A Natural History Library

New Books

A Veritable Swarm of Outstanding Insect Books

• Sadahiro Ohmomo and Koyo Akiyama, Jewel Beetles (Tokyo: Endless Science Information, 1997), $70. A beautiful collection of color photographs of the Coleopteran family Buprestidae which the authors accurately name jewel beetles. (Borrer, Triplehorn and Johnson refer to them as metallic wood-boring beetles and their description of them as "coppery, green, blue, or black" is well borne out here.) Although only a few of the pictured beetles are found in North America, this book will enjoy an honored place on my bookshelves for its artistic rendering of these striking irridescent insects. The publisher, Joshitsugu Endo, informs me that this is the second volume in a series that will next include the families Cerambycidae (Long-horned Beetles), Cicindelidae (Tiger Beetles) and Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles). The already published first volume on Cetoniinae (Flower Beetles) I have not seen. Of related interest are the lovely images and music of the associated Jamides web site.

• Maryjo Koch, Dragonfly Beetle Butterfly Bee (San Francisco: Collins, 1996). Another tour de force by the author-illustrator of Bird Egg Feather Nest, Seed Leaf Flower Fruit, and Pond Lake River Sea. The images in these books are simply breathtaking. Here Ms. Koch captures not only the insects (and spiders) themselves but also their setting, their life history, and their roles in our lives and literature. Although this book is suitable for readers of all ages and backgrounds -- Wayne Gall, a professional entomologist, was captivated by it -- it would be especially suitable for a parent to read and show to a young child.

• Richard Conniff, Spineless Wonders: Strange Tales from the Invertebrate World (New York: Henry Hold and Company, 1996). A collection of a baker's dozen delightful essays, many with titles that newspaper headline writers would envy: "The Big Calamari" about squids, "Lions of the Pond" about dragonflies, "Leapers" about fleas, "A Small Point of Interest" about mosquitoes, and "Ghosts on Wings" about moths. These brief chapters represent the essayist at his (or her) best: they are deeply informed and beautifully written.

• Arthur V. Evans and Charles L. Bellamy, An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996), $40. All entomologists know the story of the famous Victorian British scientist, J. B. S. Haldane, who, when asked what could be inferred about the Creator from a study of His works, thought briefly and then replied, "He has an inordinate fondness for beetles." After studying the remarkable photographs (by Lisa Charles Watson) and text of this book, it is reasonable to add, "So have I."

• Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou, Microcosmos: The Invisible World of Insects (New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1997), $35. My view of the motion picture Microcosmos ran contrary to that of everyone else with whom I have talked. It was certainly better than most of what we experience in theaters today (the stunning quiet best of all) but I felt that I had seen better wildlife films on television and even fell asleep briefly during the screening. Thus I approached this book with some apprehension. Happily I have found it extraordinary. Here are beautiful images to be studied at leisure together with strong supporting text. I have already spent hours with my copy and plan to spend many more. Highly recommended.

• John Cody, Wings of Paradise: The Great Saturniid Moths (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1996). Seventy-two remarkable paintings of beautiful silkmoths from around the world. Included among these lovely but, because they are nocturnal, seldom seen insects are our own Cynthia, Luna, Cecropia, Imperial, Polyphemus, Io, Promethea, and Royal Walnut Moths as well as a few rarer North American varieties. Others required trips by the author/artist around the world. The individual paintings are accompanied by personal essays that provide insights into the life histories of the moths and the artist's experiences with them.

• Gary A. Dunn, Insects of the Great Lakes Region (Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press, 1996) No book can be expected to do justice to the tens of thousands of insect species to be found in this region. (The Borrer and White volume in the Peterson Field Guide series makes this quite clear.) But this book does a remarkable job of surveying the insect orders and families and identifying a few of the commoner species. Dunn, arguably our foremost contemporary popularizer of insects, has packed a tremendous amount of information into this book that should be on the shelf of every amateur and professional entomologist in northeastern North America.

• Douglas Yanega, Field Guide to Northeastern Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) (Champaign, IL: Illinois Natural History Survey, 1996), $15. A steal at that price. Color plates of 375 Longhorned Beetles together with brief identification notes and separate species synopses that include flight periods, range, larval (not pictured) feeding habits and identification notes. I have already found this book to be useful for museum identification.

References to Other Books of Interest

• Bernd Heinrich on Forest Ice Damage (From His New Book: The Trees in My Forest)
• Outstanding 1997 Natural History Books (My Suggestions for Holiday Giving)
• Summer Reading for 1997 (Books to Take on Vacation)

• Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain

Field Guides

• Susan J. Wernert, ed., Reader's Digest North American Wildlife (Pleasantville, NY: The Reader's Digest Association, 1982) Without question the finest single volume reference to our North American animals and plants. Remarkably this book includes sections on mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, fish, invertebrates, trees and shrubs, wildflowers, nonflowering plants, and mushrooms. Obviously the treatment is selective, but I have been very pleased by the number of "hits" I have made when using it for field identification. My only problem: my hardback copy is tough to carry in the field and I hope that by now a soft cover edition is available. On the other hand this one book replaces eight more focused field guides.