Some Ideas for Your Insect Library
Life on a Little Known Planet. H.E. Evans. 1993. Lyons and Burford, Publishing, New York, NY. ISBN 1-55821-249-3. Price: $14.95.
Probably the best introduction to the world of living insects available. Full of well-written, fascinating stories of common insects and a healthy dose of philosophy.
The Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact on Human Affairs M. Berenbaum. 1995. Helix Books; Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. $15.00 ISBN 0-201-40824-4
Packed with interesting information on a wide variety of topics related to insects: how they develop, their importance in agriculture, historical events involving insects - a bit of everything. Written well and very entertaining.
Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. 2007. E.R. Eaton and Kenn Kaufman. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York. Price: $18.95 ISBN 0-618-15310-7
Developing a guide for insects is difficult given their incredible diversity but this new guide is the easiest to use and look at. It is extensively illustrated with photographs (ca 2,350 images) and well organized.
Pests of the West, Revised. W.S. Cranshaw. 1998. Fulcrum Publishing. Golden, CO. ISBN: 1-55591-097-1. Price: $19.95.
A book to aid in diagnosing and correcting common garden (vegetables, fruits, flowers) pest problems of the High Plains/Rocky Mountain/Intermountain West. The biology and management of insects are heavily featured in this publication. A good introduction to Integrated Pest Management of regional garden insects.
Borror and Delong's Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th Edition. C.A Triplehorn & N.F. Johnson. 2005. Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing. Belmont, CA . Price: $106.
This is the standard text for introductory college entomology courses that emphasize insect identification. Excellent keys to adult stages of all North American insect families. Illustrations are among the best for completeness and clarity. A brief description of the biology of each insect family is included. The use of a microscope is usually necessary for most identifications.
Garden Insects of North America. 2004. W. Cranshaw. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. ISBN: 0-691-09560-4. Price $29.95 (paperback)
Designed as a field guide to North American insects of garden plants, including vegetables, fruits, flowers, trees/shrubs and turfgrass. The most outstanding feature is the photographs; mention of some 1400 species is made with photographs for most and multiple images for key species. Keys include host plant associations and there is an extensive Diagnostics section in the beginning.
Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America. J. Reese Voshell, Jr. 2002. The MacDonald and Woodward Publlishing Co. ISBN: 0-939923-87-4. Price: ca $25
A quite accessible field guide style book on this vast topic. Includes information on habits as well as basic biology.
The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. P.J. Gullan and P.S. Cranston. 2000. Chapman & Hall. New York. Price: sbout $17.00. ISBN 0-632-05343-7.
Arguably the best textbook for an introductory entomology course. This does not include identification but is excellent on insect biology and ecology.
The Book of the Spider: From Arachnophobia to the Love of Spiders. 1994. Paul Hillyard. Random House. New York, NY. ISBN 0-679-40881-9. Price $25.00
Probably the best book involving spider biology and mythology. An easy read.
Spiders and Their Kin. H.W. Levi and L.Z. Levi. 2001. Golden Guides from St. Martin’s Press. St. Martin’s Press. New York. ISBN: 1-58238-156-9. Price: $6.95.
This guide will allow identification of many common spiders to family level and even sometimes to species. Due to its low cost and ease of use, this is probably the best non-technical guide to spider identification.
Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual. 2006. B. Ubick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (eds.) Published by the American Arachnological Society. Price: $45 + shipping. For ordering information visit http://www.
Brand new identification guide to spiders of North America that allows genus level identifications.
Bagging Big Bugs. W.S. Cranshaw and B.C. Kondratieff. 1995. Fulcrum Publishing. Golden, CO. ISBN 1-55591-178-1. Price: $16.95.
An account of the 100+ largest insects, and other arthropods, found in the High Plains/Rocky Mountain region. Information is given on the biology of the insects, where they might be found, and collecting tips.
Guide to Colorado Insects. W.S. Cranshaw and B.C. Kondratieff. 2006. Westcliffe Publishers. Englewood, CO. ISBN 1-56579-521-0. Price: $19.95.
This book was designed to increase interest and awareness of insects for kids. However, the information on Colorado insect species abundance and taxonomy is up-to-date and the look of the book is appealing to many adults. Organization is unusual in that insects are grouped together by habits. Despite the title there is some information on spiders and other non-insect terrestrial arthropods.
Insects that Feed on Trees and Shrubs. W.T. Johnson and H.H. Lyon. 1988. Comstock Publishing Associates/Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY. ISBN 0-8014-2108-X. Price: Approx. $60.00
A richly illustrated reference of most insects associated with woody plants in the United States. Easy to use and illustrates most Colorado species. (Note: The new Extension Bulletin 506A, Insects and Diseases of Woody Plants of the Central Rockies also covers this subject area. It is listed below.)
Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects. P. Menzl and F. D'Aluisio. 1998. Ten Speed Press/Material World Books. Berkeley, CA. ISBN 1-58008-022-7. Price: $19.95
The definitive treatment of the use of insects in human diet. Richly illustrated.
Sex in Your Garden. A. Overy. 1997. Fulcrum Publishing. Golden, CO. ISBN 1-55591-335-0
Never have the issues related to insect involvement in pollination ecology been so clearly and graphically discussed. Rated PG-13.
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