I don't study Insects proffesionaly, I am simply curious about living things around me. I have several Field Guides that offer very little information about the Insect in question (which I suppose is all to be expected from a small book) and I wanted to know more. For instance how do the mouth parts work, what are the different body segments and what do they house or what is their function.Well here it is in "Black and White" litteraly... If you want pretty color pictures this is not the book for you. The figures in the book are however, very detailed, expertly drawn and all body parts are labled. So far every answer I have sought has been answered by this book.I believe that this book is well worth the high price tag. Remember this is only MY opinion, I could be wrong...

I had to purchase this book for a class in my undergraduate work. However, as a graduate student, I use this book every semester. I am presently working in a lab and i.d many samples of insects. Some common, some not. I often reach for it to get to family so I can key to genus and species if I need to take the i.d. that far. The numbered keys are great! They reference forward and backward, which really helps if a mistake is made. Definitely a good one to have on the shelves.

It is the most appropriate book I have seen for graudate student who want to be an entomologist. It have a comprehensive knowledge on how to study the insects.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the lack of color photos or plates. I honestly read half the book when I first recieved it. I got it because I was worried that this creature I had found was a mutant or something (turned out it was a velvet ant). It does have quite a bit of information on the different animals that make up the order of insects. It does not though give detail into any peticualar family though. There are after all WAY to many insects out there to fit into just one book. Check out the other field guides for butterflies, moths, or whatever you are into. It can be a little technical for the layman (i.e. me) but will help get you started on your adventures in collecting and learning about insects.

Most amateur naturalists tend to expect page after page of photographs or drawings when they purchase a field guide. That is not what you will get in this book.

The authors, Borrer and White, have developed a sort of mini-entomology book for use in the field. The first part of the book contains helpful hints and instructions on how to collect and preserve insects. That section is followed by about 15 pages on the biology and taxonomy of this huge group. Understanding this information is essential if one is put together a useful insect collection. It also helps the insect watcher better understand what they are seeing in the ecology and body plans of these animals. Those sections are followed by over 300 pages of information that will help the determined insect watcher/collecter figure out the kind of animal they are looking at.

You should be advised that this book will NOT help you identify insects to the level of genus and species. The taxonomic information in this book targets primarily the family level (the level above the genus level).

Some reviewers have commented that the lack of color illustrations renders this book nearly useless. You need to understand that, for the serious collector, there are characteristics much more important in figuring out what they are looking at than color. The book is loaded with the kinds of information used by professional entomologists to identify the animals they study.

You should also be reminded that there are thousands of insect species, and many regional variations of those species, so no single field guide could ever hope to provide a comprehensive treatment of the group.

If you want/need a bounty of color photos to supplement your study, I recommend that you use this book along with a field guide like those available from the Audubon Society (E.g., The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders, which has over 700 photos of these animals).

The Peterson guide relies on illustrations rather than photos (illustrations are, I believe, far superior to photographs for identification work). There are both color and B/W illustrations in the book. There are also many helpful line drawings of body parts important to helping you ID insects.

I give this book 4 stars only because it tends to be a bit tougher for the casual amateur to use, but recommend it highly for the advanced amateur, as well as for general reference for the professional.

Well worth the price -- but not a child's book.

Good luck!

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College

I have used this book for years. It is great for quick and easy insect identification. Good for the entomologist as well as the layman. Few color illustrations (lots of B & W) but since insects are very rarely identified by color, this is practically irrelevant. Highly recommended.