338681/
which may be my favorite, since leafcutter ants are my favorite ants. If you have to choose between this and Journy, perhaps take Journey first because it covers a wider range of ants than the narrow Leafcutter book.
You mean this one? I've had this since I was a kid, I love it.
Same here. I just used my old entomology textboook, Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, which is one of the best textbooks I've ever bought. They have a limited section on non-insect arthropods and the Dimorphic Jumping Spider was the closest match I could find.
I also moved mobile homes a couple times out in Bedford as a summer job this year and saw a few of these guys. There were False Black Widows all over the place, but I had these spiders and Bold Jumpers crawling over me all day, too.
I got a lot out of reading Superorganism. Could be used either as reference or as something to read through.
http://www.amazon.com/Superorganism-Beauty-Elegance-Strangeness-Societies/dp/0393067041/ref=sr_1_26?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382143744&sr=1-26&keywords=ant+book
I highly recommend this book on the leaf-cutting by the famous Bert Hoelldobler and EO Wilson:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Leafcutter-Ants-Civilization-Instinct/dp/0393338681
Enjoy!
Ohhh I would love that! I literally just built my first gaming desktop two days ago so perfect timing!
This would just absolutely petrify me O.o I hated just looking it up.
My steam account is momatt17 :)
Edit: Third thing...
http://www.amazon.com/The-Leafcutter-Ants-Civilization-Instinct/dp/0393338681
I'll recommend you Biology of Spiders by Rainer F. Foelix.
It's pretty broad treatment of everything spider, and includes a little bit of everything, such as anatomy, metabolism, web structure, reproduction, ecology and systematics.
It's roughly around 300 pages in a average sized paperback and even though such books can sometimes be rather dry reading material, I don't think that's the case at all with this one. I found it engaging without being tough to read.
Well if you like in North America you can check out this awesome book! I have it and it is amazing, warning alittle bit pricey.
I recommend you purchase this book, read it, start a collection, and identify all of your specimens using the keys inside the book.
http://www.amazon.com/Borror-DeLongs-Introduction-Study-Insects/dp/0030968356
A less expensive alternative is Mark W. Moffett's Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions. The front and back cover boast endorsements from E.O. Wilson and Jane Goodall, among others.
Edit: Added subtitle and better link. As of the time of this edit, there are used copies available on Amazon for under $5.00.
I'm not certain about what kind of detail you are looking for, but this book is really the only I use. I have a minor in entomology, and I have several textbooks that have much more detail, but this is the one I pick up most often, especially for helping folks in /r/whatsthisbug. :)
There is a very good book http://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Natural-History-Persistent-Deadly/dp/0786867817 that describes this creature. I'm not sure if there is a book about Mr. Gates.
Yea... that's why I used the term "displace". Even really small ants like monomorium minimum displace other large insects chemically. They don't hunt the bugs that tend to flee their presence, it's that they present a hazard like a huge pack of small dogs.
When I kept ants I had bizarre first hand experience with chemical displacement. I had a few nests...two were formica pallidefulva and monomorium minimum. By volume the MMs were about 1% the size of the FPs.
So one day I woke up and checked in on my ants and the FP were dying. They were huddled in small groups...some were dead others were sluggish or have "seizures" (all shaky wobbly).
And I noticed the MMs were all over in their nest. The MMs had found a way out of the setup and into the FPs. There was no direct violence or attacks happening...and the MMs weren't eating them. The MMs just wanted the space and their mere presence began to kill the FPs. It was quite a sight...
An awesome book on insect chemical defenses and also on setting up easy experiments to study insects in your yard is..."For the Love of Insects" I learned so much from that book.
Leptoglossus looks pretty close. It seems the standard introductory text that everyone uses is this book. I would recommend trying to find it used.
For a general bird guide, I like the Sibley guide (you can use the Sibley East field guide, or the larger Sibley guide for all of North America). There are also those who swear by the National Geographic guide and insist that it is superior.
That should be good to get you started – eventually if you get more into birdwatching, then there are more detailed guides for specific groups.
For insects, I love this massive photographic guide. For a smaller book you can take into the field, the best one I know of is Kaufman. There is also a Kaufman guide for butterflies, specifically.
I'm afraid I don't have any recommendations for mammals, reptiles, or amphibians for your area.
I recently got this book, Adventures Among Ants http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Among-Ants-Global-Trillions/dp/0520261992, which has photos of the exploding ants any many other crazy ant things - definitely recommended! I actually had lunch with the author, very funny guy, as you would imagine an ant expert to be.
