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Ouiz
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| Posted: June 18 2008 at 9:03am | IP Logged
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Forgive me if this has been discussed many times before, but I didn't see anything when I did a quick search...
What books do you recommend for insect field guides? We have the whole Audobon series, and my kids have literally loved the covers off of them. They are falling apart!
They are great as an "introduction to insects," but we often find bugs in our backyard that aren't listed... which is quite frustrating. (case in point: my son just came in with a rather large black beetle, almost rhinoceros beetle sized, with feathery antennae. Very cool, but no idea what it is. I hate not being able to identify it!)
Any help? (with the book recommendations, that is... although if you know what kind of beetle my son just found, that would be great too!  )
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Ouiz
Blessed to be married to the man of my dreams and mom to 8 wonderful children here on earth
B-17, G-16, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, G-7, B-4
Chez Ouiz
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Anne McD
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| Posted: June 19 2008 at 7:46am | IP Logged
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Thank you for posting this-- I'm looking for good field guide suggestions as we get ready to start discovering nature around here!
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Ouiz
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 12:02am | IP Logged
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Well, hopefully somebody... anybody?... will have some suggestions to make.
Otherwise, we'll just have to sit in our backyard and say, "yup. It's a big bug alright. Don't have a clue what kind it is, but it's mighty shiny..."
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Ouiz
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Anne
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 6:44am | IP Logged
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 Sorry. No help here.
We use the Audobon series too. So far we have been successful identifing our insects.
Maybe you're just lucky and find all kinds of "new" species.
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Ouiz
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 8:10am | IP Logged
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Lucky us!
Seriously, though, we find LOTS of insects that we can't find in those guides... which is frustrating since my children go out to collect bugs daily. They capture them, build habitats for them, and raise them. They have successfully raised a whole host of moths, ants, and an impressive collection of ladybugs that they captured as young nymphs.
[sadly, we've had some big disappointments too. My son found a luna moth that he brought home and it laid eggs in our butterfly cage. They hatched! We found the kind of leaves that they were supposed to eat, but they never ate it and they all died. We were all pretty bummed about that.]
We've got the Audobon series, as I mentioned, and we also have Pet Bugs and Peterson's First Guide to Caterpillars.
I guess I should just start looking for a SC guide...
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Ouiz
Blessed to be married to the man of my dreams and mom to 8 wonderful children here on earth
B-17, G-16, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, G-7, B-4
Chez Ouiz
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 4:14pm | IP Logged
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Ouiz wrote:
Well, hopefully somebody... anybody?... will have some suggestions to make.
Otherwise, we'll just have to sit in our backyard and say, "yup. It's a big bug alright. Don't have a clue what kind it is, but it's mighty shiny..." |
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OK, you are too funny. I didn't jump right on this question because I don't have any great recommendations for insect field guides. One big problem is that it can vary so much regionally so general insect guides won't always work that well. You are on target to consider getting a local guide. Also you can get info on insect guides/identification from your County Extension office.
Ouiz wrote:
| Seriously, though, we find LOTS of insects that we can't find in those guides... which is frustrating since my children go out to collect bugs daily. |
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Considering that there are over 1 million identified species of insects and spiders, there is always going to be a good likelihood that the one you find isn't "in the book." And there are so many very subtle differences between some. I think we are doing good when we can at least identify the order.
You mentioned having the Audubon one, another I have seen get pretty good reviews in a couple places on-line is the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America
Then there some on-line identification sources:
Bug Guide
Insect Identifier
Insect Identification.org
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marihalojen
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 4:29pm | IP Logged
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We get sucked into What's That Bug? frequently. Fascinating!
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 8:46pm | IP Logged
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Okay.. I was waiting for someone more experienced to answer, but since I love field guides and have waited, I'll put in my two cents.
We use online guides a lot too.
What's That Bug? is great. Some others I use:
Eastern caterpillars
What's this caterpillar?
And my *absolute FAVORITE*: Bug guide
I have a lot of Audubon and a lot of Peterson guides. Peterson has a Beetles guide that is very specific, but sometimes you need to get a really close look at the bug. (It's OOP, but lots used on Amazon.)
I've used our local extension service website to print out ID keys for ants.
The best spider guide I've seen is Golden Guide's Spiders and Their Kin. bookcloseouts has it right now (along with some peterson and other golden guides).
For caterpillars (and moths), I love Caterpillars of Eastern North America. It is *not* a very user-friendly guide, but I love it anyway. It has lots of pictures and explanations and lists the common foods eaten by each caterpillar.
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 8:48pm | IP Logged
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Mary, I hadn't seen the last two sites you linked. Those are great! (Your first is still my fav! I could ...and have... spent hours there some days. )
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Ouiz
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 10:28pm | IP Logged
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Thank you for the great on-line sites! My kids and I will use these! (although I started reading about hobo spiders and ewwwwww. Now my skin is crawling. Thankfully, they aren't in the SE, but still... )
Checking with our local extension service is another great idea -- Thank you!
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Ouiz
Blessed to be married to the man of my dreams and mom to 8 wonderful children here on earth
B-17, G-16, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, G-7, B-4
Chez Ouiz
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MacBeth
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 11:13pm | IP Logged
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I hesitated to add anything too, for the same reasons MaryM cited. Too many insects, too many regions, not enough books printed !
OTOH, an entomologist once quipped that it's easier to study insects in your own back yard than it is to study whales. 
I still vote for Peterson's Guides,though you have to get one for beetles, butterflies, wasps, insects in general...on and on.
I find that a good description entered into a search engine is most likely to get a quick identification. Also, see if your local natural history museum has an Identification Day when you can bring your finds in to be identified by the experts.
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Insect field guides?