Here are a few to get you started, some maybe be textbooks or textbook like, but they're incredibly informative:
Insects:
(http://smile.amazon.com/Insects-Natural-History-Diversity-Photographic/dp/1552979008/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413144193&sr=1-12&keywords=insect+evolution)
Evolution:
Go and pick up "Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects" (https://www.amazon.com/Borror-DeLongs-Introduction-Study-Insects/dp/0030968356)
It is where all entomologist begin and this book is essential in the field (i.e. you will always use this book, need this book). Stay away from field guides at the beginning if you're serious about becoming an entomologist, they have pretty pictures and are good for outreach but honestly, kind of useless unless you only want to identify the charismatic taxa that you'll likely already know. Eventually you'll figure out that a field guide leads to more misidentification than accurate identification.
First thing you'll want to learn is the structure of taxonomy and the Insect Orders, that'll put you on the path to learning Latin. Get to a point that you can identify any insect to order almost immediately. Once there pick an order to focus on learning families, pick something you like. If you want a challenge go for Diptera.
So, get the book and learn the orders, go out and look at bugs and practice identifying to Order. Honestly you probably won't have any luck volunteering at a museum or research laboratory. It's just not worth a researchers time to train a volunteer, sorry but it's the truth.
Good luck!
A few years ago I read what I thought was a wonderful book by Marlene Zuk about insect evolution and intelligence that completely changed how I think about intelligence.
Audubon Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians
http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-American-Reptiles-Amphibians/dp/0394508246
Audubon Guide to North American Insects and Spiders
http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Insects/dp/0394507630
The Audubon Guides were beautiful color-photographic plates over several hundred pages that detailed almost all major species. I found them on my father's shelves when I was 5 or 6 and carried them around with me for about 6 years. It is, to this day, why I know most snakes by sight, immediately, and the same for insects and spiders.
I wish I still had them.
I'd like to add that you should definitely get a field guide to insects that is relevant to your area. Being able to ID what you catch at least to order or family will make the whole thing more enjoyable and will help you learn what you are catching. If you can afford it this is a FANTASTIC book with a ton of photos that is appropriate to your area.
No, but it WAS by the same author! I found this book, which was the one! Thanks!
I use the Kaufman field guide to insects of north america to identify insects at least down to the family level. It doesnt have every species, but it has the most common ones from each family and very good pictures imo. It can be ordered on amazon here https://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Insects-America-Guides/dp/0618153101
I use the National wildlife federation's field guide. It is by no means exhaustive but it helps me identify most things. The pictures are great.
https://www.amazon.com/National-Wildlife-Federation-Insects-Spiders/dp/1402741537/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1402741537&pd_rd_r=CYNBQ573JKYM4SCS4W21&pd_rd_w=7e5Oe&pd_rd_wg=VTINW&psc=1&refRID=CYNBQ573JKYM4SCS4W21
Well, I bought this one a while back and it's been super handy
The best thing you can do is become familiar with the terminology. This book was useful for looking up various nomenclatures on certain body parts or regions, like which veins are which on wings. Otherwise This book had some good keys in it, but it's primarily description based, and many other keys I've used beyond it are this way as well. For the book, it was convenient that it had many pictures to reference in earlier chapters if you wanted some visual confirmation you were on the right path in the key. Otherwise, I'd suggest getting with the professor and asking for sources they might suggest to become better with the terminology.
The keys I've used with as many pictures as descriptions were constrained to species-level ID of one insect. There might be some sources you can find with some internet searches, though those aren't so easy to find all the time.
Bugguide.net might be a resource you can consider, though it doesn't act as a key, and is more useful if you are already familiar with the different types of insects and their classifications.
Buy a local field guide. Then if that fails... http://www.amazon.com/Borror-DeLongs-Introduction-Study-Insects/dp/0030968356
Also: bio books
Ernst Haeckel: Art Forms in Nature Coloring Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764974718/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KJQcBbKBS180V
Art Forms in Nature: The Prints of Ernst Haeckel https://www.amazon.com/dp/3791319906/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vLQcBb6P811G0
The Anatomy Coloring Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321832019/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VMQcBb9XJGXX9
Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394507606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7OQcBb7QBN95M
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders: North America (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback)) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394507630/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5PQcBb0PZQYNW
Preserved specimen: Real Bat Specimens Science Classroom Specimen for Science Education https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072BCCTL1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ZSQcBbE7HYPN2
Real Snake Skeleton Specimen in Acrylic Block Paperweights Science Classroom Specimens for Science Education https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078581LLZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_OTQcBbN1W3JWE
Models:
Wellden Medical Anatomical Human Skull Model, 3-part, Numbered, Life Size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EKC5SHS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YZQcBbCF8D61B
this is absolutely great and has most everything you'll need to know. If you're ever ready to get super serious, this is the ultimate beekeeping bible.
Yeah the superorganism idea is pretty cool, there is a must read book if you are interested in that kind of thing.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0030968356?pc_redir=1411850440&robot_redir=1
Borrer and Delong might have larval keys to family but it has been so long since I looked at the book that I can't remember.
Why is your Prof requiring family identification for larvae. That is a bit cruel for a general ento class.